Roman cuisine is a reflection of the city itself — layered, deeply rooted in tradition, and full of contrasts. After years of eating my way through Rome, I’ve found the best meals are shaped as much by history as the hands that prepare them. Family-run
trattorias have served the city’s defining dishes for generations: cacio e pepe, carbonara, roasted lamb, and offal-based specialties, many of which trace their origins to Rome’s historic slaughterhouse economy. While these places remain essential, a wave of neo-trattorias constantly reinterprets the classics, and the broader dining scene continues to shift too. The influence of Rome’s immigrant communities and cuisines, from Ethiopian to Venezuelan, is stronger than ever.
Rome in February and March can feel like a damp intermission which pivots quickly toward spring. One day you’re ducking into bars to escape the downpour and the next you’re scanning patios for a table in the sun. If recent years are any indication, high season now revs up well before Holy Week, and by late March the city is already moving at full tilt. This is the narrow stretch to lean into artichokes simmered with the first peas, favas, and lettuce into vignarola, Rome’s definitive spring stew. Blink and you’ll miss it.
Eating and drinking well in Rome isn’t just about knowing where to go; it’s about knowing how to navigate the city’s idiosyncratic dining culture. Travelers often book tables months in advance, making last-minute reservations tough. While online booking is becoming more common, many places still rely on the phone, and it’s best to call at the very start or very end of service, when the staff actually has time to pick up. Plan ahead — but leave some room for spontaneity too.
We update this list regularly to make sure it reflects the ever-changing dining scene in Rome. Our write-ups include insider tips from our experienced writers and editors, as well as a rough range of pricing for each destination — ranging from $ for quick, inexpensive meals with dishes largely under $10 (or the equivalent in euros), to $$$$ for places where entrees exceed $30.
New to the map in October 2026: In San Giovanni, Beppe e I Suoi Formaggi has moved beyond its former Ghetto shop, with a larger space where Beppe Giovale’s selection of Italian and French cheeses shares the table with dishes like tajarin with alpine butter. Near the Pyramid of Gaius Cestius, third-generation family-run Taverna Cestia serves Roman classics, seafood, and wood-fired pizza alongside a thoughtful wine list. In Prati-adjacent Della Vittoria, Vetro pairs natural wines with small plates that borrow freely from Roman and wider European traditions, making it as appealing for dinner as for a drink.
Katie Parla is a Rome-based food and beverage journalist, culinary guide, and New York Times best-selling cookbook author. Her latest cookbook, Rome, is available now.
Vetro
Viale Carso 17, 00195 Roma Rome, Italy
+39 06 6931 7804
Open for: Evenings
Price range: $$
Vetro’s sidewalk crowd can look like the cigarette-rolling Olympics, with drinkers claiming improvised seats and lingering over glasses of wine and beer. Inside, high-tops and tables offer a more settled way to explore a menu whose ingredients often speak Roman, while its sensibility ranges across Europe. Gildas and eggs with mayonnaise join tongue with sweet potatoes and piquillo peppers, while baccalà mantecato goes by brandade and comes with marinated zucchini and isot pepper. Order a few snacks and small plates, and suddenly staying for dinner becomes an appealing proposition. Set in a former alimentari on Viale Carso, the bar pairs its neighborhood hangout atmosphere with a thoughtful natural wine selection spanning Italy, Spain, and southern France, including wines served sfuso (on tap).
Vibe check: Stay outside for the people-watching; claim a table inside to work your way through the food menu.
Orma Roma
Via Boncompagni, 31/33, 00187 Roma RM, Italy
06 854 3182
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$$
Colombian chef Roy Caceres is a veteran of Roman fine dining. His landmark, Michelin-starred restaurant, Metamorfosi, didn’t survive the pandemic, but his signature dishes have found a place at Orma (an anagram of Roma) just a few blocks southeast of the Galleria Borghese. Orma is home to a number of distinct concepts: The bistrot is a power-lunch spot set on a shaded terrace, the cocktail bar specializes in tropical fruit- and herb-forward drinks, and the restaurant offers tasting menus and a la carte dishes that blend Caceres’s Colombian heritage with Italian flavors and ingredients. Fans of the chef’s Uovo 65° Carbonara (a soft-cooked egg floating in Parmigiano-Reggiano foam, served with a side of puffed pasta and tender strips of guanciale) will find it in the bistrot, while the restaurant serves his renowned lacquered eel with pickled onions.
