Anna Orders Without a Menu

On her third evening in Rome, Anna was hungry, tired, and a little lost. She had walked all afternoon with her camera, and now she wanted a quiet place to eat.

In a small side street, she found a restaurant with only six tables.

There were white tablecloths, candles in old bottles, and the smell of garlic and fresh bread. An older couple was eating by the window, and a family with two children was laughing in the corner. It felt warm and real. Anna went in.

A tall man with grey hair and a white apron came out of the kitchen.

"Good evening! Welcome. Table for one?"

"Yes, please," Anna said.

He showed her to a small table near the kitchen door. Anna sat down and looked around for a menu. There wasn't one. Not on the table, not on the wall, not anywhere.

"Excuse me," she said. "Could I see the menu, please?"

The man smiled. "There is no menu. My name is Leo, and this is my restaurant. Every morning, I go to the market and buy what looks good. Then I cook it. Tonight, I'll tell you what we have."

Anna laughed. "Okay. That's a first for me."

"Today we have a tomato soup with fresh basil. For the main course, there's pasta with mushrooms, or fish with lemon and potatoes. And for dessert, my wife's lemon cake. It's the best in the city."

Anna thought for a moment. Everything sounded good. "What do you recommend?"

"For you? Start with the soup. Then the pasta. The mushrooms are from the hills this morning. They're very special."

"Sounds perfect. Oh, and one important thing. I can't eat nuts. Is there anything with nuts in it?"

Leo nodded seriously. "Thank you for telling me. There are no nuts in the soup or the pasta. But the lemon cake has nuts on top. I'll ask my wife to make you a piece without them."

"Thank you. That's very kind."

"And to drink?"

"Just some water, please. Still, not sparkling."

The soup came first, in a deep white bowl. It was simple, bright and full of flavour. Anna ate it slowly, with a piece of warm bread.

Then came the pasta. It was even better. The mushrooms were rich and soft, and there was just a little bit of cheese on top.

When Leo came back, she said, "This is amazing. Is it possible to have a little more bread?"

"Of course." He brought a whole basket.

At the next table, the older couple was finishing their meal. The woman leaned over and spoke to Anna in English.

"Is this your first time here?"

"Yes. I just walked in by chance."

"We've been coming here for twenty years," the woman said. "There has never been a menu. And we have never had a bad meal."

The lemon cake arrived, with no nuts on top, just a little sugar and a slice of lemon. Anna took a photo of it before she ate it. It tasted like sunshine.

When she asked for the bill, it was much cheaper than she expected.

"Are you sure this is right?" she asked.

"Of course," Leo said. "You ate well, you were happy, and you were polite. That's the right price."

Anna laughed. "Can I take a photo of you in the kitchen? I'm a photographer."

Leo looked surprised, then pleased. He stood in the kitchen doorway in his apron with a big smile, and Anna took the picture.

Outside, the street was dark and quiet. Anna looked back at the little restaurant with its candles and its six tables.

She didn't know what Leo would cook tomorrow. But she already knew she would come back to find out.