A traditional restaurant by the Colosseum, Ai Tre Scalini is old-school Roman with touches of the Sicilian. Some dishes don't appear as described on the menu: eggplant "flan" arrived as parmigiana, and newborn-fish fritters were dry, baked, briny balls. But seating outside in warm weather is pleasant, and some dishes highlight the chef's playfulness, like the unusual radicchio and cheese-stuffed zagnolotti (small ravioli) in a lobster sauce. A wide variety of second courses, from gilthead bream topped with paper-thin potato rounds, to simple beef with rosemary, are indeed what they seem, served by waiters who have clearly been around for quite some time.
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