HOME + WEATHER + FOOD & DRINK + SHOPPING +
ARTS & CULTURE + MOVIES + FUN + SERVICES + KIDS
+ SURVIVAL GUIDE + BLOG +LODGING + EXCHANGE RATES + WEEKEND GETAWAYS + ABOUT US
Rome Restaurants:
Campo de' Fiori + Pantheon + Spanish Steps + Trastevere + Monti + Prati and the Northside + San Lorenzo +
Rome's Rooftop Dining + Rome's International Restaurants + Budget Restaurants
More Rome Food and Wine:
Wine Bars + Cafes + Best Coffee in Rome + Rome's Best Cafés + Rome's Best Gelato + Gourmet Food Shopping +
Open Air Markets + Rome's Hot Chocolate + Rome Pub Crawl
The Best in Rome
Rome Restaurants: PANTHEON TO PARLIAMENT
Boccondivino
Art meets cuisine in this modern Rome restaurant housed in a 16th century palazzo. The work of contemporary artists is exhibited on the walls, changing regularly. The décor is clean and cheerful, with chairs upholstered in animal prints and fanciful light fixtures suspended from the ceiling. In the warm months, a terrace faces Santa Maria in Campo Marzio. The menu reflects what's fresh and in season. Owner Daniele Costantini prides himself on excellent versions of classic pastas such as amatriciana and cacio e pepe. The signature dishes also include duck breast with figs and port wine, spaghetti in pesto sauce with vongole veraci (sweet little clams) and salmon in a poppy and sesame seed crust. The desserts are nothing short of awesome. Try their twist on the classic tiramisù, with hot fudge sauce. The wine list is extensive, including more than 200 labels. €€
Piazza in Campo Marzio, 6 tel. 06.683 08626
Green T.
You’ll feel as welcome as an invited guest in this four-level complex, comprising a restaurant, tea house and boutique, where you can eat, drink and shop in an atmosphere designed according to the ancient concepts of Feng Shui. The proprietors, both ex-journalists, warmly greet their guests and engage in geo-cultural conversation while effortlessly explaining the execution and art of Chinese tea. At lunch, a selection of traditional Chinese box meals is reasonably priced, quick and delicious. At dinner, more time is needed to savor the exquisite cuisine of Hong Kong chef, Jimmy Yan, whose offerings derive from seven schools of Chinese gastronomy. We recommend any of the dishes in which duck is the protagonist, as well as the turtle soup with cat fish spine, shark fin soup, oysters prepared four different ways, fried medusa and raw tuna, rice flan with sweet salami from Xiang Chang, crunchy tagliolini with seafood and an array of Dian Xin (dim sum), dumplings ranging from salty to steamed to fried. For dessert, try the home-baked biscuits served with tea. Several dining areas are furnished with Chinese antiques, and a small garden is available for private events. The boutique on the lower level offers Chinese-inspired clothing, interesting teas, antiques, books and CDs. €€
Via Di Pie di Marmi, 28 tel. 06 679 8628 Open for lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch.
Maccheroni
This Rome restaurant in a former butcher shop has retained its white-tiled décor, and with the simple tables and chairs, it gives the feeling of eating in somebody’s kitchen, which seems the perfect setting for the homey Roman cuisine— classic Roman dishes like pasta cacio e pepe (cheese and freshly ground black pepper) spaghetti alla amatrciana (tomato sauce with guanciale, a salt pork taken from the cheek) or a simple pasta with fresh tomatoes and basil, roast lamb, osso bucco, spinach sautéed in a pan with fresh garlic and olive oil. The crowd here is Roman. The house wine is drinkable and the prices are low. €€
Piazza delle Coppelle, 44 tel. 06. 683 07895
Obika
It sounds Japanese, but the name, obika, is the Neapolitan dialect equivalent of the Italian eccolo qua, meaning "here it is!" And the restaurant is justly named, considering how long it’s taken to arrive. Andrea Corsetti opened the first eatery to acknowledge that great mozzarella di bufala can stand on its own. Attracting fashionisti, foodies and young Italian professionals on the move, Obika is a mozzarella bar with a Japanese-inspired setting, complete with sushi-style counter and a planked porch that reaches out to an active piazza. The lunch menu offers variations on a theme: cheeses from the three mozzarella-producing areas of Campania in the vicinity of Naples — Pontina, Caserta and Salerno — served with salad, salami, wild boar from Soranno or wrapped in salmon. Not the least of these choices is the irresistible mozzarella campagna served sliced with anchovies and capers. At night, the menu changes from quick lunch to sophisticated dinner with pasta dishes and a select list of Italian wines. €€
Via dei Prefetti, 26a tel. 06.683 2630 Closed Sunday
Riccoli Cafe
A trendy favorite, with a chic movie set design in primary colors accented by glass and stainless steel, this Rome restaurant/café offers everything from morning coffee to late night drinks. The enclosed terrace, which accomdates the happy hour overflow from the bar, is also a tranquil spot for an afternoon snack or a pleasant lunch. Under the stewardship of chef and owner Massimo Riccioli (whose family is responsible for the elegant La Rosetta restaurant just a few meters away), the menu offers a cuisine concentrated on seafood that extends beyond national borders. The raw bar is stocked with oysters from morning till night; there’s a sushi list, an outstanding selection of cheese plates and some of the best salads in town. Entreès taste as good as they sound: taboulè with prawns, tomatoes and mint, cous cous with tuna, cuttle fish with artichokes. The homemade ice cream is a must. €€
Via delle Coppelle, 13 tel. 06.682 10313 Closed Sunday.
