Rome restaurants (DeLapa reviews)
Top picks
- Da Bucatino – Marcello and I enjoyed a wonderful meal there last night, probably the best Italian food yet. We started with carciofi alla Romana, with the artichoke smashed flat — delicious. We split a pici con pancetta pecorino e carciofi and grilled swordfish, and a carafe of unsurprisingly mediocre red house wine. After paying the bill, our waitress, who reminded me of my aunts in their somewhat younger days, brought us limoncellos on the house. The place was packed with Italians — fun, lively atmosphere. Bill came to 56€, which I thought was a fantastic value. [UPDATE: Becky and I had more meals there. All fantastic. We shared a fried fish the last time — delicious.]
- Lumie di Sicilia – Our favorite seafood restaurant in Rome, discovered with Marcello and his mother for an epic meals with the Heilbroner-Davis family. The swordfish was other-worldly.
- La Fraschetta di Mastro Giorgio – What a strange dining experience we had. Arrived rather late, maybe 10 pm, and were told by a smiley gentleman that we would have a table in a half hour. As we waited huddled in the doorway, he disappeared and a fiery hostess appeared shooing us outside as several other waitresses dramatically gestured that we were in their way, which, of course, we weren’t. So outside we waited for maybe 45 minutes, with people all around us being let in. But then we the smiley man returned, told us our table was being prepared, and assured us it would be ready right after his smoke. It was. He led us to a table with four napkins where we then waited another 15 minutes for a frantic and distraught waitress to arrive. She put down a few menus, brought us water, then ran away to try to help the dozens of other tables she was responsible for. It was now after 11 pm. Eventually we placed our orders and magically wonderful food arrived — fried calamari, pumpkin-filled ravioli with balsamic vinegar, other pasta dishes. After alert our still frantic waitress to the lack of silverware, which she apologized for us not having, we enjoyed a delightful meal — all the while watching the her dart in and out of tables with orders and wine and water at a very hectic pace. When at 12:30 pm we finished, thoroughly entertained by our dramatic waitress and wonderful Italian opera dinner, I handed her a healthy tip and thanked her for enduring the night, and for the first time saw that she had a very beautiful smile.
- Ristorante Eleonora D’Arborea – Terrific seafood. Not cheap but also by Rome standards not outrageous. Much better than Pierluigi.
- Da Remo – Named one of the top 10 pizzerias in Rome, Da Remo is just what you would expect: thin crust, light cheese, good eating. After sampling dozens of pizzas on the streets of Rome, I’ve concluded it’s pretty hard to screw up a pizza. Still, our meal with Paolo and Pietro Francesco was very good. Of course, they made it fun, but so did our loquacious Italian waiter. The four of us ate and drank well — beer for Paolo, wine for me — for 60€, which is a great value.
- Trattoria Perilli – I join the chorus of other TripAdvisor reviewers who describe Perilli as “outstanding.” Becky and my meal of carbonara, (white) veal cacciatore, and an indescribable salad — literally, I have no idea what greens or dressing they used — was remarkable. Even more remarkable that at they were able to find a table for us on very short notice.
- Flavio Al Velavevodetto. At the recommendation of Conde Naste, enjoyed our first real meal in Rome. Rigatoni alla matriciana, cotolette d’abbacchio panate e fritte con contorno (rabbit), and broccoletti di rape ripassate in padella. Delicious traditional Roman cuisine. Lovely Italian waitress who spoke excellent English. All Italians. One of our top picks.
- Mordi e Vai – Can a continually long line of patient Italians — ok, maybe not so patient — be wrong? Nope. This place is the real deal. A wide variety of panini made with vitella, lingua, trippa, coratella and other Italian delights.
- Cristalli di zucchero – It’s not easy to find innovative food in Rome. But Cristalli di Zucchero is indeed different — lox and cream sandwich croissants; cups of grain, olives and vegetables; amazing pastries; great coffee.
