Haus Garten – Rome’s New Bagel Bar

Last week Haus Garten opened in Rome’s Prati / Delle Vittorie area claiming to be one of the first ‘bagel bars’ in the city.

I love trying a new place so I checked it out tonight with a friend.

Located pretty much on the lungotevere (along the river) the atmosphere is fun and relaxed with a garden style theme, as the name suggests. Shabby-chic is what I think this style is called, but in essence, just really cool with wrought iron bird cages you can sit in and garden tables and chairs.

20130626-033801.jpg

(I captured some of the venue in this new Instagram video feature)

Having recently opened, the staff were really welcoming and full of energy which put us in a great mood from the get-go.

With beverages they serve some tortilla chips, guacamole and salsa and rice snacks.

The menu is American-style with about 6 types of bagels to choose from including a couple of vegetarian options plus turkey and BBQ sauce, salmon and cream cheese and buffalo mozzarella and pesto, a few salads including the classic Caesar and sweets like pancakes, waffles, cheesecake, apple crumble and brownie.

The owner told us that the bagels are made fresh every day and without preservatives by an American woman named Dina who lives in Venice. Prices are reasonable with bagels ranging from €4.50 – €10.

I opted for the Patanegra (prosciutto) and Brie. All bagels come served with a side of potato salad made with chives, egg and mayonnaise.

20130626-034003.jpg

20130626-034018.jpg

Fresh and really tasty, I enjoyed it and especially eating something that is not really the norm here in Rome.

Now, to be perfectly honest, what’s served up is not a true bagel in that it wasn’t like the ones I’ve eaten in Melbourne, New York or from a Jewish bakery. It’s more of a tasty bun that looks like a bagel. But we are in Italy. And just like you can’t find a real carbonara outside of Rome or an authentic Neapolitan pizza outside of Naples there is bound to be some sort of tweak on ethnic products or cuisine in Italy.

So on balance, I give it a big thumbs up and recommend it for a casual, fun and inexpensive meal or aperitivo.

20130626-034130.jpg

(Of course I) Tried the cheesecake with berry compote and that was delicious too 🙂

Open from 8am right through to 2am – and if you can’t stop and eat, they offer a handy take away service.

And so that was my inaugural Rome bagel bar experience! I could very well be back soon 🙂

Signing off from Trastevere,
Baci Maria

Leave a Reply