ticalinda1969

Hello all....I am finishing planning my trip to Rome and I wanted to ask if any of you have a "list" of good restaurants that like to visit or visited in the past. I will stay with my two children ages 7 and 20 in the Chiesa Nuova square and that is near Piazza Navona in April, 2016. I will be visiting almost all the main sites and so far I alread got tickets to 5 museums. So, if you have been there maybe have experienced good food and all. I want that too! Last year I never asked any fodorites about restaurants in London and I had a really bad experience at one...and an expensive mistake too. I do not want to make the same mistake. We are looking for at least lunch and dinner places.
Thanks all of you for your help.
Viri

nytraveler

We never plan to that label except for one or two nicer places we ant to go for dinner.

For lunch we usually just go somewhere near where we are that looks nice and has lots of local eating there. BUT, the rule is do not eat in the immediate vicinity of any major tourist sights, or anyplace with a menu in 5 languages or anyplace with a tout out front

For dinners we watch for places as we wander and if we like the looks/menu of a place will make ressies for that night. We also check with the concierge of our hotel.

In all our trips to Rome we found only one place we did not like and it was right next to the Spanish steps. Breaking our rule we went there since it was pouring rain and we didn't want to walk any farther. Not cheap and not good - we didn;t even finish it.

We have liked the most a couple of family owned places we had a casual dinner - where the wine came from the vineyard of cousin Mario and the tiny strawberries from the farm of uncle Tomas.

jelopez33

Hi Ticalinda!

We will be in Rome next march, then we will proceed to Lyon, Nice and Madrid. If Possible I will report from Rome about some restaurants I have selected. Hope you will take a look and find the reports useful.

From a previous visit, I can recall Da Massi in Trastevere and JR Numbs in Campo dei Fiori, Da Massi really good, Numbs, good.

Have a nice trip!

el13207

We like Armando al Pantheon (right by the Pantheon) quite a bit but it is imperative that you get a reservation as it is small, and regularly has to turn folks away.

Kristina

That area has no shortage of wonderful restaurants and I've stayed near there several times.

Some of my favorites:
Armando al Pantheon- not inexpensive, but delicious, traditional food. For this, you'll need a reservation, but you can make it online.

Ditirambo- we enjoyed our first meal here so much, we had our last of the trip here too and it did not disappoint. Modern Roman food.

Frigidarium- for some of the best gelato around. Fabrizio, the owner has become a friend.

Mimi e Coco is a great little bar that makes delicious cocktails (have a negroni!) and also has tasty food options (including salads in case you get tired of eating a lot of meat, cheese and pizzas).

La Fiametta has delicious eggplant Parmesan and wonderful antipasti.

And those are just a few off the top of my head. All of these places are within 10 minutes walking distance of where you are staying. Frigidarium and Mimi e Coco are right around the corner on Via del Governo Vecchio. Baffetto for pizza is right there too, but they are "famous" and I'm not sure worth the wait in a very long line.

Blueeyedcod

<BUT, the rule is do not eat in the immediate vicinity of any major tourist sights, or anyplace with a menu in 5 languages or anyplace with a tout out front>

I disagree. I've had plenty of good lunches and dinners in restaurants with a 'tout' (who are perfectly pleasant people - just work in a very competitive industry and are front of house to spruik their establishment). There is one in front of the Pantheon that has great risotto. I've had some good pizza in front of Bernini's fountain in Piazza Navona. There is no place on earth like those two locations and it would be disingenuous to avoid them and avoid the chance of looking at those views while eating or having a drink.

As for the menus in a dozen languages, that doesn't mean bad food - it just means they care about customer service and don't put their staff through the laborious chore of translating dishes into other languages.

A couple of Rome places I love
Old Bear - charming street, quiet location, great food, family run
Navona Notte - wood fired pizza, buzzing location, cheap
Parm A Roma - ask for their platter of salamis and cheeses from the Emilia-Romagna region.

http://www.oldbear.it/
https://foursquare.com/v/ristorante-...64a5206f0a22e3
http://www.parmaroma.com/

ticalinda1969

Oh my... I am already hungry with just the thought of it. Thank you all so much, I will bookmark this page for future reference. I really really appreciate it. I am going to book Armando al Pantheon right now...
Thank you again,
Viri

alexandrak

We stayed in the same area and went to Roscioli which was a 5 minute walk, and it was wonderful. The carbonara was to die for.

ticalinda1969

Booked Armando al Pantheon already..YAY! that is for Monday night...I still have to fill up the rest of the week...oh Lord

ticalinda1969

Looking at Roscioli now Alex...thanks

letsgeaux

Two of my favorites near Piazza Navona are Enotecca Cul du Sac a block away and Hosteria Costanza a few blocks away, just off Campo di Fiore.

ticalinda1969

Letsgeaux....I am looking at Cul du Sac and it looks sooo good....on my list...thanks

jubilada

There are numerous very well informed threads about this on Chowhound, it is worth a look.

letsgeaux

Yes. The food is delicious and they have an encyclopedic wine list for being such a small casual place. Costanza also has very good food in historic surroundings. It is built among the ruins of the old Theatre of Pompey (Teatro de Pompeao) which is where the Roman Senate was meeting when Brutus assassinated Julius Caesar there.

