Latium has good quality food, but I don’t like the vibe of the restaurant at all. First of all, it wasn’t very crowded – only a few tables were taken. This doesn’t make for a fun, vibrant atmosphere. Second, making matters worse, waiters hover around you, watch you, and make you feel so uncomfortable. I get that they don’t have anything else to do since they aren’t busy, but it makes for a very unpleasant dining experience. Third, it’s too stuffy and pretentious. Waiters are overly formal and there is almost a claustrophobic atmosphere.
The cool thing about this place is that they have a large ravioli menu, and I feel ravioli is an underrated pasta. There is so much room for experimentation with ravioli and restaurants don’t seem to take advantage of that. Often it’s just a ricotta spinach with a tomato sauce or the ever popular pumpkin ravioli with a butter sage sauce. So routine. This place, though, has some great options. And you can order either small or large portions of any pasta dish, so it’s great if you want to share or try a few things.
Pea Ravioli with Cuttlefish Sauce – peas inside, topped with cuttlefish and served with a light fish broth sauce. The dish is very fishy, so it’s one to be avoided if you don’t want that taste permeating. The flavors themselves were interesting and worth trying if you feel like fish with your ravioli.
Lemon Ricotta Ravioli – I have seen lemon combined with gnocchi or ravioli before and it’s certainly different. It tastes very lemony but is good, so if you’re looking for something more unique and packed with flavor, this is the way to go.
Buccatini with burrata cheese and pomodoro sauce – this one was delicious. The buccatini was homemade and cooked perfectly. Tomato sauce was flavorful and thick. Burrata is always rich and creamy. I’d recommend this dish as it’s a classic that is well executed.
All tables are provided a complimentary bread basket with oil, cheese, meats, and olives. The ingredients are fresh and the quality of the food is good. Not everything is a hit, but the main deterrent is that it doesn’t feel like a good place to spend a couple of hours casually dining. Also, prices are quite high. Regrettably, I won’t go back.
