Texas Saloon - Menu

"Review Texas Saloon, Tex Mex Restaurant, Pz G. Crepax 5, New Torrino Mezzocammino, 00127 Roma. The Texas Saloon came as a complete surprise – a real life ‘Tex Mex’ restaurant in south west Rome. Up until that evening we’d come to accept the ‘American hamburger’ as exemplified by the likes of the usual international brands that are now dotted around the local suburbs (e.g. Dragona, Axa, GRA/Ardeatina, Infernetto, etc. as the norm … our meal that evening quickly changed that perception/view. The pity is that we had not discovered the Texas Saloon earlier, but then you would have needed to have lived locally or been invited there by a friend. In our case it was the latter … it was a first time for us in the commercial centre of New Torrino Mezzocammino. Finding the place of an evening – with or without the help of Mr Google – is a challenge and, more particularly, give the relative complexity of the modern roads in the quartiere that impact one upon the other, and the roundabouts that you must negotiate to find your way. Then, finally, you catch a glimpse of the place above you (as you negotiate the last roundabout and find the ramp that takes you up to the floor space high above the road. There is no obvious place to park except in the supermarket car park – and then you wonder about the two hours limit (the warning sign says and/or closing time which may (or may not leave you on the wrong side of the barrier. That, as we subsequently found out, was an unnecessary worry – checking with the staff at the Texas Saloon. Better still, head alongside and round to the rear of the supermarket and there’s parking space adjacent to the restaurant that is not restricted by a barrier. Next time then. Our friends sharing our table that evening had parked there. Arrive in daylight – as we did – and you catch the view across the paved area next to the outside seating area; tables/chairs/lights on the one side of the line of concrete tubs that section the restaurant off from the surrounding pedestrians/commercial area on the other side. The view is … well, bleak – concrete paving bleak – but this changes with dusk when the lights across the dining area and red neon lights across the front of the restaurant begin to dominate and the atmosphere brightens up. We had arrived early – dining begins for 19.30 – and chosen a table to one side of the dining area – this thing about Covid 19 distancing. The wait staff handed out menus and offered us drinks pending the restaurant opening for the evening. It was pleasant watching the evening lights close in and the dining area come alive. As the dining area filled, it took on an identity all of its own – and the Texas Saloon dominated the area. The local shops, etc. had closed and there were few people walking the concrete paved area next to the restaurant. There was an elaborate choice of foods – Tex Mex, Italian, fish, etc. – choices, choices – only with multi visits. Prices were attractive. Portion were challenging. Hamburgers came with or without a bun and, the reality, you can’t easily eat the hamburger with two hands and, equally, you can’t eat all the bread/bun provided when the meat/filling is so substantial. A choice of cinghiale was an obvious one – where else can you find ‘wild boar’? It must have been five years since we last ate a cinghiale meal. The fish menu was equally attractive. Both the Spigola and Orata were presented whole at the table before being returned as deboned fillets ready for eating. This is where you earmark a preferred choice for next time. The fish came with green/tomato salad, but we also had a contorno/carciofo romana as a side dish to share. We had just the one Italian main among the four of us dining that evening – fettjccina and mixed sauces. Wait staff returned for dolci but we’d already eaten well – helpings had been large. Except … for a taste of tiramisu one shared between four represents little more than a taste. It was sufficient. We drank acqua frizzante apart from a single glass of white wine €5 €6, respectively. We paid €102.40 for the meal which neatly came to €25/head. We figured that it had been good value. You pay at the cash desk inside the restaurant – where there were a handful of tables occupied mid evening. We were there on a Sunday. The restaurant was advertising meals at 50% discount: fish on Tuesdays, meat on Fridays and hamburgers on Thursdays (for maximum five . Summarizing: service had been efficient and unobtrusive; the meals had been served together – hot, plentiful, good to look at and great to eat. They represented good value. Peter Steele 20Sept22"