Best for: The business lunch is a great deal for anyone into fine dining but not keen to linger.
Colline Emiliane
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Via degli Avignonesi 22, 00187 Roma Lazio
06 481 7538
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$
A short walk from the Trevi Fountain, this friendly trattoria has been serving satisfying dishes from Emilia-Romagna, a region in northeastern Italy, since 1931; the current owners took the helm in 1967. The menu is rich in egg-based house-made pastas like tortelli di zucca (pumpkin pasta with butter and sage) and tagliatelle alla bolognese (long strands of fresh, egg-based pasta dressed with a rich meat sauce). Save room for meaty mains including bollito misto (assorted simmered meats) and fried liver.
Must-try dishes: Tortellini in brodo and the bollito misto.
Armando al Pantheon
Salita dè Crescenzi 31, 00186 Roma Lazio
06 6880 3034
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$
Just 100 feet from Rome’s most intact ancient monument, Armando al Pantheon champions local food traditions. For more than five decades, the Gargioli family has been dutifully producing Roman classics like fettuccine con le rigaglie di pollo (fettuccine with chicken innards) and coda alla vaccinara (oxtail braised in tomato and celery). Among the seasonal side dishes, look for puntarelle (Catalonian chicory) with anchovy sauce and carciofi alla romana (simmered artichokes) in the cooler months. Save room for the torta antica Roma, a ricotta and strawberry jam pie. The lovingly curated wine list gets better every year.
Know before you go: Book online exactly one month ahead to secure a spot — it fills up fast.
Moriondo e Gariglio
Via Del Piè Di Marmo 21, 00186 Roma Rome, Italy
3906 699 0856
Open for: All day
Price range: $$$
Moriondo e Gariglio is a time capsule with a cocoa perfume. Founded in Turin by cousins Agostino Moriondo and Francesco Gariglio, former chocolatiers to the Savoy royal household, the chocolate shop followed the court to Rome in the late 19th century and eventually settled on Via del Piè di Marmo, a couple of minutes from the Pantheon. Glass counters hold more than 80 chocolates and bonbons, all made by hand. In autumn, locals stock up on the shop’s cult marrons glacés, sold whole or blended into a paste, while spring brings elaborately engineered Easter eggs with surprises hidden inside. A small box is an easy souvenir. A kilo feels like joining a noble Roman ritual.
Know before you go: Chocolate production winds down in the warm months, which see the arrival of pâte de fruits in their place.
Cesare Al Pellegrino
Via del Pellegrino 117, 00186 Roma Lazio
06 6880 1978
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$
After Settimio al Pellegrino, a cult favorite featured on Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown, shuttered in 2022, Leonardo Vignoli and Maria Pia Cicconi (of Cesare al Casaletto fame) resurrected the restaurant. They’ve retained the institution’s signature tiled floors, midcentury furniture, and infamous doorbell required for customers to gain access. The trattoria near Campo dei Fiori serves a succinct menu, including minestra con broccoli e arzilla (romanesco and skate soup) and former chef-owner Teresa Zazza’s legendary pan-fried meatballs.
Best for: A dinner (or weekend lunch) when you’re ready to drink from the incredibly affordable wine list.
Hosteria Grappolo d’Oro
Piazza della Cancelleria 80, 00186 Roma Lazio
06 689 7080
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$
If Roman restaurants have become known for brusque, no-nonsense service, Hosteria Grappolo d’Oro did not get the message. Affable servers circulate through the dining rooms beneath exposed wooden beams, delivering pure versions of cucina romana classics like toothsome tonnarelli cacio e pepe and tender roasted suckling lamb.
Best for: The 36 euro, four-course Roman tasting menu is one of Rome’s best deals.
Forno Campo de’ Fiori
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22 Campo de' Fiori, Lazio, 00186
06 6880 6662
Open for: All dayPrice range: $In the southwest corner of one of Rome’s most touristy squares, Forno Campo de’ Fiori bakes sweet and savory Roman specialties like jam tarts and flatbreads. Look for pizza alla pala (long slabs baked directly in a deep electric deck oven), which is sold in slices by weight; the unctuous toppings and crispy bases make a surprisingly balanced pair. An annex across the alley on Vicolo del Gallo stays open during the main bakery’s afternoon break, from 2:30 to 4:45 p.m.
Must-try dish: The pizza con mortadella is one of the best bites in town.
