camtx

Staying 4 nights in the Piazza Di Porta Maggiore (Termini Station) area and need restaurant suggestions for dinner. First trip to Rome and would like to experience the food. Planning one "nice" dinner which can be a little more expensive, but would like reasonably priced alternatives for the most part.

sandralist

The food of Rome has a couple of aspects, only one of which is very expensive.

1) There is the local neighborhood joint which serves something close to the typical, delicious food your Roman mother would make for you -- and it is not pricey. There are plenty of places around Termini and in the neighboring Monti district. Check blogs like Elizabeth Minchelli to get an idea of where to go.

2) There is Roman pizza. It is different from American pizza and different from the pizza of Naples but it is what Romans love to eat for dinner, especially if they ate a big lunch. Check it out.

3) There is Roman Jewish food and it is delicious and has a long history. It is also cheap. Lots of it is fried. You need to go to the Jewish neighborhoods around Campo de' Fiori to get it, but that is easy. Check blogs like Michilli or Parla food for recommendations of where to go. (Just be sure to go to a down-home Jewish place not some of the fancy-schmancy places that have crept in).

4) Don't neglect lunch. If you want to experience the food of Rome then make some time in your sightseeing day to have a nice hot lunch. Don't settle for stale sandwiches. Romans don't eat an expensive lunch but they do sit down and enjoy some hot food and wine.

5) There are fancy restaurants in Rome serving the kind of food that Romans think makes for a great birthday dinner or anniversary dinner. It is special and has extra-special features -- like truffles or creative presentation or imported ingredients. You can check Chowhound for places like that or a website like Maureen B. Fant or Katie Parla.

If you would like to experience the food of Rome, don't neglect lunch and also learn about street foods like pizza al taglio, suppli, and gelato. Also don't be afraid to eat some of your food straight out of the fresh food vendors and markets. Romans eat seasonally, so notice what it is in the markets and order in restaurants accordingly. But also buy a few things from the market even if you are staying in a hotel. You can ask for 3 figs, or 1 yellow pepper. Try some fresh fruit in season, some chestnuts, some bakery goods, some slices of cheese (make a b-line for Beppe e il suoi Formaggio near Campo de' Fiori). Drink wine with your meals.

cmeyer54

Great dinners at La Fortunato near the Pantheon for an upscale dinner, Tempo Bacco just off Via Veneto, Tempo Perso near piazza poppolo, Ristorante Toscano which is in the basement of a nondescript building off via veneto and near Villa Borghese, La Buschetta on La Sardenge(?), Pizza at San Marco and Pommodorino (which also does take out); good lunches at Angeli Borgo near St Peter's, Pizzeria Luzzi near the Colosseum and Marios near the Colosseum which also has excellent dinners.

BEWARE of Babington Tea House near the spanish steps. We wanted a short break before the Christmas Walk/tour and the prices were ridiculous with poor service....as in 29e for two cups of tea, one latte and a bottle of water - no food, no snacks. the tea was 12e!!

yorkshire

My dream Rome trip got squashed by last fall's US government shutdown, but I had downloaded these two apps by two food bloggers in Italy:
http://www.katieparla.com/
http://www.elizabethminchilliinrome....nice-florence/
Other resources I bookmarked:
http://theromedigest.com/
http://foodloversodyssey.typepad.com...m-in-rome.html
enjoy!

sarge56

My favorite food in Rome is near the Trevi Fountain. Lunch or dinner, both excellent. Il Chianti: http://www.vineriailchianti.com/

denisea

For the splurge- I would choose Glass in Trastavere. We also loved La Gensola.

Leely2

Hard to make recommendations without an idea of what you consider "reasonable" or a splurge.

I was in Rome again this summer and was delighted by the food at Sorpasso, a wine bar behndthe Vatican. LOVED my lunch at L'Arcangelo. Really enjoyed Cesare al Casaletto, but it is way out there and if you have a short stay and are not a committed food-obsessed person, I wouldn't necessarily make the trek. For upscale and modern, I always love Antico Arco (great wines, too).

el13207

I second both the Katie Parla and Elizabeth Minchilli websites and apps. We enjoyed Armando al Pantheon (near the Pantheon) last year- reservations a must. Very reasonably priced but delicious food. And lovely to see the Pantheon lit up at night.

letsgeaux

We were in Rome for Easter weekend. Two of our favorites were Hostaria Costanza and Enoteca Cul de Sac. Costanza is right off Campo de Fiore. The food is very good and the building is built in the ruins of the old Teatro de Pompeo which is where the Roman Senate was meeting when Brutus stabbed Julius Caesar there on the Ides of March 44 B.C. Cul de Sac is a wine bar one block from Piazza Navona with an encyclopedic list of Italian wines by the glass and bottle. The food is also very good. Cul de Sac is very casual and has a few sidewalk tables. Costanza is a little more upscale. Both get crowded during peak hours.

Pepper_von_snoot

I really, really like Trattoria Monti on Via San Vito near Santa Maria Maggiore.

If you see onion flan on the menu ORDER IT!

I also like Buca di Ripetta and Matricianella.

Da Armando del Pantheon gets rave reviews here.

The garden cafe at the Hotel de Russie is something out of a movie, if you want something out of the ordinary.