Keren

Armando is a good choice, I dined there at least 4 times, that is on each one of my 4 visits to rome in 2006 and 2010 and I'm pretty sure one stay I ate there twice. I'm happy to report that on my next visit in a few weeks time (terribly short, the first one since 2010) I've reserved my place for lunchtime. Can't wait actually. And even if you plan on eating there at lunch, DO reserve in advance.

Another one I loved - again, this was in 2010 - and ate there twice, was Osteria del Pegno. I got the recommendation here on Fodors from tedgale, and I'm thankful for it. But look for newer reports. Both my meals were fantastic, it's in walking distance from Navona.

johnnyomalley

If you have an Iphone, there are a couple of good apps for restaurants in Rome.

Katie Parlas Rome http://katieparla.com/apps/

Eat Italy by Elizabeth Minchilli - Eat Italy is free but then you have to buy whatever cities you are interested in.
http://www.elizabethminchilliinrome....enice-florence

Both women are American expats who have been living/working in Italy for a number of years

bvlenci

I was not terribly impressed with Cul du Sac, although my daughter enjoyed it. The waiters pulling wine bottles out of netting right over my head made me a bit nervous, to be honest, and the food was all right, but nothing to write home about.

I agree that the caveats against restaurants with multiple languages on the menus and with touts at the door are a bit superficial. No restaurant in central Rome can afford to turn its nose up at tourists. Printing the menus in multiple languages is one way to offer service to this important segment of potential clients. Almost every restaurant in this part of Rome has a menu in at least two languages, Italian and English. As for the touts, I've ignored that rule more than once, and had a good meal. If a restaurant is having trouble filling tables, it's usually not because they have bad food; 90% of their clients are one-time visitors, even if the food is spectacular.

One thing I'm wary of the laminated menu with photos of the food. To me that screams, "Microwaved bulk-delivered meals" However, I wouldn't want to say I'd <i>never</i> eat at one of these restaurants. It's got to be better than Olive Garden in the US.

bvlenci

Another thing, I wouldn't want to lock myself into reservations every night of the week. If there's a special restaurant at which you really want to dine, then go ahead. But why go out of your way to look for restaurants that somebody else liked, and then commit yourself to dining there? Maybe one night your small child will be tired and hungry when you're half an hour away from the restaurant you reserved for that evening. Maybe you'll happen on a great little shop you want to explore, but there's a dinner reservation in 20 minutes that forces you to forego the pleasure. Maybe it will rain cats and dogs one evening and you'd just prefer to get some pizza near your hotel.

It's fine to make a list of restaurants you want to check out, but I would only reserve a few that <b> you've </b> discovered, either in a guidebook, a blog, or this forum. And if you get there and it looks too pricey, or you think the service seems too terribly slow (e.g., many tables have nothing but a basket of bread on them), or you notice that most of the diners appear a bit grumpy, just walk away.

The same goes for scheduling too many tours. Why make your vacation just as regimented as your job? Leave room for serendipity!

Blueeyedcod

One would think Armando and Roscioli are the only restaurants in Rome judging by the amount of times I see them recommended. All the ballyhoo about Roscioli - I find it's a bit like the Emperor's new clothes. Expensive, off-hand bordering on rude service and the luck of the draw with your seating for such an indulgent meal. A couple of visits there with work colleagues who insisted on going has put me off ever returning.

ticalinda1969

@ bvlenci: Good point on the reservations and you are right. My choices have been made on asking for advise. For example I didnt ask for this type of advice when I went to London last year and I ended up in a horrible situation in a restaurant, and to most part I was not impressed. I had some decent meals but I know if I asked I could probably had a better experience. When I visited Paris I had no problem. But I booked Armando al Pantheon because on that day we will be visiting the Pantheon last. I have planned everyday and all places I will visit. I did it for Paris and London and hope I can complete the whole plan for Rome as I did for the other two. I ask for advise also because I want to have options and it doesnt hurt to know where to go when -as you said it- it is raining and we are hungry. I have a list of restaurant by areas that I can potentially visit... thank you for your help