Mazzo
62 Via degli Equi, 00185 Roma Lazio
06 6942 0455
Open for: Dinner
Price range: $$$
Culinary power couple Francesca Barreca and Marco Baccannelli reopened their landmark restaurant Mazzo after a five year hiatus, and this time around, a relatively central location in San Lorenzo makes it considerably more accessible to many residents. The dining room has also grown from a single 12-seat communal table to full-fledged restaurant seating complete with a massive porthole peering into the brightly lit kitchen. Just like the original, the new Mazzo plays with nostalgic forms in dishes like wagon wheel pasta with braised beef and onions, which joins Barreca and Baccannelli’s classics like fried tripe with grated pecorino Romano in a pool of tomato sauce, a retooling of Rome’s signature offal dish, trippa alla romana.
Must-try dishes: The fried tripe, and the wagon wheels with an oniony braised beef sauce.
Trattoria Monti
Via di San Vito 13, 00185 Roma Lazio
06 446 6573
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$
The Camerucci family’s well-loved trattoria is not actually in Monti, but rather the adjacent multicultural Esquilino district near Stazione Termini. The cuisine is heavily Marchigiano — from the Italian region of Le Marche — so expect lots of game like braised rabbit and roasted duck, meat-filled fried olives, and fresh pasta like the legendary raviolo filled with a runny egg yolk and dressed with butter and sage.
Must-try dish: The runny-yolk raviolo is not to be missed.
Salumeria Roscioli
Via dei Giubbonari 21, 00186 Roma Roma
06 687 5287
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$$
Founded in the Historic Center in 2004 by Rome’s premier baking family, Salumeria Roscioli does triple duty as a deli, wine bar, and restaurant. Though the menu is extensive, the real stars are the cheeses (burrata with semi-dried tomatoes is spectacular), cured meats (Culaccia and mortadella with Parmigiano-Reggiano are both stellar), and pasta classics (get the gricia, cacio e pepe, amatriciana, or carbonara). If you dine at lunch or on the early side at dinner, the bread basket will include warm bread from nearby Antico Forno Roscioli. The wine list is wide-ranging, and don’t miss the distilled spirits before closing out the meal.
Vibe check: Request a table upstairs or outside to avoid getting seated in the basement.
Boccione – Il Forno del Ghetto
Via del Portico d'Ottavia 1 (Piazza Costaguti), 00186 Roma Lazio
06 687 8637
Open for: All day
Price range: $
For two centuries, Rome’s Jewish community was confined to a walled ghetto along the Tiber River. The squalid buildings are long gone, but a historic ghetto-era bakery survives on what has become the transformed neighborhood’s main thoroughfare. The pizza ebraica — a sort of fruit cake studded with nuts, raisins, and candied fruits — is an easy specialty to eat on the go, but it’s worth seeking out a bench to get messy with a slice of ricotta and sour cherry tart. Also try the amaretti and biscotti made with heaps of cinnamon and a generous smattering of whole almonds.
Must-try dish: The ricotta and sour-cherry tart — grab it before it sells out.
Mrgda
Via Prenestina 182, 00176 Roma Rome, Italy
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$
Via Prenestina has been a hub for Ethiopian and Eritrean community and cuisine in Rome for decades, and Mrgda, situated on this wide avenue at the edge of Pigneto, is a standout example. Partake of the free-flowing tej, a heady, honey-fermented wine that pairs perfectly with dishes like richly spiced legumes, aromatic vegetables, tender braised chicken, and deeply seasoned raw beef. Each bite is scooped up with Mrgda’s ethereal, naturally leavened injera, which has a balanced tang.
Know before you go: There is a vegan restaurant from the same owners, Mrgda Vegano, just a few blocks away.
Ma Che Siete Venuti A Fà
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Via Benedetta 25, 00153 Roma Lazio
06 6456 2046
Open for: All day
Price range: $
Routinely named among the best places to drink in Europe, this long-established craft beer pub in Trastevere pours around a dozen draft beers from Italy, the U.S., Belgium, Germany, and the U.K., in addition to a small but well-curated assortment of bottles. The staff is passionate and knowledgeable, and can guide you to the right choice for your palate. It’s worth waiting for the few tables on the street outside, set up during the pandemic, which offer a front row seat to Trastevere’s lively nightlife.
Best for: Drinking vintage sour beers from Italy and beyond, 365 days a year (it’s even open on holidays).
