My wife and I will be in Rome for two nights in May. We would like to eat at the two best restaurants in Rome. I do not travel with "dress" clothes, so eliminate anyplace with a dresscode. All opinions will be appreciated. I won't go so far as to say "cost is no object" but we do not mind paying for a worthy experience.

Its hard to reply to your message. Italians dress much more nicely than americans generally. If you want to go to "the best restaurants in Rome" for example the restaurant up at the Cavallieri Hilton, you will find well dressed people there, jackets and ties, dresses and such celebrating special occasions, and it would be out of keeping not to dress similarly.
If you want recommendations for the best restaurants in Rome where casual dressing is acceptable, Im sure people will have an easier time advising.

Thank you for the info. I will limit my options to those places of casual attire.

Don't worry, most places are of casual attire, you will have a wealth of them to choose from

Checchino dal 1887 is one of the best restaurants in Rome and it specializes in typical (fifth quarter or offal) Roman cooking. Most men wear at least a jacket there, but you can wear nice slacks and a dressier shirt, especially at lunch. There are many other restaurants that could be considered one of the top two, including Agata e Romeo, Convivio and Camponeschi and again, men generally wear a jacket to dine at them. At lunch, the slacks/dress shirt may be all right. For more casual restaurants with exceptional food, consider Ditirambo, Tram Tram, Matricanella, Trattoria Monti and many inexpensive trattorie.

Hi

My wife and I went to Rome in the summer of 2005 and it is a great place to visit I have posted reviews of the places where we went to eat on my homepage http://gardkarlsen.com/eat_drink_rome_italy.htm . If you want to see the location you can check out this interactive map that I have made http://gardkarlsen.com/rome_italy_map.htm

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

to the top

'Just to summarize what a few have said: there are a number of restaurants that are very good and casual dress is accepted, but you will feel out of place at the best places if you don't have a jacket on.* Lunch may be a better option. To back up jjkbrook and with my knowledge of the apparel industry: Italian men spend more on their wardrobe, and more on formal and tailored clothing, than almost any nationality....and they wear it.

*Then again, most places that are upmarket would probably not deny you a table, but this follows the, "If they don't kick me out, I'm okay" philosophy. You have to decide on your own comfort level.

Following jjkbrook, there are many good restaurants in the casual dining realm. For these, I tend to focus on where I'd like to be that evening, i.e. where we'd liket o stroll that night. It might be good to ask your hotel for advice, as well as Fodorites.

Our Hotel is La Residenza in the center of Rome near Via Veneto. We would be interested in anything within reasonable walking distance. We walk a lot.

Here's one:
http://www.girarrostofiorentino.it/ing-index.htm
It's right on via Siciliana, which intersects with via Veneto.

Another good one in the area is Caesarina on via Piemonte.

Buon Viaggio e Buon Appetito,
BC

Thanks too everyone. I love this forum. We are also visiting Positano, Umbria, Tuscany, Bologna, Dolomites, amd Lake Como. Any great culinary stories would be appreciated.