Kevin1967 looking for advice on Rome restaurants
 

My wife and 13 year old son will be leaving for Rome on Feb 20, 2009. We've taken all the great advice we received on our itineray and have come up with a great yet flexible "plan" on what to see.

We'd now love some help with dining out. All of our meals will be eaten out, so we'd like to eat well, but at a reasonable price. We'd welcome advice on one kick butt, delicious, fancy, expensive meal as a treat for the week...100-125 euros??, but for the rest of the meals, we want to eat fabulous local fare at reasonable prices. If you can get us off the beaten path and let us know of some hidden gems, that would be wonderful!

Lastly, we'd like to hear of great pastry shops, bakeries, cheese shops, deli's, wine shops, etc. We're kind of crazy foodies!

Thanks in advance! I can't wait to hear from you!

Cheers!

Kevin.

I wrote out a long detailed list which disappeared when I hit Post my reply, so now I only have time to list with no details. If interested, ask about any restaurant and I'll try to respond.
Checchino dal 1887. Expensive.
Pizzeria da Baffetto
Trattoria dar Pallaro
Santa Barbara
Augusto
Osteria da Ada e Alfredo
Osteria da Tonino
Dino and Tony's Hosteria
Cul de Sac
Buccone

Here is a big discussion about Rome restaurants.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34792415

First of all, if you're foodies, eat Roman dishes rather than generic "Italian" dishes. This will give you a start:
http://www.liveinrome.com/cuisine.htm

You can save on meals if you have a cheap lunch and a more expensive dinner or vice-versa. There are many inexpensive "pizza al taglio" take-out places, generally better at lunch. Some of the best are Forno on Campo de' Fiori and Roscioli just off Via dei Giubbionari near the Campo and Arnese on Via del Moro in Trastevere. These places do not have traditional thin-crust Roman pizza. For that, you have to go to a restaurant or pizzeria. Some restaurants only serve pizza in the evening. If you have pizza from one of the Campo places, top it off with gelato from Alberto Pica on Via della Seggiola. It makes a great artisanal gelato and is less expensive than the much more famous Giolitti or San Crispino.

What does your budget of 125 Euro for the fancy, expensive meal include? You won't get the classic Italian meal (which even most Italians are not eating any more) of antipasto, primo (pasta), secondo (main course), contorno (side dish; must be ordered separately), dolce (dessert) for three people and wine for the adults for that price in a fancy restaurant. If you only order one or two courses, you can do it. For the best, in my opinion, classic Roman cuisine in a fancy restaurant, go to Checchino dal 1887 in Testaccio. Reservations recommended for dinner, unnecessary at lunch.

Do you mean 100-125 for the three of you? If so, Checchino dal 1887 most certainly. As noted above, reservatios essential.

http://www.checchino-dal-1887.com/

We had a couple of good, not particularly traditional meals at Antico Arco recently, but they were more expensive--tasting menu was 70 Euros pp.

Detailed notes on both in my pretty meandering, not diligently edited trip report:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35177042

Do you mean 100-125 for the three of you? If so, Checchino dal 1887 most certainly. As noted above, reservations essential.

http://www.checchino-dal-1887.com/

We had a couple of good, not particularly traditional meals at Antico Arco recently, but they were more expensive--tasting menu was 70 Euros pp.

Detailed notes on both in my pretty meandering, not diligently edited trip report:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35177042

Sorry for the double post. I meant to say that I also had along list of restaurants to try this last trip, but as usual sightseeing and exhaustion sometimes got in the way. It happens!

I got the 100-125 euros based on a fancy meal price of $150-$200 Canadian dollars. Looks like we'll be spending more than that for our fancy night out...I booked Checchino dal 1887 for Thursday Feb 26 (with thanks for several people commenting favorably on this place)! With wine and tip, I think we'll be closer to 200 euros. I'm definitely having the rigatoni alla pajata, but will pass on anything testicular!

Thanks to Grinisa for the list of eateries, kybourbon for the discussions with Franco et all and Zerlinia for thenames of restaurants and the liveinrome site where I printed a hard copy of the meal translations and ingredients.

I would still like to learn more! Keep the posts coming! Thanks!

Cheers!

Kevin.

The Ghetto neighborhood is known for good restaurants with traditional Roman specialties like fried artichokes. Da Giggetto, Via Portico d'Ottavia 21, is one. We ate several times at the less expensive Il Portico nearby on Via Portico d'Ottavia 1/e

For everyone's information, Kevin1967 and his family are staying at the Crowne Plaza on Via Aurelia, way way west of Trastevere, so most suggestions probably won't be near the hotel. However, if someone has stayed at the Crowne Plaza, perhaps you an advise Kevin on the possibilities nearby.

I believe in your other thread you mentioned that you loved cheese. One of our favorite places is Obika (Piazza di Firenze - corner Via dei Prefetti) - it is actually a mozzerella bar and is fabulous!

Let me apologize to Grinisa right off the bat. You sent me a great list of places to eat, but I have no clue where they are. I have compiled a list of places to eat dinner, but have only included 2 of your suggestions. You or anyone else can correct me on my choices if they're awful. I think lunches will happen "wherever", depending on how hungry we are and where we are. Smells or decor or crowds of locals, etc may influence our choices for lunch.

