In a tiny, nondescript vicolo where the Tiber bends north of Piazza Navona, the three Troiani brothers -- Angelo in the kitchen, and brothers Giuseppe and Massimo presiding over the dining room and wine cellar -- have quietly been redefining the experience of Italian eclectic alta cucina for many years. There are three separate dining rooms: one has walls covered in terra cotta-color frescoes, one is hung with dark, classical oil paintings, while the main room is alight with a juxtaposition of old and new, with eggshell damask table linens, figurine candleholders, and silky drapes, but with very spare, modern light fixtures. And one could say that the food matches the decor, or vice versa. Antipasti include a "roast beef" of tuna fillet laquered with chestnut honey, rosemary, red peppercorns, and ginger served with a green apple salad, while an update on the Roman-style (braised) artichoke comes served not in a pool of oil as is traditional, but on a velouté of sole and leeks. Pasta dishes like a delicious, restrained but flavorful version of vermicelli bucati all'amatriciana (thick, hollow spaghetti with a tomato, Roman bacon, and onion sauce) satisfy the classicists, while a squid ink risotto with baby cuttlefish, sea asparagus, lemongrass, and basil sates the appetites of those with dreams of fantasia. Main courses include a fabulous version of a cold-weather pigeon dish for which Il Convivio is famous (at last check, it was a bay leaf-scented pigeon "in casserole" with a blood orange sauce and a potato tartlet). The pastry chef serves up inventive sweets like a ricotta-and-cherry cheesecake with almond granita (ice) or a chocolate-hazelnut mousse served with the seemingly bizarre addition of radicchio from Treviso and aged balsamic vinegar (somehow, it works). This is classic Roman food but face-lifted for the 21st century. Service is attentive without being overbearing, and all the right touches are there, from the homemade bread and petits-fours that respectively open and close the meal, to the ministools for women's purses and the automatic everything on hand in the restrooms. The tasting menu, which changes weekly, is a great deal at EUR 85 (excluding wine) for those who want to go for all out.

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