Before I start, don’t let the title mislead you. Secondo Tradizione is not a Michelin star joint.
But chefs Piero & Jacopo -who are the stars of the show here – are of Rome’s Il Pagliaccio (two Michelin stars) fame. They both worked under Anthony Genovese at Il Pagliaccio for three years and he played a heavy hand in consulting on the menu.
The restaurant is an outpost of the historic salumeria (deli), La Tradizione which sits on Via Cipro right by the metro stop (Cipro isn’t far from the Vatican). Secondo Tradizione is just up the street from here and I implore you: don’t head anywhere near this part of town without paying a visit. 
Put simply, the venue is cool and casual and the menu is simple but fun. The chefs have taken the classic dishes of the roman repertoire and slightly retouched them a little or given some a cute twist. With the owners’ origins in cheese and salumi, (there are over 700 cold meats and cheeses to choose from!) you can bet they feature on the menu all day and at aperitivo hour you can get a tagliere (board) with your wine or bubbles. On that note, the staff know their wines – a big positive for a casual bistrot type venue.
At lunch or dinner you can dine on small starters, classic roman pasta dishes (carbonara, amatriciana etc) and second courses from pork to lamb to seafood. A blackboard features the chefs’ specials of the day and is where they experiment and have a little fun.
I dined here at lunch recently and here’s what I tried:
Savoury biscuits with Tuscan pecorino cheese 
Roman-style mixed fry: borrage, broccoli, sage, artichoke, baccalà (salt cod, sweetbreads, calf brain)
Fried oxtail ball with green apple extract, celery chutney, cocoa bean and mixed greens
The classic – spaghetti with butter and anchovy 
Brasato: Beef cheeks slow cooked in Barolo wine 
Baked earth apple with celeriac mash and oyster leaf
Goats cheese granita with puffed pearl millet and raspberry sauce
Quick Facts:
Secondo Tradizione: Via Rialto 39. Ph: 06 39734757. Website: www.secondotradizione.it. Restaurant is open for lunch (12:30pm – 2:30pm), aperitivo (from 6:30pm) and dinner 7:30pm – 11:30pm. Closed on Monday and open for lunch only on Sunday.
Cheese & Salumi Boards: from €22 | Entrees: €10-12 | Pasta: €12-18 | Mains: €16-20| Dessert: €6
Signing off from Trastevere,
Baci Maria
Disclaimer: I was a lunch guest of Secondo Tradizione, but all words and images are mine. Nobody tells me what to write – especially when it comes to food.
