L'Elementare

Dough corrected by the hand

The dough sets the pace before service. Mirko Rizzo, Chef at L'Elementare in Rome, keeps the Roman form close: a thin round base, light leavening, a rim that gives before it cracks. His bench was formed at Pommidoro in Centocelle, where pizzaiolo work came through repetition, timing, and the slow correction of the hand by the dough itself. That apprenticeship still matters here. Since 2020 he has been founder and at the helm of L'Elementare, carrying the same grammar he developed alongside his work as co-founder and pizzaiolo of 180g Pizzeria Romana since 2018. The point is not nostalgia. Rizzo works from Roman fundamentals, then pares the gesture until the crust, filling, and finish read cleanly. The name of the house carries that intention. He has described L'Elementare not as primary in the schoolroom sense, but as an invitation to a simple, effective leavened offering. On the bench, that means less ornament and more control, with the city’s tradition used as a base rather than a boundary.

Scrocchiarella with an airy crumb

The program is built around Roman-style scrocchiarella, thin and crisp, with a soft airy dough and a cracker-like finish. The house standard is most legible in pizza marinara doppia, where yellow datterino passata, roasted yellow Pachino tomatoes, Cetara anchovies, basil, Sicilian oregano, garlic oil, parsley, and chili sit on a base made to stay light rather than heavy. Supplì ajo e ojo carries the same discipline in a smaller form: Roman snack structure, rice and seasoning held together by crunch, heat, and timing. Rizzo’s wider work shows how far he will move a filling while keeping the form recognizable. At MasterChef Italia in 2023, his Coda alla vaccinara supplì used short pasta, oxtail, cocoa breading, pecorino, and a celery-carrot-onion coulis. Sfera bruciata brought burnt onion breading, tonnarello, pea cream, guanciale, and Parmigiano Reggiano into the same compact format. At L'Elementare, the method remains more direct. Fermentation control, dough handling, and ingredient selection do the visible work.

The oven in a lively room

The room is small, cozy, and busy in the way a pizzeria should be when the oven becomes part of the sound. Staff move young and quick between counter, pass, and tables; the atmosphere stays simple without feeling careless. Beer leads the beverage program, with craft selections, German lager on tap, cask handles, and local Italian production sitting naturally beside fried food and crust. The pass depends on sequencing: fritti first, pizza while the base still holds its snap, beer cold enough to meet anchovy, caciocavallo, smoke, or chili without getting in the way. In Testaccio, that rhythm gives L'Elementare its own room tone, lively, close, and governed by the oven.

A Roman shape with room inside

Rizzo can change without losing the Roman outline. His La parmigiana viaggiatrice layers tomato, fried eggplant, zaaloouk cream, babaganoush whey cream, Parmigiano Reggiano Vacche Rosse, basil, mint, and lime powder; Tuberi e radici turns to turmeric potatoes, Jerusalem artichoke scapece, glazed carrot cream with barbecue, sorrel, and beetroot powder. Those compositions belong to the same hand that sends out supplì ajo e ojo and pizza marinara doppia at L'Elementare.