Jennifer_Scutari

So, tell me about your favorite places you have eaten in Rome. We will be eating out lunches and dinners for 3 days. If you can suggest any great places near.....St Peters Square/Vatican, Navona, Colesseum, Catacombs. We like small "off the beaten path" places to eat that have character and usually end up being less expensive than the more "known" places. Any suggestions?!

zeppole

Save yourself the possibility of real mistakes since you have so few meals and buy a copy of David Downie's FOOD WINE ROME. He's lived on and off in Rome for most of his life (his mother is Roman), he knows the city like the back of his hand -- and best of all, he hates overpaying for a meal. He's also very sensitive to a visitor's desire to stay away from tourist restaurants and enjoy Rome as the Romans do. A lot of people will make fun of you for wanting to experience that side of Rome, but stick to your guns! You don't have to be a tourist 24/7.

Whatever recommendations you pocket, before you go to Rome, mark them on a map of Rome to take with you. It is very hard to arrange your day around heading off to a specific restaurant in the middle of sightseeing. Better to whip out your map marked with recommended restaurants and see what is near where you are standing. Likewise, be sure you know some good places to eat right near your hotel. You may be too tired in the evening to want to walk far, and it would be a shame to walk into one that was lousy when there was a better one next door to it -- but you didn't realize that because you only had recommendations for places elsewhere.

kfusto

There are many threads on this subject that can be easiy accessed using the Search function. I cut and paste into a Word document, add my own notes from past visits and other research and then take the printout with me.

Good suggestions from zeppole re map and having a place or two near your hotel on your list.

Jennifer_Scutari

Thanks, everyone! I'm going to plot some recommendations on the map and we'll eat where we end up!

amamax2

When we went to Italy several years ago, I brought along a maps and suggested places to eat, but often found that my plans never quite "fit" with it. Instead, my best advice, is to simply walk a block or two away from the main streets these "typical tourist" attractions are on, and you will often find cheaper places with delicious food. (We learned this the hard way after eating at several very expensive, very sub-par places close to St Mark's Sq in Venice.)

I remember especially a place near the Colosseum; we initially walked up and down the main block where there were literally dozens of places to eat. They all looked expensive and the menus were not very appetizing (lots had pictures of the food, etc). We ended up just walking over two blocks to a quieter area and found a cute little family run place - only had about six tables - and the food was amazing and so cheap compared to what was closer to the Colosseum.