Cul de Sac

"First impression?Walking into a wine bar can be daunting, especially if you don’t know much about—well, wine. Happily, Cul de Sac is the most welcoming wine bar ever. Don’t let size dissuade you: it may be small, but the atmosphere’s happy, bustling, and warm—due in part, no doubt, to the wooden booths and the wines that cover every wall. True genius shows in summer, though, when the owners fling the front doors open and set about ten more tables on the terrace—adding people-watching and sun-soaking to your already near-perfect drinking schema. Cool. So who’s there?It tends to have a good mix of locals and tourists—the former because it’s straight-up amazing, the latter because it’s right by Piazza Navona and Campo de' Fiori. Connoisseurs come for the wines, but stay for the unfussy Roman classics and Mediterranean assaggi served alongside them. How are the drinks?The wine list runs for pages, covering 1,500 wines that are mostly Italian. The dry, red Amarone della Valpolicella is excellent. In summer go for any of the locally-made Frascati whites. They’re exactly the kind of crisp and refreshing you need to counter that Roman sun. Worth ordering something to eat, too?There’s a menu of (slightly stodgy) Roman dishes; they’re solid, if unremarkable. We’re happier among the salumi and cheeses – things that accompany wine, like the bresaola (VERY thinly shaved cured beef) with rucola, or the Tuscan salami with fennel. There’s practically a degustation menu dedicated to pecorino cheese (fresh; seasoned; with nuts), and the smoked Scamorza cheese is out of this world. Did the staff do you right?Some staff are lovely (shoutout to Marco), others veer towards arrogant. We tend to stop caring after about the second glass of wine." - Maresa Manara