19 Best Restaurants in Piazza di Spagna, Rome

The red-velvet chairs and marble tables of one of Rome's oldest caffès have seen the likes of Byron, Shelley, Keats, Goethe, and Casanova. Locals love basking in the more than 260 years of history held within its dark-wood walls lined with antique artwork; tourists appreciate its location amid the shopping madness of upscale Via Condotti. Drink your coffee at the counter for a much less expensive experience.

This rustic-meets-glamorous bistro attracts locals for its flawless execution of Roman classics (many served photogenically in metal cooking pans) as well as original dishes. Its bar is known among amaro connoisseurs for having the largest selection in Rome, and the bitter liquors are the stars of the expertly crafted cocktail menu.

In front of the American embassy and a favorite of the design trendoisie, Michelin-starred Moma attracts well-heeled businessmen at lunch but shifts to a more intimate affair for dinner. The kitchen turns out hits as it creates alta cucina (haute cuisine) made using Italian ingredients sourced from small producers. The menu changes seasonally but might include dishes like chamomile risotto with smoked eel, honey, and oregano or pumpkin cappelletti with amaretti, licorice, and provolone cheese. At lunch, the more casual bistro area has fresh pressed juices and made-to-order sandwiches.

This sleek wine bar and restaurant is just a short walk from the Spanish Steps, and its modern design looks the part among the fashion-forward streets. However, its unique focus is that its owners collaborate with the Regione Lazio (the state within which Rome sits) to showcase Lazio's regional products—from the cheeses to the wines to the olive oil and even bottled water—on its menu. Come for a glass of excellent Lazio wine and share a dish, if you don't want a full meal.

Located at the base of the Spanish Steps, this family-run English-style tea house has catered to the refined tea and scone cravings of travelers since 1893. The blends are carefully designed and can be brought to your homey table accompanied by a tower of tiny sandwiches, a fully loaded salad, a club sandwich, or curry. Linger over a slice of homemade cake, and ask the server about the history of the tearooms.

For good food at reasonable prices around the Trevi Fountain, this Paris-inspired brasserie—open for lunch, dinner, and everything in between—is a great bet. Although it emphasizes seafood, the extensive menu has something for everyone, from salads to pasta and entrées. For lunch, the lobster roll is a fan favorite. The full bar has an impressive list of poured or mixed drinks.

With orario continuato, or nonstop operating hours (12:30 pm--10 pm), this sleek spot in the Hotel d'Inghilterra caters to jet-setters and hotel guests. There are a few international staples on the menu (a burger and Caesar salad), but for the most part the menu focuses on local dishes and ingredients. The tempting outdoor tables are close together, but perhaps you won't mind eavesdropping on your luxurious neighbor. In the evenings, Cafè Romano transforms into a swanky lounge bar with live piano music.

At this traditionally Roman, family-owned restaurant with picturesque outdoor tables, you can dig into classic Italian fare like veal osso buco, rigatoni all'amatriciana, and tartufo. The cozy piazza, where the restaurant is located, is just a little ways off of Via del Corso.

Established in 1878, Venchi is one of Italy's premier confectioners, and you'll see the brand all over the country. At this brick-and-mortar shop, you can buy chocolate as well as gelato, made fresh daily. The nougat and caramel flavors are fabulous, and, of course, there are several chocolate variations, but the real crowd-pleaser is the fountain of melted chocolate that takes up the entire wall behind the counter. There's a second location on Via della Croce, but this branch is more impressive.

A luminous contemporary bistro with skylights illuminating white walls, this all-day eatery offers diverse delights with a healthy focus, from acai bowls, smoothies, and juices to organic pancakes, salads, sandwiches, and pasta, plus a curated wine selection. There is a nearby location on Via del Corso and another near the Pantheon.

Many people say this place—which is around the corner from the Trevi Fountain and had a cameo in the movie Eat, Pray, Love—serves the best gelato in Rome. Creative flavors like black fig, chocolate rum, Armagnac, and ginger-cinnamon all incorporate top-notch ingredients, and the shop is known for keeping its gelato hidden under metal covers to better preserve the quality. 

Excellence is at the forefront of everything at Imàgo, the Michelin-starred restaurant inside the legendary Hotel Hassler. Surrounded by a panoramic view of Rome, you can choose from one of the two tasting menus, both of which blend tradition and modernity. Each carefully and meticulously created dish can be paired with an exceptional wine from the enviable cellar, which has 1,500 labels.

With its long wooden tables, hard-back booths, and free-flowing beer, this Art Nouveau–style, circa-1906 restaurant in a 16th-century palazzo evokes a kitsch Munich beer hall. There is a full Italian menu, but hearty sausages or goulash make a nice break from pasta and tomato sauce, and this is one of the few places in the historic center where you can fill up on protein for very few euros. Be sure to put your name on the list inside when you arrive because reservations aren't accepted here.

Family-owned neighborhood staple with its quintessentially Roman wooden tables and wood-beamed ceilings, Matricianella charms with hearty Roman dishes and a biblical wine list. Try any of the Roman pasta trifecta—amatriciana, cacio e pepe, and carbonara—or other classics like crispy fried artichokes or saltimbocca alla romana (thin veal slices with prosciutto and sage).

Helmed by Colombian-Italian chef Roy Caceres, Orma boasts a modern mix of inventive gastronomy, sleek wooden interiors, and attentive service. The rotating prix fixe menus offer delicacies like egg tortelli stuffed with pig head and drizzled with roasted onion broth. Choose a five- or eight-course prix-fixe menu, or a mixture of dishes from both menus. At lunch, it offers more casual bistro fare.

On chic Via del Babuino, the former studio of neoclassical sculptor Antonio Canova and his student, Adamo Tadolini, is now an atmospheric spot for coffee, a snack, or lunch. Opt for the budget-friendly option of taking your coffee at the bar while admiring the enormous plaster copies of the maestros' work, or pay more for table service and sit amid vast sculptures. Food is run-of-the-mill, but the setting is splendid.

A favorite among international journalists and the rich and famous since 1934, this elegant Tuscan restaurant with wood-paneled walls and white tablecloths does not seem to have changed at all over the decades. Its menu is meat-focused with many Tuscan classics: try the bistecca di costa all'arrabbiata, a flavorful rib-eye steak cooked with chili and garlic.

Crowning the Sofitel Rome Villa Borghese hotel, this chic restaurant serves fancy takes on Rome's cucina povera (peasant cooking) in a chic space with graphic punches of color. The terrace offers fantastic views that stretch from Villa Borghese to the dome of St. Peter's, but the interior dining room, with its floor-to-ceiling windows and terrazzo-inspired floors, is lovely, too.

This elegant little restaurant inside the Galleria Alberto Sordi is bringing top-notch Milanese cuisine to the capital. Though there's a section of the menu dedicated to Roman pastas, we recommend sticking to Milanese classics, like the mondeghili (Milanese meatballs), risotto alla milanese, and osso buco, which comes in a hefty pan served atop risotto.