Others
- Felice – Felice is semi-famous. It’s been around since 1936. Always busy, and hard to get into. Our meal was good, not great. We enjoyed cacio e pepe made with fresh pasta, but the carciofa alla Romana was just average, and I can’t even recall what we had as a main dish. Alex the waiter was very helpful and entertaining, but the food was just average by Rome standards, and higher priced than it should have been. Still, it’s not easy to get in — there’s a long waiting list — so they must be doing something right.
- Supplizio – Desperate for a lunch of something other than pizza or panini, we happened across Supplizio. What a surprising delight of new tastes. The owner patiently introduced us to three different varieties of suppli – a traditional with sausage, a potato with mozzarella, and a desert pecorino with cinnamon and sugar, each with it’s own beautiful taste. The ambience was very friendly, casual. The prices are very, very reasonable. We’ll be back!
- Da Enzo – Becky and I dined at Da Enzo with some new Americans-in-Rome friends. Very good but not great food. Our friend Iris said that the restaurant had had its ups and downs, was on the way up. She thought there might have been a transition from father to son (third photo down). We share a barrata and fresh tomatoes (delicious) and carciofa alla Roma (also very good, though I prefer Da Bucatino’s in Testaccio). But my fettuccine with grilled sardines was underwhelming and Becky’s lamb chops were not much better than we’ve had elsewhere in Rome, which is to say not nearly as good as we enjoy in California. But the atmosphere and company more than compensated for these minor deficiencies. And of course there was the wine.
- Ristorante Angelina in Testaccio – Lovely second floor restaurant and bar. My friend Carla and I stopped in for a Montepulciano split. With bread and sparkling water, it was 12€ – incredible. I’ll expand the review when I return for dinner.
- Da Oio a Casa Mia – Da Oio is in the same building as Casa di Alice. The three stars it gets from TripAdvisor seems about right, if perhaps a bit generous. The gnocchi was quite good, as was Charlie’s oxtail. But the grilled vegetables were tasteless and the red wine terrible. Our waitress was good spirited, and there was a nice waiter who brought (and nearly dropped on Charlie) a terra mizzou. But the hostess was quite cold and humorless — never broke a smile the entire evening, despite my dropping Guilia and Federico’s names. And the prices were high — our bill of ~65€ was 50% more than what we paid at Flavio Al Velavevodetto for a better meal and friendlier experience.
- Pierluigi – The dining experience started well — very warm and accommodating maître d and hostess sat us at a lovely table in a good space. But the first waiter came a bit too frequently at the beginning of the meal and was a bit pushy for us to order. The second waiter, Anna, was superb. And the sommelier recommended a very good and relatively moderately priced wine. The artichokes were ok — not nearly as good as Bucatino. The pastas had small portions. Two of the three — a lobster and a scampi — we ordered were flavorful, the other — an urchin — was very bland. The second courses were very uneven as well, the turbot delicate, delicious; the suckling pig dry and almost tasteless. It felt like they were trying things out on us, but we were paying for everything. Won’t be back, despite the very nice service and overall ambience.
Restaurants to try
- Antica Trattoria da Carlone (Yelp)
- Le Magnifique (Menudiroma.com)
- Da Bruno (Iris)
- Emma Pizzeria Con Cucina (NY Times)
- L’Osteria di Monteverde (NY Times)
- Come il Latte Gelateria (NY Times)
- Co.So. Cocktails & Social (NY Times)
- Yeah! Pigneto Bar (NY Times)
- Vineria Litro Wine Bar (NY Times)
- Mazzo (NY Times)
- Green door in Jewish ghetto (Lucy)
- Roma Mia Arte e Cucina (#485 TripAdvisor – Jewish Ghetto)
- Giggetto al Portico d’Ottavia
- Il Cartoccio (#1332 fried fish)
- Sheraton Golf Parco De’ Medici Hotel & Resort, Via Salvatore Rebecchini, 39, 00148 Roma (Federico)
- Da Artenio – Testaccio Market (Katie Parla)
- Pizzarium – Trionfale
- Lumie di Sicilia (Marcello)
Other recommended restaurants
- Read about
- Il Cartoccio (#1332 fried fish)
- Giggetto al Portico d’Ottavia
- Roma Mia Arte e Cucina (#485 TripAdvisor – Jewish Ghetto)
- Green door in Jewish ghetto (Lucy)
- Mazzo (NY Times)
- Vineria Litro Wine Bar (NY Times)
- Yeah! Pigneto Bar (NY Times)
- Co.So. Cocktails & Social (NY Times)
- Come il Latte Gelateria (NY Times)
- L’Osteria di Monteverde (NY Times)
- Emma Pizzeria Con Cucina (NY Times)
- Da Bruno (Iris)
- Le Magnifique (Menudiroma.com)
- Antica Trattoria da Carlone (Yelp)
- Carla Cassani
- Nasimi butcher – best local butcher
- Angelina restaurant
- Fraschetta di Mastro Giorgio
- Bucatino
- Felice
- Eataly – Mario Batalli (Valeria Cuglia)
- Villino del 1945, going towards Via Aventino, which is a big ROMA soccer fan base, great trattoria with a very large menu of classic roman dishes, quite good and easy to drop into without reservations.