L’Elementare
Via Benedetta 23, 00153 Roma Rome, Italy
+39 06 589 4016
Open for: Dinner, with lunch Wednesday to Sunday
Price range: $$
L’Elementare has multiple locations around Rome, but the Trastevere outpost is the one that stands out service-wise. The focus is Roman pizza tonda: thin, nearly rimless, crisp and chewy at the edges. It’s baked longer than a Neapolitan pie, lending structural integrity that prevents slices from collapsing under disappointing tip sag. Start with molten supplì ar telefono, fried bricks of lasagna, and fried parcels of tonnarelli cacio e pepe.
Know before you go: There are several locations, so double check you are booking the Trastevere address, and be warned that although they post all day hours Wednesday to Sunday, the kitchen actually does close from 3:30ish to around 6:45.
Trapizzino
46 Piazza Trilussa, Lazio 00153
06 581 7312
Open for: Lunch to late night
Price range: $
Trapizzino is a small street food chain with locations throughout Italy (and an outpost in New York). The concept is based on the trapizzino, a combination of the popular triangular tramezzino sandwich with long, slowly leavened pizza dough, invented by pizzaiolo Stefano Callegari in 2008. Callegari fills his tricornered creations with Roman classics like oxtail simmered with tomato and celery, chicken cacciatore, and tripe cooked with tomato, each going for just 5 euros.
Know before you go: Visit the Trastevere branch for table service and a full bar with Lazio wines.
Jerry Thomas Bar Room
Via del Moro, 10, 00153 Roma RM, Italy
340 733 2980
Open for: Evening to late night
Price range: $$$
The cool, windowless inner sanctum at number 10 on Via del Moro in Trastevere only has a handful of tables lining two walls, and they fill up quickly with 90-minute reservation slots beginning at 6 p.m. The interior design evokes the Orient Express with wooden accents and overhead racks above the seating, and the bartenders’ wardrobe and glassware are a throwback to the last century too. The menu of bottled classic cocktails, Champagne, and non-alcoholic drinks provides an oasis of refinement in the heart of Rome’s rowdy nightlife district.
Know before you go: Reservations are essential — book online for this hidden cocktail bar experience.
Latteria Trastevere
1 Vicolo della Scala, Lazio, 00153
06 5833 2008
Open for: Dinner to late night
Price range: $$
Latteria Trastevere is a wine bar and bistro in Rome’s nightlife epicenter focused on natural vino, cheeses, and cured meats culled from tiny, sought-after producers across Italy. There are some hot dishes too, and Sardinian owner Antonio Cossu brings in island specialties like sa fregola (pearl couscous) with crab and bottles from Barbagia, one of Sardinia’s most delicious wine regions. As a bonus, Latteria is open nearly every day of the year.
Must-try pairing: The Sardinian prosciutto and wines from small producers from the Barbagia.
Sora Lella
Via di Ponte Quattro Capi 16 (Isola Tiberina), 00186 Roma Lazio
06 686 1601
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$
Few restaurants in Rome are as deeply tied to the city’s culinary identity as Sora Lella. Founded in 1959 by Elena Fabrizi — actor, cook, and icon — this trattoria in a medieval tower on the Tiber Island has long been a standard bearer for the hearty cucina romana. While there was a period when the restaurant seemed to coast on its reputation, the third generation has brought it back to top form. Today, Sora Lella is once again a satisfying place to experience traditional Roman dishes executed with care. The wine list leans local, highlighting Lazio’s underappreciated labels. With its rustic wood-paneled dining rooms and medieval tower setting, Sora Lella is a nostalgic but enduring pillar of Roman dining.
Must-try dish: Go in spring for the coratella d’abbacchio (sauteed sucking lamb offal) with artichokes, or try the coda alla vaccinara (oxtail stewed in a rich tomato and celery sauce).
L’Antidoto
Vicolo del Bologna, 19, 00153 Roma RM, Italy
Open for: Dinner only
Price range: $$$
L’Antidoto sits on a cobbled Trastevere side street, far from the crowds queuing outside tourist-packed trattorie. What started as a simple natural wine bar in 2020 has evolved into one of the most compelling dining experiences in the city with the arrival of chef Mirko Pelosi in 2024. Pelosi’s training in France, Norway, and Scotland gives him a worldly sensibility, which he puts to work aging fish, fermenting vegetables, and sourcing spices from across continents. Each dish is rooted in ingredients, driven by technique, and free from ego. The menu changes constantly, but expect dishes like mahi mahi confit, chard, tendons, and grapes. In a Roman dining landscape crowded with derivative plates and copycat concepts, Pelosi’s food is a revelation.
