Staying next to the Vatican: any local food tips?
 

Hi there - my husband and father are travelling to Rome tomorrow for the weekend. We have rented an apartment on Via Delle Fornaci next to the Vatican and was wondering if anyone had any food/restaurant recommendations in the area? In particular, looking for a nice café for breakfast and inexpensive places for dinner (dad is on a budget!)

Many thanks in advance

We enjoyed eating at the Hosteria Pizzeria "Da Vito E Dina" It is located at 50 Via degli Scipioni. The street runs parallel to the Vatican wall near the Museums entrance. Here is a write-up from the LA Times on relatively inexpensive restaurants including this one:
http://travel.latimes.com/articles/la-tr-rome25apr25

Endlessummer, the apartment is on the south side of the Vatican behind the Janiculum hill. This neighborhood is a mix of convents, church offices and other commericial businesses. Via Delle Fornaci is a very long street and depending upon your apartment's address, you may not be that close to the Vatican. I don't know any of the restaurants that may be located there, but there are sure to be a number of bars that will serve coffee and rolls for breakfast. By "nice cafe for breakfast" are you thinking of a sit down place for an American breakfast? Those are very rare in Rome.

We ate at Taverna Angelica last summer and thought it was delicious - and unpretentious. Here are several suggestions, with details:
Restaurants:
Osteria dell’Angelo Via Giovanni Bettolo 24, tel. 063729470. 15-30.00 for a meal, credit cards accepted. Roman cuisine of the highest standard. Reservations adviced.
Taverna Angelica Piazza delle Vaschette 14a, tel. 066874514. Closed on Sunday and Monday at lunch. 30-50.00 for a meal, credit cards accepted. Small, nice restaurant. Excellent cakes.
Dante Taberna de’ Gracchi Via dei Gracchi 266/268 tel. 063213126. 15-55.00 for a meal, credit cards accepted. Traditional cuisine.

Pizzerias:
Al Ragno d’Oro Via Silla 26, tel. 063212362. Closed on Monday. 15-25.00 for a meal.
L’Insalata Ricca Piazza Risorgimento 4/5, tel. 0639730387. Approx 20.00 for a meal, credit cards accepted, also restaurant.
L’isola della Pizza Via degli Scipioni 45, tel. 0639733483. Closed on Wednesday. 10-20.00 for a meal, credit cards accepted. Around 40 varieties of pizza.

Cafés:
S. Giolitti Via Settembrini 21, tel. 063217499. Open air tables.
Faggiani Via Giuseppe Ferrari 23/25, tel. 0639739742. Excellent coffee and cakes.
Art Studio Café Via dei Gracchi 187, tel. 06972777286. Open from 8am to 1am. Bruncherie, cocktail bar, tea room, art studio.

While the list of restaurants above is great (always good to have recommendations for places near the Vatican) they are all northeast of the Basilica and some north of the Museum. They are not in the area of your apartment.

Thanks for the tips everyone - definitely going to print out and take with us. Our apartment is very close to the Vatican at the "top end" of Via Delle Fornaci (can see the colonnade) - I picked it for the peace and quiet (hopefully!). We don't mind doing the walking, just wanted some local food tips in case we end up standing in the middle of the road and not knowing which way to turn! We're happy with bread and coffee for breakfast - certainly wouldn't visit Rome for a sitdown american style breakfast so have zero expectations of doing that.

Don't limit yourselves to just eating in that area. The city is very walkable and there many restaurants that you can easily get to.