Osteria da Filippo

We have only been to Osteria da Filippo once for dinner, so our experience and knowledge is very limited. However, we had a wonderful evening with great food and drinks, and they welcomed our dog, so we thought a review was in order. When we next find our way to Rauma we will definitely be visiting again.

First to the food. Osteria da Filippo offers a extensive à la carte dinner menu with about 10 starters (Antipasti), many pizzas, a few calzone, plenty of pastas, a few risotto, and about four desserts. However, as noted above, we have only been once, and only shared one starter, a pasta, and a pizza so cannot talk about most of the items on the menu. For starters, we had the “Stuffed chili” (€6), and to say that we thoroughly enjoyed these little delicacies is a huge understatement! The chillies were not at all spicy (unfortunately) but were sweet and flavoursome in their own right, and the tuna filling was delicious. We have looked for this dish in other Italian restaurants we have been to in Finland but cannot find them, and an extensive search of supermarkets for the chillies has also proven fruitless. So even if the rest of the food was not fantastic, which it was, this is reason enough to go back to Osteria da Filippo.

For mains, we shared one pasta and one pizza (in stages, so we could enjoy the atmosphere and drinks for longer). First, the pasta we chose was Tortellini with spinach and ricotta cheese filling (€12) and we were very pleased with our choice. This dish can often be a little bland, but not here; the spinach flavour was nice and strong, but we could still taste the ricotta; a lovely balance of flavour. In addition, the pasta itself was very tasty and cooked to perfection. Just as a warning, the serving size was much larger than we expected, and that is the only reason we did not have another pasta dish (as planned). Next, we ordered and thoroughly enjoyed the Calabrese pizza (€14) which came with tomato sauce, onion, hot Italian salami, fresh chilli, olives, and mozzarella. The pizza was delicious with a crispy yet chewy base, tangy tomato sauce, and excellent toppings; both in amount and flavour.  Like Sitko in Tampere, and Dante’s in Pori, Filippo’s serves a sourdough pizza “in accordance with the old Italian tradition”. As mentioned, these were the only menu items we tried, but all were fantastic, and as described below, went perfectly with the drinks.

Next to the drinks. Osteria da Filippo serves a small selection of draught and bottled beers, a few house cocktails, some nice wines by the glass and bottle, plus other apéritifs and digestifs.  We started our evening with two very pleasant Aperol Sprtiz, and then enjoyed a few beers and a couple glasses of red wine throughout the evening. We finished the meal with one espresso and two digestifs; I think one was a Fernet Branca and the other a Grappa. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the brand of beer, types of wine, or prices, but all the drinks were very much enjoyed, suited the food perfectly, and seemed very reasonably priced.

To sum up, on our only visit so far, we thoroughly enjoyed the delicious food and drinks, our dog was welcome, and we found the restaurant comfortable with very friendly, helpful, and professional staff. In terms of prices, we thought everything was excellent value for money; the bill for 1 starter, 2 mains, and plenty of drinks was an extremely reasonable €85. All in all, we were very impressed with Osteria da Filippo and will definitely be heading back when we have the chance.