Know before you go: Two hungry people definitely can — and should — order everything on the menu.
Tempio di Iside
Via Pietro Verri 11, 00184 Roma Lazio
06 700 4741
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$$
A short walk from the Colosseum, Tempio di Iside is an elegant fish restaurant known for its crudi (raw dishes) like fish carpaccio, sea urchin roe, langoustines, and oysters. The pasta with sweet red shrimp, cherry tomatoes, and fresh pecorino is excellent (and proof there are valid exceptions to the “no cheese with seafood” rule), as are the spaghetti with clams, whole roasted fish, and pasta with spiny lobster. Book ahead, especially to secure an outdoor table for dinner in the summer, and expect to pay a premium for access to some of the freshest fish around.
Know before you go: Book ahead for a coveted outdoor table in summer.
Menabò Vino e Cucina
Via delle Palme 44 D, 00171 Roma Lazio
06 8693 7299
Open for: Dinner
Price range: $$$
Located in the sprawling Centocelle district in eastern Rome, Menabò Vino e Cucina offers a veritable tour of Italian regional comfort food. Rigatoni is served with oniony braised beef in the style of Naples, while pasta with chickpeas and mussels evoke the coastal south. Meanwhile, unctuous local classics like pasta alla gricia get punched up with fresh, seasonal twists such as grapes or figs. As the name promises, wine shares the stage with the kitchen’s creations, and the list is populated primarily by naturally and traditionally made wines.
Know before you go: The menu is always changing and the wine list is consistently outstanding.
Forme Dispensa a Ripa
71 Via di San Francesco a Ripa, Lazio 00153
06 5196 4524
Open for: All day
Price range: $$
After a career working in Roman gourmet temples like Salumeria Roscioli, Pasquale Borriello struck out on his own in 2022. His small shop in Trastevere near the church of San Francesco a Ripa has a few high-top tables where you can sip natural wine or craft beer alongside Italy’s greatest cheeses. All the big names are on the menu — Parmigiano-Reggiano, gorgonzola, and mozzarella di bufala among them — but Borriello favors the smallest and most artisanal producers of these famous styles. In addition to formaggio, Forme sells cured meats, sandwiches, and pantry items like jars of obscure marinated vegetables.
Best for: Sit at a high-top table and try blue cheese from celebrated affineur Andrea Magi.
Otaleg
70 Viale dei Quattro Venti, Lazio 00152
338 651 5450
Open for: All day
Price range: $
Marco Radicioni trained with Rome’s gelato maestro Claudio Torcè, embracing his sensibility of all-natural flavors, meticulous sourcing, and restrained sweetness. Since launching his own gelateria, Radicioni has grown into a maestro in his own right, churning some of the most exquisite gelato in Italy. His newest location in Monteverde Vecchio serves more than just Otaleg’s rich and creamy gelato made from the world’s best pistachios and chocolates. There are specialty coffee and artisanal pastries, too, which have transformed Otaleg into a point of reference for third-wave coffee drinkers.
Know before you go: Try the Monteverde location for gelato and coffee; Trastevere for pure gelato bliss.
Ruver Teglia Frazionata
Viale Aventino 46, 00153 Roma Rome, Italy
39327 073 7999
Open for: All day
Price range: $
A few minutes from the Circo Massimo, Pizzarium alum and Bonci protégé Alessandro Ruver runs a tiny laboratorio where pizza in teglia gets the kind of focus usually reserved for restaurant menus. The daily lineup of trays features long-fermented dough that bakes up light, crisp, and audibly crunchy. Pizzas get named with a sense of humor, and topped with ingredients from small farms in central Italy. The Ragùver is loaded with slow-cooked meat sauce and Parmigiano-Reggiano, reminiscent of Sunday sauce.
Know before you go: Like most Roman slice joints, you eat standing at a few outdoor high tops, so don’t wear yourself out too much wandering the nearby Colosseum and Forum before stopping by.