La Pergola at the Cavaliere Hilton is considered the best restaurant in Rome.


HinT

maitaitom

"Two of our favorites were Hostaria Costanza and Enoteca Cul de Sac."

Same for us. If you go to Hostaria Costanza try the Zabaione!

WWK

Another vote for ARMANDO DEL PANTHEON. It's a small trattoria run by two brothers, full of Italian families and politicians. Food is excellent and reasonably priced.

cruiseluv

Heading to Rome in a week, appreciate these suggestions!

LouisaH

Glad to hear Cul de Sac is still good, which would be expected for a place that's been around this long, but you never know. I will be back in Rome next year and already looking forward to it.

amenadeo

I second the suggestion to take a look at Katie Parla's blog. www.parlafood.com. Even if you don't download the app, it will provide invaluable information. Have been two Rome 4 times over the past 6 months and here are some places I'd recommend:

Vatican side of town
-Pizzarium (near the Vatican Museums) for the most incredible pizza al taglio
-Caffeteria dei Gracchi (inexpensive lunch, and close to Gelateria dei Gracchi)
-Zi Gaetana, on Cola di Rienzo, a bit more expensive than Caffeteria, but delivered good food and service when I was starving.

My secret, though not for a meal, is Dolce Maniera - a bakery on Via Barletta, a few steps from the Ottaviano metro. Open 24/7, usually packed but the service is incredibly fast (no real space to stand inside, much less to sit down.) You might miss it because it's underground but the smell should be enough. Delicious pastries (cornetti- plain, with cream, with Nutella-, ciambelle, you name it) and INCREDIBLY cheap. Fed 5 people for less than 4 euro.

On the other side of the river:
-Roscioli (the restaurant, near Campo de' Fiori, not the forno): though more on the expensive side, their burrata with semi-sundried tomatoes still makes me weep once in a while. That was our starter. We went for lunch. My primo was the amatriciana (with pig cheeks, delicious). Following Katie's recommendation, no secondo. I'd say a reservation is almost a must.
-Some friends have tried and liked: La Fiaschetta and Hostaria Romana.

In Testaccio:
-Trapizzino for incredible, authentic Roman snacks.
-Da Bucatino also served a delicious, inexpensive lunch and we were the only tourists in the restaurant. (Locals were arriving by taxi, even.)
-Volpetti is also in the neighborhood. A food store (think cheeses, olives, etc.) with a restaurant next door.
-Also, if you're around for breakfast, Barberini serves homemade cornetti, not the pre-made kind you'd find at most places.

Best kept 'secret' near Piazza di Spagna aka Spanish Steps: a place with a sign that says Pastificio. Serves a 4 euro pasta/wine lunch on weekdays. Read more here: http://www.spottedbylocals.com/rome/pastificio/

If you are feeling a bit adventurous, you could go to Pigneto where there are zero tourist attractions but plenty of porchetta at I Porchettoni. I had some porchetta, cacio e pepe pasta, burrata and 1/4l of wine for less 15 euro or so. -- Otherwise, heard good things about Er Buchetto, very close to Termini.

Also, close to Termini:
-Pizzeria "Il Pinsere", where the focus is...pinsere. (Walk 12 minutes and you can have gelato at Come il Latte.)

I could mention more gelaterie, but I'd just be repeating Katie Parla's recommendations, so check her out.

camtx

Thanks for all the great suggestions. Some I can use for our lunch breaks during our tour. Can't wait!

sandralist

I've never been in Trapizzino in Testaccio and don't know what all they serve, but one of the most talked about aspects of the namesake "trapizzino" sandwich is precisely that it is new to Rome, of very recent vintage. (Two years?) If I am not mistaken, it partly takes its inspiration from a Fiorentini sandwich, but filled with Roman tastes, and to no small extent it was created with the idea that Rome needed something more than the traditional when it came to street food. (Or so the marketing went.) Simply because it was created in Rome only recently doesn't make it any less authentically a Roman snack (I don't know where its inventor is from, and very well could be native Roman). But if you like stories about food, then this is a different one from what one usually hears characterizes as "authentic".

nola77382

Thirding the suggestion for Amando Al Pantheon. We went for dinner in May 2014 and it was great. We reserved a couple of days beforehand.

We bought Elizabeth's Mincilli's Eat Venice app and it was helpful in Venice. Had we been staying longer in Rome, we would have bought the Rome version too.

One of the most helpful apps during our trip was the Italian Menu Decoder Mangia app. We used it practically every meal.

sandralist

It occurs to me to add the wikipedia entry for Fettucine Alfredo -- which was another authentic Roman invention that became a tourist favorite which now tourists sneer at as "inauthentic" and something they would NEVER eat. But it is no more or less authentic than a "trapizzino"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fettuccine_Alfredo

Seriously -- it you asked on the internet where you could get Fettucine Alfredo in Rome you'd be hooted at. If you slavishly follow the blogosphere and eat at trendy Roman eateries promoted by expats in the blogosphere that serve inventions and imported foods you pass for "adventurous." But it's all on youtube.

amenadeo

Thank you for the correction, sandralist! I was initially thinking of the filling, but I appreciate you setting the record straight - about both the trapizzini and fettucine alfredo