- Rosso, across from FAO, is a great cafe’/bar/restaurant/food place
- Farinando is a bakery/bread/pizza by the slice place with the BEST pizza bianca, and other types of pizzas and breads.
- ViolaRosso, in the big piazza Santa Maria Imperatrice, is an ice cream store, pretty good, open until midnight, with the benefit of being open year round (most of the local places close over the cold months)
- Valeria Cuglia
- Antico Forno
- La Fraschetta di Mastrogiorgio
- Da Remo
- Da Felice
- Porto Fluviale
- Silvia Bernardini
- “Mario” in Via della Vite is a good Tuscan restaurant. He was famous for game like deer, wild bore and things like that.
- “Piperno” al Ghetto, expensive but famous for the typical Roman Jewish cuisine: you MUST try the artichokes “a la giudia.” In Rome the Jews developed a very special cuisine, quite interesting.
- I loved to go to Pincho, just above Piazza Del Popolo, in Villa Borghese to tha Casina Valadier. If you get a day with good sun it is very nice to sit and eat a salad there with Rome at your feet.
- If you have a car you should get down to Sabaudia and Circeo sometime. It is a very nice beach, and when you just enter in Sabaudia there is a factory of mozzarella fior di latte: you could stop there and eat some recently made mozzarella. The famous restaurant on the way is “Giggetto”, with his Spaghetti all’agretto.
- In the surrounding you can go to visit the Castelli Romani: make sure you go to Ariccia and try the Panino con la porchetta! Famous all over the world. As a matter of facts, I am making it here in the La Paz farmer’s market!
- Going north you should do a visit to Saturnia: thermal bath famous since the time of the ancient romans. The best restaurant is “Laudomia” in Poderi di Montemerano.
- Paolo Caravani
- A trip to Rome is not complete until you hit Quartiere San Lorenzo. A student neighborhood in the proximity of “La Sapienza”, the first university of Rome. And a trip to San Lorenzo is not complete until you hit “Farinè la pizza” Via degli Aurunci, 6/8 00185 Roma (San Lorenzo). Best pizza in Rome, hence best pizza in Italy, hence best pizza in the world. Immense variety of pizzas, moderately priced, need a reservation. Don’t forget a stroll afterwards in S. Lorenzo.
- Alberto Carrera
- Bressanone
- Val di Fassa
- Canederli
- Bombardino (drink..not for underaged but good to get while skiing)
- Grappa di mirtilli
- Rosti di patate e zucchine
- Speck (rigorously hand cut)
- Merano
- Vigo di Fassa
- Nova Levante
- Nova Ponente
- Cavalese
- Fiorentina steak -I ask you to enjoy the Italian way. It has to be eaten medium raw, sorry. If you like beef, that’s the Italian king of the kings. It’s served on a bed of Tuscan bread (usually unsalted bread), some extra virgin oil and big grain salt.
- Sarah Yee (via Mark Shelley)
- La cisterna(oldest)
- Aromaticus
- Assunta madre
- Ciampini
- Dar filettaro
- Eataly
- Gaudeo
- Necci
- Porto fluviale
- Primo
- Roscioli
- Rosti
- Urbana 47
- Volpetti