Here are my dinner choices:

When doing the ancient Rome area, thinking of "Taverna da Tonino" at via Madonna dei Monti 79.

After the Vatican, Basilica, Sistine Chapel and museums, considering "Al Girarrosto Toscano" at via Germanico 58-60.

When in the area of The Spanish Steps, going to try "Gusto" at Piazzo Augusto Imperatore 9.

After roaming around Piazza Navona, I think we'd like to try "Cul de Sac" at Piazza Pasquino 73.

When in and around Trastevere, thought "Ponte Sisto" at via Ponte Sisto 80 sounded okay.

And lastly, after our trip to Ostia Antica perhaps, we'll do our dinner at the aforementioned Checchinodal 1887.

Comments?

Cheers!

Kevin.

Thanks elenem! That was probably a good thing to mention! We plan on spending a fair bit of time in the Ghetto, so thanks to Vttraveler for that sugestion. And to jgg...a mozzarella bar? How cool is that?! Thanks all!

Cheers!

Kevin.

Oops, I forgot...since ellenem has mentioned where we are staying, is there anything near us in the way of shopping for food (stores, markets, etc) or restaaurants or anything at all worth doing? My guess would be that we'll have to travel at least 4 km to get to anything. Am I incorrect?

Kevin,

Have you looked at your hotel location in a satellite view? Try it at Google Maps and you'll see that a few streets north of your hotel location it looks like a residential area--might be a 10-minute walk--in the direction of the Baldo degli Ubaldi Metro station (about 1.5 km from your hotel).

Brilliant! Going there now! Thank you.

FYI - The Crowne Plaza is on via Aurelia Antica, not via Aurelia. They are close together and perhaps merge at some point. The CP lists the closest metro stop as Cornelia.
I've never stayed at the CP, but am familiar with parts of via Aurelia. If you walk from your hotel towards Cornelia metro stop (says it's .6km so not far) you will first reach Piazza Inerio (the metro will be just a block away up the hill by McD's). Across the street from McD's you will see a parking lot. Past the parking lot is a big supermarket (it sits back off the street). Don't confuse it with the other market there which is more of an outdoor market with stalls. The supermarket is between the outdoor market and Piazza Inerio, but is a bit hidden. It's much cheaper than the groceries in the historic area.

I've been to a restaurant between Piazza Inerio and the Cornelia metro stop. It's down one of the side streets - I think on via Bartolo da Sassoferrato. I think the name is Joseph's (it started with a J) and it was still there in September although I've haven't eaten there in a few years. No one spoke English at the time so it will help if you have a bit of Italian.

I didn't make note of restaurants when I was there in September, but stayed on via Madonna dei Monti. I'll have to mappy it and see if I ate at Taverna da Tonino.

Hi Kevin-
I spent a week in Rome in March last year.
We really enjoyed Armando al Pantheon so much we ate there twice. You can make reservations via their website.

We had lunch at dal Tosacano near the Vatican and it was very good. We didn't have any of the big hunks of meat they are famous for, but they did look good on other's tables.

For gelato, I highly recommended a place called Frigidarium near Piazza Navona.

I'll be interested to hear if you like the pajata at Checchino. I had it at another restaurant and enjoyed it more than I thought I would. We never made it to Checchino, but it was on my list.

I also recommened the market in Testacchio and Volpetti deli nearby. We visited these on the way to Ostia Antica for the day. We took a picnic lunch from Volpetti with us.

If you'd like to see my trip report as well as meal details and photos (I'm a food geek), you can check it out on my website:
http://www.wired2theworld.com
Go to the Rome 03/08 report.

You don't need to apologize to me. Certainly there are a great many good restaurants in Rome, not just my recommendations. I would have had locations for you on the detailed list that disappeared into cyberspace when I tried to post it. Haven't heard of many of your choices but if you are in Trastevere around lunchtime, I would still try to get to Augusto on Piazza di Renzi. If you are in the Campo di Fiore neighborhood, Dar Pallaro is open for lunch and is a great value at 22 Euro per person, including wine and water and multiple courses. Santa Barbara on Largo di Librari off Campo di Fiore is only open for dinner. The absolute best Roman "Fish and chips" with deep fried Baccala and either french fries or fried vegetables. Da Baffeto for pizza really shouldn't be missed. It's on Via Governo Vecchio down the street from Cul de Sac. Ada e Alfredo is on Via Banchi Nuovi and it is prix fixe (about 20 Euro pp) with a set menu. Communal tables and lots of fun. Dino and Tony's is on Via Leone IV near the Vatican museums. Lots of food. Anyway, you'll have a great time wandering around and finding wonderful places to eat. For gelato, try Giolitti near the Pantheon, San Crispino near the Trevi Fountain and Old Bridge near the Vatican.

Kevin,

Just a note about the menu at Checchino. While you certainly can get pajata and other quinto quarto specialities, there are many excellent Roman dishes on the menu for those who might be squeamish (myself included).

This was one of the best meals I have ever had in Rome. If you go, definitely get their version of carciofi alla Romana. Really, everything is of high quality and presented with care.

The wine service is great too.

Also, even though we were staying in the center on this last trip, we frequently took taxis to dinner because we didn't want to limit ourselves to eating there.