If you're traveling transit through Italy's largest airport Rome Fiumincino Airport, I suggest you stop for a bite at Obika in Terminal D. The first impression was not the best; The place was a mess when we arrived. Dirty tables, dirty cups, dirty menus... Did we make the right decision? Well, honestly, it's one of the few places I have tried at an airport where you can actually enjoy a good meal.
Obikà Mozzarella Bar is a casual Italian restaurant concept based on best Mozzarellas di Bufala Campana, together with traditional Italian recipes and high-quality Italian handmade products, prepared “in sight” and served by drawing inspiration from traditional sushi bars. The first Obikà Mozzarella Bar in the world was opened in May 2004 from an idea of Silvio Ursini, who is still the President of the Group. The New York Times stated Obikà as “Rome's and probably history's first Mozzarella Bar”.
We were asked to choose a table. Ten minutes passed until the waiter decided to approach our. Despite the fact that we asked for the menus in English, two Italian ones landed on the table. We waited another five minutes until we were handed two English ones. In the meantime, I took the chance to admire the places design.
The warm, bright and contemporary design of Obikà restaurant strips out unnecessary ornamentation and makes the food the star, providing the perfect contrast to the fresh and colorful hand-made ingredients and relaxed ambiance.
Roman design studio Labics has created every Obikà restaurant around the world, using a palette of natural materials such as wood blocks, textile panels, glass and iron and giving Obikà a consistent visual identity which can be adapted to suit a wide variety of unique locations. Obikà’s interior design has been praised by the trade press and covered in major national and international magazines such as Domus, Abitare as well as various important architectural publications devoted to leisure design.
The place:
- Take a right at the entrance of Terminal D, you will find the restaurant
- With its glass facades and clear roof, it looks fresh and relaxing
- A bar in the middle displays some ready made sandwiches and three buckets of mozzarella cheese
- A black ceramic floor, black walls and a black feel, filled with wood tables surrounded by metallic design chairs
The menu:
- Lunch menu costs 19,50€
- La Degustazioni di mozzarelle
- La Mozzarella e le specialita
- Antipasti
- Insulate
- Pani e panini
- Dallas Cucina
- Dolci
We ordered:
- Tuna salad: lettuce, tuna, mozzarella, capers, dried tomatoes, black olives and green olives. A large and generous square plate which an overall flavor of extra virgin olive oil and crunchy ingredients. To make it special, big chunks of tender tuna cover the mix. Pick a piece of tuna, some mozzarella, a piece of lettuce and enjoy while a caper berries adds the needed finesse
- Croissant with mozzarella and ham: Crunchy and fresh croissant filled with home cut thick slices of ham and mozzarella cubes. The bread feels light and not too buttery, crumbling under your teeth while the inner filling flavors erupt. I enjoyed it
- Schiaffoni di Gragnano Pasta with mozzarella di bufala and tomato sauce: Simplicity is key in this creation. Premium lemony tomato sauce, perfectly cooked al dente pasta and chunks of mozzarella on top. I so loved it. I felt I was eating pasta on the streets of Rome.
- Pane Cunzato con N'duja di splinga: Sicilian open sandwich with N'duja and spicy salmon, cherry tomatoes, stracciatella di burrata, grilled zucchini, caciocavallo ragusano DOP and basil. A very interesting sandwich: the large cherry tomatoes cut in half, its subtle spiciness, dried bread and moist mozzarella
