Rome is one of the most visited cities in Europe, the most popular tourist location in Italy and the capital of ‘Bella Italia’. There is lots to see in Rome and of course lots to eat. Italians are proud of their homemade speciality, which includes pizza and pasta, but also so much more. Here are our 12 best places to eat in Rome, must visit restaurants and funky food spots.
Tip #1: Le Petit Chef
Le Petit Chef and his friends are in town — welcome to the show! The best of cinema and dining in the luxurious ambience of the Aleph Rome Hotel Curio Collection by Hilton. It is located in the heart of the city, close to The Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain. The 6cm tall French chef is rocking a dinner show together with his friends Pequeña Maria from Spain, Piccolo Luciano from Italy and Chisano Takahiro from Japan.
Visit our extraordinary 3D dinner-show Le Petit Chef in Aleph Rome Hotel in Rome.
With 3D Projection Mapping, the miniature chef is coming to life on the dinner table. The show is paired with themed music, props and an exquisite four-course meal, either Classic, Vegetarian, or for Kids. This dining experience captures imagination and taste buds in a very unique way. It is one of a kind, in the beautiful location of a five-star hotel.
Dietary options:
Vegetarian and Kids menu options available.
Speciality:
Le Petit Chef and his friends offering a show on your dining table, in the luxurious ambience of a five-star hotel.
Price:
Four-course menu.
Classic (Le Grand Chef): EUR 129 per person,
Vegetarian (Le Petit Chef Vegetarian): EUR 109 per person.
Kids (Junior Chef — Menù Bambino): EUR 69 per person
Hours:
Reservation is necessary, you can book online
Location:
Hotel Aleph
Via di San Basilio, 15
00187 Rome
Italy
Contact:
Tip #2: Bonci Pizzarium
n 2003 Gabriele Bonci opened Pizzarium, a pizza by the slice shop, close to Vatican City. In a large shop, Bonci, the so-called master of dough, is offering a dozen different pizza options.
Bonci’s Pizzarium is quite famous and known from TV shows and Netflix, popular with tourists and locals, lining up especially around lunchtime.
Chef Bonci is known for his love for local, supporting agriculture and using the freshest ingredients. The base of his pizza is different to other pizza places in town, an almost bubbly base with crispy edges but still some softness inside.
Visitors take a number and choose a pizza, which is cut with scissors. The toppings vary with the seasons and are the chef’s inspiration and creation.
Dietary options:
Vegetarian and Vegan options available.
Speciality :
Famous pizza chef and master of dough Gabriele Bonci is selling pizza by the slice out of a little shop near Vatican City.
Price:
Pizza is sold by kilogram in a price range from EUR 15 to EUR 45.
Hours:
Mon: Closed
Tue – Sat: 11 am – 10 pm
Sun: 11 am – 3 pm and 5 pm – 10 pm
Location:
Via della Meloria, 43
00136 Rome
Italy
Contact:
Tip #3: Colline Emiliane
It is a love letter to the Emilia Region of Italy, that Anna and Paola Latini are serving to their guests of Colline Emiliane. The little family restaurant is all about tradition, family, quality and artisanship.
Dated back to 1931, for the first time Le Colline Emiliane opened the doors. In 1967 the Latini clan took over the kitchen and still makes traditional meals with the freshest ingredients.
Fresh pasta made with a rolling pin and daily stretched by hand, the traditional way. Desserts made in house sourcing the best ingredients. This is what Colline Emiliane is known for. Tortellini, Gnocchi, Lasagna, but not only pasta, also Roast Beef and a variety of traditional beautiful Italian starters, show up on the menu.
Don’t forget the ‘dolci’: Mousse di zabaione, Torta di noci e caramello and Torta di pere caramellate after a family recipe.
Dietary options:
Vegetarian options available.
Speciality:
Typical food from the Emilia region of Italy, cooked by the Latini clan in a small family owned restaurant. Fresh pasta made with a rolling pin and stretched by hand.
Price:
Starters ranging from EUR 9 to EUR 29;
Pasta starting from EUR 15 – EUR 23;
Mains starting EUR 15 – EUR 19
Desserts are EUR 8 and EUR 9
Hours:
Mon: Closed
Tue – Sat: 12.45 pm – 2.45 pm and 7.30 pm – 10.45 pm
Sun: Closed
Location:
Via degli Avignonesi, 22
00187 Rome
Italy
Contact:
Phone: +39 06 481 7538
E-Mail: collineemilianeroma@gmail.com
Webpage: https://www.collineemiliane.com/en/
Tip #4: Trattoria Al Moro
The Trevi Fountain is just a few steps away from this family Trattoria with over 100 years of tradition. Despite its location, Al Moro is beloved by locals and not a very touristy spot.