Open 10 am - 2 am.
Ristorante Trattoria
The design team of brothers Gianluigi and Marco Giammetta have created a modern décor in an ancient building just steps from the Pantheon. Constructed on two levels, with bar and wine cellar below and dining areas above, the restaurant is decorated in mix of traditional and contemporary materials. Somber lighting, bleached hardwood floors and natural fiber contrast with Lucite, copper and steel. A state-of-the-art open kitchen allows diners to glimpse chef Filippo La Mantia at work. He re-interprets traditional dishes of his native Sicily, and creates a unique cuisine combining ingredients from all over Italy. Start with with an innovative cheese antipasto, his formaggio alla grappa di moscato con gnocco fritto romagnolo. Then try one of the entrees such as such as baccalà in cicerchie (cod) with thyme sauce, polenta and fried fennel. At times, it’s difficult to keep up with the cultural mergers, such as the passsatelli romagnoli, a favorite pasta from Central Italy, dressed up here with river shrimp and served with Roman artichokes. €€€.
Via del Pozzo delle Cornachie, 2 tel. 06. 683 01427 Closed Sunday and at lunch.
Romilo
In the shadow of the Pantheon, the recently opened Romilo attracts a well-dressed crowd of bureaucrats during workday lunch hours. But in the evenings, especially on the weekends, this lovely, elegant Rome restaurant is a quiet refuge for a long and pleasant dinner. Decorated in light woods and neutral tones, with large, colorful paintings on the walls, the atmosphere is sleek and modern without looking trendy. The menu follows along the same lines: interesting variations on classic dishes, but no tricks or cuteness. Roman specialities like pasta alla gricia or amatriciana are not missing from the menu. But there are also some wonderful variations. Try the veal with salsa alle nocciole e vino bianco (white wine and hazelnut sauce) or the gamberi in crosti di pan carré (shrimp in a bread crust) with a balsamic sauce. Every thing is beautifully presented, but the desserts are spectacularly decorated with spun sugar. The wine list is quite varied, with many excellent and expensive labels, as well as a number of affordable bottles. €€ person.
Via di Campo Marzio, 13 tel. 06.689 3499
Salotto 42
There are three restaurant/bars in the Piazza di Pietra, but this is our favorite because of its location, away from traffic in the middle of the square with a view of the Tempio di Adriano, which dates back to the first century BC. The place is terminally trendy — a flat screen with video projections over the bar, walls-lined with style-conscious books on the order of Andy Warhol and Lou Reed coffee-table numbers, comfortable, sixties-style couches. The wait staff is young and beautiful and full of attitude. It’s a pleasant stop for an aperitivo — there’s an appetizer buffet from 7:30 on. And in the mornings they serve a breakfast of coffees, fruit smoothies, quiche and baked goods. Or stop in late —the place stays open until 2 am — and have a stuffed baked potato, soup or salad or a dessert. One of the owners, a model, has added a sprinkling of items from her native Sweden to the menu. €€
Piazza di Pietra, 42 tel. 06.678 5804 Closed Monday.
Supperclub
It’s the imaginative décor, not the cuisine that attracts a crowd to Supperclub, which is more club than supper. It’s all about the lighting — dim to dark punctuated with neon. Several rooms are devoted to drinking, and it’s a fine place to have a cocktail. There are no tables in the dining room, just banquettes, which diners climb up on, leaving their shoes behind. It’s a lot like eating dinner in bed, or on the couch. There is no menu, although there is a wine list. A series of four courses simply arrives with your wait person, who is costumed and made-up. The night we were there the wait people all wore stuffed animals as accessories. Some of the dishes were quite good, others failed experiments. During the course of the meal we were treated to some sort of entertainment – we weren’t sure if what we saw was dance or performance art. After dinner, drinks and lounging around are encouraged, then the DJ, who has been spinning dinner music, changes gears and revs up for dancing. Not surprisingly, Supperclub has a sister establishment in Amsterdam, with another club slated to open soon in San Francisco. Theme nights and events after 11 pm. €€€
Via dei Nari 14 tel. 06.688 07207
Al Vicario
This Rome restaurant is a real find at lunch, when a big buffet is served and the prices are extremely reasonable. The setting is gorgeous, old world, with beautiful mosaic floors and stained glass windows. Just steps from the Piazza Montecitorio. Get there early before the crowds come in. Perfect for a relaxing break from shopping or museum hopping. €
Via degli Uffici del Vicario tel. 06.699 25530
In Rome Now Travel Guide: Restaurants Rome, Italy Pantheon