Santo Palato
Via Gallia 28, 00183, Roma, Italy
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$
Santo Palato is chef Sarah Cicolini’s neotrattoria in Rome’s Appio Latino district, a residential area just beyond the city walls near San Giovanni in Laterano. When it first opened in 2017, the trattoria quickly became a pilgrimage spot for those craving a bold, updated take on Roman cooking. The new, larger location, which opened in the spring, stays true to that original spirit, serving deeply satisfying dishes like tender trippa, an ethereal chicken gizzard frittata, and the yolkiest carbonara around. With a bigger kitchen, Cicolini now has the space to turn out fresh pasta and a wider range of braised, grilled, and smoked meats. Diners can watch it all unfold through large windows that separate the kitchen from the dining room, bringing the action right into view.
Know before you go: The communal table near the entrance is available for walk-ins. Book well in advance if you’d rather sit anywhere else.
Beppe e I Suoi Formaggi
Via Gallia, 22, 00183 Roma RM, Italy
+39 06 6927 6115
Open for: All day
Price range: $$
After nearly two decades in Rome’s historic Ghetto, cheesemaker Beppe Giovale closed his original shop at the end of 2025 and resurfaced in San Giovanni with a brighter, roomier version. The Via Gallia location still revolves around a refrigerated counter filled with more than 100 mostly raw-milk cheeses, including selections from Giovale’s family dairy in Piedmont and small producers throughout Italy and France. But there is now a real kitchen and around 20 seats, allowing the menu to venture beyond cheese and butter tastings into dishes like tajarin with alpine butter and tongue with bell peppers and salsa verde. For shopping only, Giovale maintains a small stall at boxes 227 and 228 in the Mercato Trionfale; the Ghetto location has closed.
Must-try dishes: A selection of cheeses made by Beppe and his family, accompanied by the smoked salted butter.
Piatto Romano
Via Giovanni Battista Bodoni 62, 00153 Roma Lazio
06 6401 4447
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$
Located in Testaccio, Rome’s undisputed offal capital, Piatto Romano focuses on classics like rigatoni con la pajata (pasta with milk-fed veal intestines cooked in tomato sauce) and fettuccine con le rigaglie di pollo (fettuccine with chicken innards). There are plenty of pescatarian options as well, like the outstanding cod baked with onions, pine nuts, apricots, and prunes, and pan-fried anchovies spiked with vinegar and chile pepper, and the vegetable dishes are incredible.
Must-try dishes: Vegetable sides like the braised zucchini greens and foraged greens salad are showstoppers.
Mercato Testaccio
Via Beniamino Franklin, Lazio, 00118
06 8308 6479
Open for: Breakfast, lunch, and some Friday evenings
Price range: $
The Testaccio neighborhood market is the best place in central Rome to shop for seasonal produce, meat, fish, and baked goods all in one place. Get there in the morning to see it in full swing (it’s open Monday through Saturday until 2 p.m. and occasional evenings). Visit Da Artenio (Box 90) for takeaway pizza slices and pizzette, little pizzas topped with tomato sauce, potatoes, or onions. Don’t miss the essential Mordi e Vai (Box 15), where the Esposito family prepares sandwiches filled with offal and meat based on generations-old recipes, including disappearing historic dishes like alesso di scottona (simmered brisket). Nearby Da Corrado (Box 18) sells natural wines, artisan cheeses, and a handful of hot dishes — including incredible soups — while Casa Manco (Box 22) serves naturally leavened pizza by weight and Sicché (Box 37) specializes in Tuscany-inspired soups, sandwiches, and salads.
Must-try shops: Hit Mordi e Vai for offal sandwiches and Da Corrado for cheese, soup, and wine.
Taverna Cestia
Viale Della Piramide Cestia 67, 00153 Roma Rome, Italy
+39 06 574 3754
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$
Founded in 1967 by Amatrice native Gioacchino Salvi, Taverna Cestia sits across from the ancient pyramidal tomb of Gaius Cestius that gives the restaurant its name. Now run by third-generation restaurateur and sommelier Valerio Salvi, the trattoria covers a lot of ground without losing focus. Roman staples like tonnarelli cacio e pepe and grilled abbacchio share the menu with locally caught seafood, seasonal vegetables, and thin, crisp Roman pizzas from the wood-fired oven. The sprawling dining room and outdoor tables attract families and large groups, while the unusually thoughtful wine list favors small producers and natural wines.
Must-try dishes: This very Roman trattoria serves a very Neapolitan dessert: babà. The rum-soaked pastry can be cloying and sodden elsewhere; here, it’s spectacular, with just the right balance of booze, sweetness, and airy crumb.