Typical dishes of the Roman cuisine, with a modern twist, served in a formal dining room and on a handful of outdoor tables. Every morning, Al Moro’s chefs browse the local Farmer’s Markets for fresh and high quality, local ingredients.
The third generation of Romagnoli family members are operating Trattoria Al Moro. They are feeding not just locals, but also famous regulars like Sarah Jessica Parker, Julia Roberts or Richard Gere.
The à la carte menu changes seasonally but is based on Roman cuisine, which is rich in meat, pasta and fish dishes. Lamb, chicken and beef specialities, but also a great variety of perfectly cooked, fresh and seasonal vegetables are on the menu.
Dietary options:
Vegetarian options available.
Speciality :
An over 100 years old family Trattoria with traditional Roman cuisine.
Price:
Starters ranging from EUR 7,50 up to EUR 23;
Main dishes of the day, starting from EUR 22 up to EUR 32;
Fresh fish in the price range between EUR 10 and EUR 40
Hours:
Mon – Sat: 12.30 pm – 3.30 pm and 7.30 pm – 11.30 pm
Sun: Closed
Location:
Vicolo delle Bollette, 13
00187 Rome
Italy
Contact:
Phone: +39 06 6783495
E-Mail: info@ristorantealmororoma.it
Webpage: https://ristorantealmororoma.it/en/
Tip #5: Felice a Testaccio
Felice is a traditional Roman Trattoria in a very traditional Roman neighborhood. Founded 1936 by Felice Trivelloni, the restaurant was a lunch place for the street workers and poor folks in the neighborhood.
Testaccio changed, but it’s still a true residential neighborhood and Felice is still run by the Trivelloni clan. In the meantime, son Franco took over and is dedicated to modernizing the space but keeping the old family recipes and traditions in the house.
Cucina Romana with selected, local and fresh ingredients. Folks rave about their Tonarelli Cacio e Pepe, a basic but delicious Roman pasta dish with grated pecorino, romano cheese, and black pepper with spaghetti. It’s also very hard to resist the Carciofi alla Romana.
Dietary options:
Vegetarian options available.
Speciality:
A traditional Roman Trattoria in the Testaccio neighborhood, known for exquisite pasta dishes. Family owned and operated.
Price:
Starters ranging from EUR 13 – EUR 15;
Main courses in between EUR 15 – EUR 25.
Wine bottles from EUR 30 up to EUR 100.
Hours:
Mon, Tue: 7 am – 11.30 am
Wed – Sun: 12.30 pm – 3.30 pm and 7 pm – 11.30 pm
Locations:
Via Mastro Giorgio, 29
00153 Rome
Italy
Contact:
Phone: +39 06 574 6800
Email: dafeliceatestaccio@gmail.com
Tip #6: Marigold
Marigold is coffee, pastries and lunches. The modern coffee shop and micro bakery, opened in December 2018, with a certain Scandinavian flair. Marigold does everything mentioned really well, but especially the pastries.
Make sure you don’t pass on the Cinnamon swirl, a fluffy brioche with cinnamon and cardamom, or the autumn kringle, with vanilla pastry cream, almonds, apples and prunes. All the pastries pair excellently with their own specialty coffee, Chicci by Marigold, using green coffee beans from direct trade farms.
Owners, baker Sofie Wochner and chef, Domenico Cortese, believe in organic and local ingredients, sourced from small farms for their weekly changing menu.
Their bread is naturally leavened and only organic wines are offered. The lunch menu is short but sweet and not afraid to make vegetable dishes the stars.
Dietary options:
Vegetarian, Vegan and Gluten-free options available.
Speciality:
A modern Scandinavian flair coffee shop, micro bakery and lunch place with specialty coffee.
Price:
Breakfast starting from EUR 3,50 to EUR 12,50;
À la carte brunch from EUR 6 to EUR 15,50;
Lunch ranging from EUR 13,50 to 18,50;
Cappuccino EUR 4,50
Hours:
Breakfast & Lunch:
Wed – Fri: 9 am – 3 pm
Brunch:
Sat – Sun: 9 am – 3 pm
Location:
Via Giovanni da Empoli, 37
00154 Rome
Italy
Contact:
Tip #7: Trapizzino
Street Food is trendy all over the world and Trapizzino is what Italians call their most beloved street food. Of course, some kind of pizza has to be involved in the Italian version of street food.
Trapizzino is a play on words that comes from the union of the two words tramezzino, the Italian sandwich, and pizza. It was invented ten years ago by pizza maker Stefano Callegari and is a triangle shaped pizza pocket, stuffed with all the Italian goodness.
The stuffings reach from classic Roman recipes to traditional recipes from other regions of Italy. Another street food the restaurant is famous for is ‘Supplì’. The little risotto rice balls, made with Carnaroli rice, breaded with Trapizzini bread crumbs, deep fried and stuffed with many surprises.
