Rome Restaurants

Al Pompiere

Al Pompiere, in the Jewish Ghetto, serves tradtional Roman fare and Roman Jewish cuisine. It's a good place to try the famous carciofi alla giudia (Jewish-style fried artichokes) or fiori di zucca (fried stuffed zucchini flowers) as an appetizer. A local favorite since 1962, there are several rooms that usually fill up with the dinner crowd.

• Al Pompiere: Via S M Calderati 38, off Piazza delle Cinque Scole
• Open for lunch and dinner, closed Sundays

Armando al Pantheon

Armando al Pantheon is a lively and crowded restaurant on a street just off Piazza di Rotonda, the square where the Pantheon sits. The food is good and prices aren't too high. They have some interesting specialties and offer a vegetarian menu. In business since 1961, the restaurant usually has a mix of locals and tourists. Before or after dinner, splurge on a drink outside in Piazza di Rotonda.

• Armando al Pantheon: Salita de' Crescenzi, 31
• Open for lunch and dinner, closed Saturday night and all day Sunday

Trattoria Checchino dal 1887

For a taste of traditional Roman working-class food, head to the Testaccio neighborhood, the old slaughterhouse area, where you'll find lots of dishes based on innards. Checchino dal 1887 is a good place to try these foods in a more refined setting where you can see an English menu to be sure of what you're getting. There is also a large selection of wines.

• Trattoria Checchino dal 1887: Via di Monte Testaccio, 30
• More Places to Eat in Testaccio

Obika Mozzarella Bar

A great place to sit outside is the Campo dei Fiori and Obika offers an unusual choice of foods, all based on mozzarella. If you don't want a heavy meal or want a substantial appetizer, Obika is a good choice. A drink comes with a small taste of mozzarella, tomato, and grilled vegetable. The menu includes a number of plates, either cold cuts or vegetables, all paired with mozzarella. There's a good selection of wines by the glass to go with your food.

• Obika Mozzarella Bar: Piazza Campo dei Fiori, 16
• Open everyday from 8AM to 2AM

Osteria Zi'Mberto

Osteria Zi'Mberto is a small osteria on a quiet square in Trastevere, across the Tiber. My homemade pasta with artichokes (in spring) was fantastic. There is a good selection of pastas, including several vegetarian, and you'll find some of the traditional Roman favorites on both the pasta choices and second courses. On a nice day, the patio seating is very pleasant. The lunch crowd including a mix of locals and tourists.

• Osteria Zi'Mberto: Piazza della Malva 14/b

Antica Osteria da Giovanni

If you're looking for a cheap meal outside the tourist areas, head to Antica Osteria da Giovanni, near the river between the Vatican and Trastevere. Don't expect anything fancy or exceptional just a very good, inexpensive Italian meal with good house wine. The small osteria has been in business for more than 50 years.

• Antica Osteria da Giovanni: Via della Lungara, 41/a, by Ponte Mazzini
• Open for lunch and dinner, closed Sundays

La Terrazza dell’Eden Restaurant

A good place to splurge on dinner with a fantastic view is La Terrazza dell’Eden Restaurant, on the top floor of the Hotel Eden (read review). Food, service, and views at this elegant restaurant are excellent but expensive. For a real treat, order the gourmet tasting menu with wine pairings.

• La Terrazza dell'Eden: Via Ludovisi 49, near Via Veneto

Ristorante Cecilia Metella

For a pleasant day out in the Appia Antica Park, I enjoy eating on the spacious outdoor patio at Cecilia Metella. In addition to the ala carte menu, there are four special menus to choose from (somewhat expensive). The restaurant has a good selection of wines.

• Cecillia Metella: Via Appia Antica, 125-129, near the Catacombs of San Callisto
• Open for lunch and dinner, closed Sunday and Monday and August

L'Asino d'Oro

L'Asino d'Oro is recommended by Elizabeth Minchilli in her mobile app, Eat Rome, as the best new restaurant in Rome. The affordable restaurant in Rome's Monti neighborhod offers pasta, secondi, and fuoripasti, smaller plates that can be ordered as antipasta or second plates and has a selection of craft beers in addition to wines. There is a price-fixed lunch menu that's a good bargain and a small plates menu offered during the evening prior to dinner. Read more about the food on the Eat Rome app.

• L'Asino d'Oro: Via del Boschetto 73
• Review of Eat Rome

Ristorante Camponeschi

Ristorante Camponeschi, on Piazza Farnese,, is the favorite of Dianne Hales, author of La Bella Lingua: My Love Affair with the Italian Language and honoary Italian knight. The elegant restaurant has a large selection of pasta, meat, and fish dishes.

• Ristorante Camponeschi: Piazza Farnese, 50
• open only for dinner, closed Sundays

Trattoria Moderna

My colleague Betsy Malloy says, "In two visits more than two years apart, this place has maintained its quality. At first glance, the menu looks quite traditional, until you start looking more closely at the ingredients. On our last visit (and the best meal we had during a two-week trip), we had bruschetta topped with salmon, buffalo mozzarella and a roasted tomato; pappardelle with octopus and asparagus; thick pasta with artichokes and fresh ricotta and the house specialty tiramisu.

• Trattoria Moderna: Vicolo dei Chiodaroli, 16, near Campo dei Fiori
• open daily for lunch and dinner

Dessert at Tre Scalini

OK, it's expensive but you're sitting on one of Rome's most famous squares and eating the famous tartufo dessert where it originated. This is a treat everyone who likes chocolate should indulge in once - tartufo at Tre Scalini in Piazza Navona. If you don't want to pay top price to sit in the piazza, go inside and get one to go for half the price.