Mostro
Piazza Di Porta San Paolo, 00153 Roma Rome, Italy
+39 328 713 8457
Open for: All day
Price range: $
The sign teetering on the roof might read “Cafè Du Parc” in the most appealing mid-century font ever, but this kiosk at the nexus of the Aventino, Ostiense, and Testaccio districts now has new ownership and a new name, Mostro. It opens early for specialty coffee, cruises through the afternoon with restrained momentum, then pivots into low key drinking with draft cocktails and natural wines that attract locals who aren’t phased by the flurry of trams and buses that careen over the adjacent cobblestones. The vibe stays casual and the soundtrack vacillates between staff playlists and vinyl on the turntables by the bar.
Know before you go: This is largely an outdoor stop, so dress for the weather, and aim for earlier hours if you want a calmer moment with your drink before the aperitivo crowd clocks in.
Cesare al Casaletto
Via del Casaletto 45, 00151 Roma Lazio
06 536015
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$
Following careers in fine dining in Italy and abroad, Leonardo Vignoli and Maria Pia Cicconi went back to basics with Cesare al Casaletto, a straightforward trattoria the husband-and-wife duo took over in 2009. The menu features Roman classics with a few restrained twists, like fried gnocchi served on a pool of cacio e pepe sauce. The pasta alla gricia has achieved cult status, the suckling lamb mains are exceptional, and the beverage list spotlights stunningly affordable natural wines from Italy, France, and Slovenia.
If you take public transit: Take tram 8 for easy access, and stroll back to the center through Villa Pamphili park after lunch.
A Rota Pizzeria Romanesca
190 Via di Tor Pignattara, Lazio, 00177
345 547 9532
Open for: Dinner
Price range: $$
Pizzaiolo Sami El Sabawy first made a name in the Roman pizza world at the iconic slice joint Pizzarium (also on this list). But it’s the thin crust, wood-fired personal pizzas he makes today that attract diners to Torpignattara in eastern Rome. Named after the Roman phrase meaning “to do something continuously,” A Rota lives up to its name; once you try the impeccably crisp pizza and golden fritti, like supplì and battered squash blossoms, you’ll keep coming back for more. El Sabawy specializes in a hyper-thin, low-hydration dough that he rolls out with a pin before baking at a lower temperature for longer than its Neapolitan counterpart. The result is a shatteringly crisp base, sturdy enough to support both classic and creative toppings without losing its integrity. The traditional margherita is a lesson in balance, with bright tomato sauce, fior di latte, and fragrant basil, but don’t skip Sami’s specials, like April’s stuffed pizza filled with chard, potato, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and ham.
Must-try dish: Try the classic margherita to understand Sami’s style, then go for the seasonal special.
C’è Pasta e Pasta
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Via Ettore Rolli 29, 00153 Roma Lazio
06 5832 0125
Open for: All day
Price range: $
Located a short distance from Stazione Trastevere, C’è Pasta… e Pasta (translation: “There’s pasta… and pasta”) serves delicious kosher meals to eat in or take away. Order at the counter and don’t miss Roman Jewish classics like carciofi alla giudia (fried artichokes), filetti di baccala (battered fried cod), aliciotti con l’indivia (layered anchovy and frisee casserole), and concia (fried and marinated zucchini). As the name promises, they also serve pasta dishes and sell fresh pasta to cook at home.
Must-try dishes: The Roman Jewish concia and baccala are particularly special.
Tavernaccia Da Bruno
Via Giovanni da Castelbolognese 63 (Via Giovanni da Castel Bolognese), 00153 Roma Lazio
06 581 2792
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$
Bruno Persiani, an Umbrian transplant to the Italian capital, opened this homey trattoria in southern Trastevere in 1968 to serve a mix of dishes from Umbria and Rome. Tavernaccia is now run by Persiani’s daughters and Sardinian son-in-law, who throws in a few of his own regional specialties like suckling pig cooked in the wood-fired oven. The fresh pastas are excellent (especially Sunday’s lasagna, which sells out fast), and the wood oven-roasted brisket is otherworldly. Organic and natural wines from Italy and Slovenia round out the wine list. The service is patient and unbelievably kind — far from the norm in the Italian capital, so don’t get used to it.
Must-try dishes: Order whatever was made in the wood fired oven that day, whether it’s brisket, lasagna, or eggplant parm.