Trapizzino is offering some traditional Italian dolci as well, tiramisu or a Dolce Trapizzino with housemade ice cream.
Dietary options:
Vegetarian and Vegan options available.
Speciality:
Italian street food – a pizza pocket stuffed with traditional recipes and Supplì, crispy fried risotto rice balls, breaded with Trapizzini bread crumbs.
Price:
Five flavors of pizza pockets every day for EUR 5;
Supplì EUR 2
Hours:
5 locations in Rome
Testaccio:
Mon, Sun: Closed
Tue – Thu: 12 pm – 12 am
Fri – Sat: 12 pm – 1 am
Ponte Milvio: Everyday: 12 pm – 12 am
Trilussa: Mon: 12 pm – 12 am
Tue – Thu: 12 pm – 1 am
Fri – Sat 12 pm – 2 am
Sun: 12 pm – 1 am
Piazzale Provincie: Everyday: 12 pm – 12 am
BE.RE.: Everyday: 11 am – 2 am
Location:
Testaccio: Via Giovanni Branca 88
Ponte Milvio: Piazzale di Ponte Milvio 13
Trilussa: Piazza Trilussa 46
Piazzale Provincie: Piazzale delle Provincie 9
BE.RE.: Via Vespasiano 2
Contact:
Testaccio: Phone: +39 0643419624
Ponte Milvio: Phone: +39 0633221964
Trilussa: Phone: +39 065817312
Piazzale Provincie: Phone: +39 0690239685
BE.RE.: Phone: +39 0694421854
Email: info@trapezzino.it
Webpage: https://www.trapizzino.it/en/
Tip #8: Rifugio Romano
Cucina tradizionale e vegana, is what Rifugio Romano writes on their flags. The always busy old school trattoria offers a quite extensive menu for plant based eaters, but also a regular menu.
This makes it the perfect spot for folks with different diets. One thing both menus have in common, it is very traditional Italian recipes and eats.
After thirty years in catering, the family clan decided to open their own restaurant, with specialized chefs in traditional and vegan cuisine. The dishes are a result of the mix between passion and professionalism.
They range from pizza & calzone, with melting vegan cheese and vegan ham, over Cordon Bleu and Saltimbocca (the vegan version is made of seitan) to Dolci & Gelati like Panna Cotta, Zoccoletta and Tiramisu. Almost everything is available in a vegan version.
Dietary options:
Extensive Vegetarian and Vegan options.
Speciality:
Cucina is traditional and vegan. Very well known Italian foods as a plant based version.
Price:
Antipasti in a price range between EUR 3 and EUR 20;
Mains ranging from EUR 14 to EUR 22;
Pizza in between EUR 11 and EUR 14
Dolci are EUR 4 to EUR 6;
Hours:
Mon: Closed
Tue – Sun: 12.30 pm – 11 pm
Location:
Via Volturno, 39
00185 Roma
Italy
Contact:
Tip #9: Marzapane
The beauty lies in simplicity. With forgotten deeds, flavors and simple techniques, everything revolves around a powerful engine – fire.
Chef Mario is driven by the passion for food and wine and the mastermind behind the Marzapane project. The rural kitchen, using ingredients from the fields, woods and the sea, wants to bring back forgotten meals on the table. In a modern and beautiful way.
A BBQ grill from Sicily makes grilled dishes to be the star of the meal, the produce fresh and seasonal from small scale producers in Italy. Beside the à la carte menu the restaurant offers a chef’s table experience.
The chef’s table menu not only faces the kitchen to watch the chef, but also is a freewheeling menu which allows one to discover the ultimate expression of the restaurant’s cuisine. It’s available in a Vegetarian option as well.
Dietary options:
Vegetarian options available.
Speciality:
A back to the roots restaurant, with seasonal and local ingredients from small farms in the region. A BBQ grill from Sicily for the grilled dishes and a chef’s table menu.
Price:
Chef’s table menu for EUR 98 (Vegetarian option available);
Marzapane 6-course menu, chosen by the kitchen, EUR 79 (Vegetarian option available);
Menù à la carte:
Starters from EUR 12 to EUR 20;
First course meals are EUR 21;
Main meals ranging in between EUR 22 and EUR 32;
Desserts are EUR 12.
Hours:
Mon: 12.30 pm – 2 pm and 7 pm – 9.30 pm
Tue – Wed: Closed
Thu: 7 pm – 9.30 pm
Fri – Sun: 12.30 pm – 2 pm and 7 pm – 9.30 pm
Location:
Via Flaminia 64
00196 Roma
Italy
Contact:
Tip #10: Otaleg
It’s just ice cream, some would say. But most people, who have tried Otaleg, will tell you – it’s the best ice cream in Rome. This means a lot, Rome is selling ice cream at almost every corner. Otaleg means Gelato, backwards.
