Seeking restaurants in Rome

WINE TALK
1

Going there in a couple of weeks and was looking for advice on which restaurants to seek out for lunch and dinner. Suggestions welcome!

2

For starters try the Piazza Novano area, Governo Vecchio and work out from there. champagne.gif

3

Last summer we enjoyed Trattoria Monti for a great QPR dinner and Open Colanna for a great value lunch buffet. Babette also had a nice lunch spread and looked promising for dinner.

Cul de Sac was a superb wine bar near the Piazza Novano which does serve dinner (good, OK, pretty cheap) but be sure to arrive early enough to sit outside, or book ahead, as the indoor tables were cramped and uncomfortable. Wine wise, my favorite of the 5 wine bars visited in Rome, none of which were disappointing.

The culinary highlight was the 3 star thrills and views at La Pergola, which was the best restaurant I’ve ever eaten in.

Enjoy your trip!

4

Roscioli is my favourite spot by a wide margin

Enjoy!

5

I was born and grew up in Rome, but I have been away too long to have a really up to date picture of the restaurants. I go back regularly, but end rarely going to restaurants.
Last Christmas I had a dinner which I found truly excellent at the restaurant Moma in via S. Basilio 42.
Their wine list was also impressive and I enjoyed a fantastic Trebbiano d’Abbruzzo 2004 by Valentini.

By the way, I keep an updated list of suggested restaurants and cafes for friends that from here (Switzerland) go to visit Rome, but these are mostly based on advice from friends and relatives still in Rome, rather than from direct experience. PM me if you are interested.

6

+1. Terrific food (best burrata ever) and a stellar wine list. It’s a must.

7

I’ll join Martin & Jim - Roscioli was amazing - as Jim said, the Burrata was the best I’ve ever had, and the spaghetti carbonara was so rich I could fell my arteries hardening [cheers.gif] .

8

+2. One of my absolute favorite places anywhere. My only regret was that I hit Roscioli on my last day in Rome. Next time I go to Rome I’ll probably go several times.

Another vote for Cul de Sac as well.

I loved La Rosetta for impeccably fresh seafood. It’s also in a perfect location. Downsides are the seriously high tariff and somewhat odd decor.

9

I’ll add to the Roscioli chorus. We went two years ago on a recommendation Riccardo Campinoti made in response a similar question I asked. We went for dinner the second to the last night before we left Rome and made a reservation for the following night before we finished dinner.

For a perfect porchetta sandwich, stop by Aristocampo in Campo de’ Fiori. I like mine topped with spicy chicory. About 6 Euros, with a drink.

10

Piazza Navona or is there a Novana?

11

Aside from those already mentioned, Ar Galletto on Piazza Farnese is excellent.
Palatium Enoteca Regionale del Lazio (Via Frattina, very close to Piazza di Spagna) is unrivalled for a broad selection of little known local wines (somewhat unexpectedly, the food is also very, very good).
(If you go to Roscioli, and you feel like exploring wines from the region that are not often seen elsewhere in Italy, ask if they still have Damiano Ciolli’s Cesanese - quite spectacular).

12

Is the service at Roscioli as bad as some trip advisor reviews say?

13

Barry, I didn’t have any complaints, but I didn’t go for dinner (two lunches) and didn’t eat downstairs.

14

No. Ridiculous. Went twice and had impeccable service both times. Were we in the back in the “cool” part of the restaurant? No. Didn’t care. You know who gets bad service there? Tourists who act like tourists or assholes or, worse, both. I’m guessing people who write that stuff acted poorly from the get go. Is that a reason to provide less than stellar service? Perhaps not but it sure makes it harder. Go there. Be interested and polite and avail yourself of a stellar wine list and you will be treated graciously. [soap.gif]

15

Thanks. I see they do evening wine and cheese tastings, has anyone been?

16

Barry,
I ate upstairs both times for dinner. And was pleased with the service (obscure and great wine recs, customized burrata/bufala/scamorza plate). I find tripadvisor akin to Zagat as far as its reliability for experienced diners/travelers and pay zero attention to either.

Jim posted while I was typing. What he said.

17

Agree re trip advisor, consider it closer to yelp than zagat, not that I think highly of zagat.

18

thank you guys for all the suggestions. seems like roscioli is a must. I can deal with poor service, and obviously like good service as well. I admit to not being that knowledgable about italian wine, so suggestions from their wine list would be great. Would love to keep it below 50 euro, if that’s even possible, but in general just need suggestions. (My palate tends to lean on the modern side, and two of the dinner party think wine really is beer with a color additive.)

19

I like the Travestere area. There are so many smaller places here with absolutely terrific food.

20

Sometime people are disappointed by the service in Italy. Usually traditional italian service is different from the restaurants in the US. Customers do not expect to chat with their servers about various topics or being asked how their day was. It’s all about getting good food an discrete service and I can see why sometime this is mistaken with poor service.
Some other suggestions for ROme are:
Romeo
Glass Hostaria
The Osterie romane inside Eataly
Pipero al Rex (never been but it’s getting good reviews)
La Pergola for fine dining