Trattoria Pennestri
Via Giovanni Da Empoli 5, 00154 Roma Rome, Italy
+39 06 574 2418
Open for: Dinner, with lunch on weekends
Price range: $$$
Nearly a decade in, Trattoria Pennestri is still one of Rome’s smartest answers to the question “where do I eat Roman food near the center but away from the tourists?” The room is relaxed and the cooking is grounded in the classics, but the kitchen knows exactly when a twist is worth making, like rigatoni con la pajata brightened with a measured hit of collatura (anchovy elixir) that elevates the sweetly lactic, milk-filled calf intestines with a savory note. The accessibly-priced wine list leans heavily toward small producers, with a strong showing from Lazio and central Italy.
Know before you go: Book ahead, especially on weekends, and ask the staff to steer you through the wine list.
Stecca
Viale Guglielmo Massaia 28, 00154 Roma Rome, Italy
3906 0190 6053
Open for: Dinner
Price range: $$$
Stecca is the Roman debut of Abruzzese chef Franco Franciosi of Mammaròssa in Avezzano, in partnership with Flavio De Maio of Rome’s Flavio al Velavevodetto. In a low-lit Garbatella space fitted with austere, Nordic-inspired design, the two turn the dining room into a kind of multisensory stage where Abruzzo’s mountain flavors meet Roman cooking. The menu shifts constantly and leans comforting: rigatoni with meat roll sauce; perfectly roasted lamb chops with puntarelle; a creamy soup of chickpeas, chestnuts, and dried figs. It’s all paired with excellent naturally leavened bread and a serious central Italy-leaning wine list
Know before you go: There are a handful of bar seats, ideal for solo diners.
Sinosteria
586 Viale Guglielmo Marconi, Lazio 00146
06 9259 2048
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$
After nearly 30 years at the helm of Rome’s first Thai restaurant, Beijing-born chef Ge Jing Hua opened Sinosteria in 2020 to serve a blend of Chinese regional cuisines featuring dishes like Beijing-style tripe with chile oil and cilantro, and Shandong-inspired squid with peppers, ginger, and bamboo. There are also signature creations like basmati rice with coconut milk, shrimp, capers, and oregano from Pantelleria. The front of house is expertly managed by Ge’s gregarious sommelier son Jun, whose natural wine list and coffee menu are outstanding.
Must-try pairing: Ask Jun to recommend a natural wine or tea.
Trecca – Cucina di Mercato
220 Via Alessandro Severo, Lazio, 00145
06 8865 0867
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$
Trecca is, for lack of a better term, a neo-trattoria. It delivers everything a Roman trattoria should: an informal setting, rigorously seasonal comfort food, and an offal-forward menu. But there’s also a natural wine list, an Instagram page, and two young brothers at the helm. Manuel and Nicolò Trecastelli lean into Rome’s powerful flavors and rich ingredients. Their carbonara and amatriciana are as loaded with pepper-spiked guanciale as any in the city, and tomato and vinegar are employed in the meaty mains to offset their unctuousness.
Must-try dish: Try the pajata in any and every way the restaurant serves it.
Ristorante da Michele
Via Tiberio Imperatore 95, 00145 Roma Rome, Italy
06 540 4352
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$$
At Da Michele, two generations of the Pignotta family have perfected an incredibly high-level wine and seafood experience, presented without pretense. Since opening in the residential San Paolo district in 1991, this spot has become a neighborhood institution, drawing back regulars with its consistently fresh catch from local fish markets in Fiumicino and Anzio, and attracting wine connoisseurs from across the city eager to taste through the exceptional cellar. Pair mineral-driven white wines from across Europe — including older vintages — with al dente linguine with telline (wedge clams) and fried or roasted fish.
Must-try pairing: Pair linguine with telline or roasted fish with older vintage white Burgundy from the cellar.
Pizza Nader
Via Alberto Ascari 196, Roma Lazio
06 503 3552
Open for: All day
Price range: $
Pizza Nader in the Roma 70 neighborhood — an area in the southern part of town once home to emperor Nerva’s grain reserves — is worth the detour. This unassuming shop might look like your standard Roman pizza al taglio joint, but step inside and you’ll find a level of care and precision that sets it apart. Sacks of stone milled flour from Le Marche, Campania, and Sicily crowd the entrance, where I ate a delightful supplì on a visit last month while waiting for a slice of pizza adorned with pecorino, black pepper, and guanciale. Owner Nader Abdelkader praises the dedication of the farmers and millers that make the flour for his deeply flavored pizzas and the dozen types of naturally leavened pane that he bakes.
Must-try dish: Don’t miss the legendary kebab, a favorite of regulars.
