Rome. Rome. Rome.
What a wonderful city. Beautiful, impressive and powerful. Italy has not only incredible art, history and remarkable architecture, but also a great Italian cuisine. The Italian food is absolutely fantastic, simple, healthy and delicious.
I would like to share our food experience in Rome, because dining out in Italy is a big pleasure.
But first……
Tips for travellers:
- Italian people drink cappuccino only in the morning up to 11:00 a.m. Sometimes they drink espresso after lunch or dinner.
- Lunch starts at 1:00 pm and Dinner at 8:00 pm.
- Happy hour or Aperitivo is between 6 pm and 9 pm—when people can relax after work with a glass of wine or Campari and have some snacks. And after they enjoy dinner.
- You definitely should drink Spritz at a happy hour. This is a very popular and refreshing drink. It has a little bitter flavor with an orange hint. The drink has a good mix of Prosecco, Aperol or Campari, and soda water. This is a simple drink, but very delicious
More tips:
- Rome has lots of drinking fountains. The city has aqueduct systems built in 1870. Fresh water from the mountains runs into the city through tunnels and even today, Rome drinking fountains continue to provide people with clean drinkable water.
- In Italy there are almost no public washrooms. So, use it every time you get the opportunity. Huge possibility that cafés and restaurants will not allow you to use their toilets if you don't eat there.
Restaurants
La Pratolina
Via degli Scipioni, 248
The best pizza I have ever tried. La Pratolina is an ideal restaurant to spend the evening. Very nice, welcoming, and friendly atmosphere. Most of the people are local. Very busy all the time, so it is better to call at seven and make a reservation. We got our reservation for 11 pm.
We went there twice. Both times were very good. We had Preferita and Pratolina pizzas. Absolutely delicious. The desserts were good as well. Also, we tried a famous Italian Limoncello, made from a home recipe. What can I say? Delicious … We had a great time there.
Prati di cavour
Via Lucrezio Caro, 21
Another good restaurant and we eat there twice. A 3 minutes walk from the hotel. They have a small patio if you like to sit outside. The service and food was very good. We had a pizza, pasta, fried veggies, rice balls, and Spritz. The staff was very friendly and they spoke English.
We stayed at Hotel Twenty One, close to Vatican.
La Renella Forno Antico Trastevere
Via del Moro, 15
Another worthy place to try a homemade pizza. In this place, they bake pizza in a wood-burning oven. It was really, really tasty. You pay by weight, so you can buy small slices and try different pizzas. We had several slices, and my favorite was pizza with eggplant, veggie, and cheese. So if you will be in the Trastevere area, I would recommend stopping at this pizzeria for delicious pizzas.
Birretta Wine and Food – Humburgeria
Via Simone de Saint Bon, 69-73
This hamburgeria has a big selection of burgers made with good fresh products and meat. Unlikely, I don't remember the name of our burgers, but it was very good. Tasty burgers and beer, this is what we needed after the long flight.
Il Piccolo Diavolo (The little Devil)
Piazza Cola di Rienzo, 33/35
This cocktail bar near to the hotel and is popular for apéritif. Always full of local people. We went there for an apéritif. It was okay, but I prefer something cozier.
Sant' Eustachio Il caffe
Piazza di S. Eustachio, 82
The oldest coffee shop in Rome and only a few minutes from Pantheon. This is a very small café, they didn't have a patio at that time and all the people were standing and drink coffee.
There are only 2 tables close to the washroom and you have to pay 5 euros for the table. So, it is better to stand. This coffee shop is famous and kind of a must-go. I will be honest with you: the coffee was good, but I wasn't super impressed. I'm sure you can find something more cool and enjoyable coffee place. But go to see it for sure, because it is popular, very close to the Pantheon and you are right there anyway.
Fatamorgana Monti
Piazza degli Zingari, 5
Best ice cream place in Rome! Fantastic one. It's made from natural ingredients. Lots of different flavors. The gelateria is small, but they have a little square and a bench in front of the café. You can enjoy your ice cream right there. I would absolutely recommend getting some Fatamorgana ice cream when visiting the Roman Forum or the Colosseum. Monti district is very cool too.
Gelateria La Romana
Via Cola di Rienzo, 2
This ice cream shop was opened in 1947 and is still running at present. Simple and elegant with a wide range of quality flavors made in the store. It was delicious.
What is your favorite place to eat in Rome? What would you recommend?