Otaleg was born as an aquarium ice cream shop in the Colli Portuensi area. The mastermind behind, Mario Radicioni, produced the ice cream in sight of the visitors, in a glass case.
Today, Otaleg is operating two shops and has many partners in Rome, featuring their gelato. 30 flavors of ice creams and sorbets, with new flavors every day, make the decision for the personal cone really not easy. The Ice Cream Philosophers, how they call themselves, select the raw materials from local producers and use seasonal ingredients.
Dietary options:
Vegetarian and Vegan options available.
Speciality:
30 flavors of ice cream and sorbets.
Price:
1 scoop EUR 2,
2 scoops EUR 3,
3 scoops EUR 4,
4 scoops EUR 5,
5 scoops EUR 6;
500 gr tub EUR 16
Hours:
Trastevere:
Daily: 12 pm – 12 am
Monteverde:
Mo – Fr: 8.30 am – 10.30 pm
Sat – Sun: 9 am – 11 pm (Coffee shop closes at 4 p.m.)
Location:
Via di S. Cosmiato, 14/a
00153 Rome
Italy
Viale dei Quattro Venti, 70
00152 Rome
Italy
Contact:
Tip #11: Giulia
Giulia is known as one of the most romantic restaurants in Rome. Chef Alessandro Borgo offers tradition with modernity, passion and technique, a journey that nourishes the soul.
The fancy restaurant with 45 seats on two floors is situated in the heart of Rome. Two terraces facing Ponte Sisto, where guests can enjoy the tasting menu, which reads like a foodie love story. Oyster, Grilled Lettuce, Ravioli, Smoked ‘Risone’, Petit Four and much more. ‘Giulia Veg’ caters to Vegetarians as well.
The second part of Giulia is the Osteria, 50 seats on two floors, in industrial style. A homely atmosphere with wooden tables and the flavor of a contemporary house made cuisine.
The Osteria offers a Tasting Menu as well, which is a homage to cuisine a la mama. Amuse Bouche, Cod stuffed dumplings, Pork Ribs and Custard Donut. Everything paired with the best wines.
Dietary options:
Vegetarian options available.
Speciality:
Restaurant and Osteria under one roof, facing one of Rome’s very fascinating streets. One of the most romantic restaurants in the capital.
Price:
Restaurant Tasting Menu (9-course meal): EUR 90 (plus wine pairing EUR 55);
Vegetarian Tasting Menu (9-course meal): EUR 90;
Surprise Tasting Menu by chef Alessandro Borgo EUR 120 (for tables with more than 6 guests);
Osteria Tasting Menu (8-course meal): EUR 75 (plus wine pairing EUR 35)
Hours:
Tue: Closed
Wed – Mon: 6 pm – 2 am
Location:
Lungotevere dei Tebaldi, 4/4a
00186 Rome
Italy
Contact:
Tip #12: Armando al Pantheon
The Pantheon and the neighborhood are a must-visit for every tourist. So is Armando al Pantheon. The long-standing restaurant is an institution. 1961 Armando Gargioli takes over an old restaurant and transforms it into a winery kitchen. The restaurant is still family owned and visited by tourists and locals.
Armando al Pantheon is a busy little place, with only 14 tables, in a wood paneled, booth seating and wide Art Deco windows equipped room. This also means, a reservation is necessary, or at least highly recommended.
From the menu you can expect the best and most traditional Roman food. Spaghetti alla carbonara, the pasta dish with with egg, pecorino cheese, pork cheek and black pepper, Abbachio alla scottadito, Roman grilled lamb with salt and pepper and the sweet finish, a Torta Antica Roma, a cake made with ricotta cheese, strawberry jam, poppy and sesame seeds. All the menu items are clearly marked Vegetarian.
Dietary options:
Vegetarian options available.
Speciality:
A 14 table restaurant from 1961, with beautiful wood paneling, booth seating and Art Deco windows. The cuisine is traditional Roman.
Price:
Antipasti ranging from EUR 12 to EUR 15;
Main dishes starting EUR 17 up to EUR 22;
Dolci between EUR 8 and EUR 12;
Hours:
Mon – Sat: 12.30 pm – 3 pm and 7 pm -11 pm
Sun: Closed
Location:
Salita de’ Crescenzi 31
00186 Roma
Italy
Contact:
Email: infoarmandoalpantheon@gmail.com
Webpage: https://www.armandoalpantheon.it/en/
Our selection of restaurants is based, among other things, on the editorial team’s individual preferences and on reviews on the internet. Please contact the respective provider directly for information on reservations and prices. The pictures come from the restaurants listed. All Information is provided without guarantee!
As Assist. Marketing & Communications Manager Annabelle knows the concept of Le Petit Chef like no other. If you have any questions, she is the right person to contact.
