Restaurant recommendations for Rome, please

[slidergirl]

tex -- if you are staying at Minerva, give Armando's a try (unless I missed that you are already going there....)

 

They are open on Friday nights but closed on Saturday evening and all day Sunday.

 

I have several other small favorites in that vicinity (my usual haunts) but am a bad poster and do not want to share the info for fear they will become even more crowded. :D

 

bad mom… ;) come on, I gave you Armandos… Ok, you did give me another one, too. WE can name restaurants, but just don't give out the super-secret "I'm not a tourist or a cruiser" password to be sure we get our reservations :D

[texancruzer]

to clarify - we have a Sat and Sun night pre-cruise. So many places are closed on Sunday and some on Saturday. I know we will do Panzirone on Sunday since they are open……. still leaves a Saturday night.

 

Roscioli is usually open on Saturday but for some reason they are not going to be open on THAT Saturday night !!??!!

Checked and Roscioli is open on the Friday night we will be there post-cruise.

 

So still looking for a nice place for Saturday April 25th - come on Cynthia …. you've never steered me wrong before :D Thanks Cheryl

[slidergirl]

to clarify - we have a Sat and Sun night pre-cruise. So many places are closed on Sunday and some on Saturday. I know we will do Panzirone on Sunday since they are open……. still leaves a Saturday night.

 

Roscioli is usually open on Saturday but for some reason they are not going to be open on THAT Saturday night !!??!!

Checked and Roscioli is open on the Friday night we will be there post-cruise.

 

So still looking for a nice place for Saturday April 25th - come on Cynthia …. you've never steered me wrong before :D Thanks Cheryl

 

Roscioli must be having a private event that night. Bummer… Good to know you might try it on the post-cruise Friday. Yummm - burrata with the most amazing half-dried tomatoes, pasta Amatriciana with guanciale instead of bacon/pancetta, their Roman meatballs (made with multiple cuts/types of animal; I don't eat red meat, but I made an exception for these), stop me….

[Flick]

Sorry my Italian is not very good but people in Rome can tell how to get there..Il Vinyard Papa or in English The Pope's Vineyard. Price fixe at $35.00 per person it is all the food and wine you can consume while listening to a wonderful trio of singers. (The tenor owns the place and he won't leave until the last guest is gone.) Very, very good!

[Worldtraveler 4727]

Sorry my Italian is not very good but people in Rome can tell how to get there..Il Vinyard Papa or in English The Pope's Vineyard. Price fixe at $35.00 per person it is all the food and wine you can consume while listening to a wonderful trio of singers. (The tenor owns the place and he won't leave until the last guest is gone.) Very, very good!

 

I can't seem to find anymore information on this restaurant online. Could you provide a few more details? Thanks

[1island2go]

I too will be in Rome for the first time and arriving on a Sunday. Looking for a nice yet not expensive place to eat on Sun evening within a quick walk of Piazza Repubblica. Any suggestions of restaurants within a short stroll of this area? Thanks in advance!!!

[marazul]

Sorry my Italian is not very good but people in Rome can tell how to get there..Il Vinyard Papa or in English The Pope's Vineyard. Price fixe at $35.00 per person it is all the food and wine you can consume while listening to a wonderful trio of singers. (The tenor owns the place and he won't leave until the last guest is gone.) Very, very good!

 

I can't seem to find anymore information on this restaurant online. Could you provide a few more details? Thanks

 

Try searching in Italian.

It is "La vigna dei Papi" or the Vineyard of the Popes.

[slidergirl]

I too will be in Rome for the first time and arriving on a Sunday. Looking for a nice yet not expensive place to eat on Sun evening within a quick walk of Piazza Repubblica. Any suggestions of restaurants within a short stroll of this area? Thanks in advance!!!

 

Were you the person who just posted over on Chowhound, looking for a place near Piazza Repubblica? If you are - good job!! You should get some responses.

 

Now, some people on CH would consider this one blasphemous, but, I did see that Eataly is open on Sunday, 10am - midnight. There are several restaurants in there, including one fine dining place. I haven't been in this one yet (I've been to Eataly NYC and will be at Eataly Florence in a month). I had excellent pizza at Eataly NYC - they brought in pizzaolos from Naples to do the baking. I have Florence on Sunday and I'll hit up Eataly if nothing else comes available. Eataly isn't near Piazza Repubblica (but is is near the Ostiense train and Pyramide metro stations) , but is an option for all of us in Rome on a Sunday night.

[1island2go]

Yes I am the one who put it on Chowhound...learned that from this thread! Hope to get some responses soon. I am looking for something close to that Piazza Repubblica as we will be very tired from arrival, and afternoon tour that day. Want something we don't need to navigate to the first night. Just a close walk from hotel some outside café would be great.

[royalcruz]

I had a delicious pesto at Tucci in Piazza Navonna. It was very reasonable and the café ambiance was lovely. Several musicians stopped by for tips after playing music on the bench in front.

[kborth]

Insalata Ricci near piazza navotas! gorgeous salads and tiramisu and reasonable.

[1island2go]

Is Tucci close to Piazza Repubblica? We really wanted something within walking distance of our hotel on this Piazza. Thanks

[cruisemom42]

I too will be in Rome for the first time and arriving on a Sunday. Looking for a nice yet not expensive place to eat on Sun evening within a quick walk of Piazza Repubblica. Any suggestions of restaurants within a short stroll of this area? Thanks in advance!!!

 

You know that's very close to Termini, right? There aren't going to be a lot of great restaurants in the area, but plenty of moderately priced, fine choices. Just take a little stroll, see what's open (most do not open until 7:00 or 7:30) and look at menus until you find something that appeals.

 

Edited to add: Rick Steves' guide may recommend a few places in the area. Most would fit into the category listed above -- moderately priced and good enough, if not anything outstanding.

Edited March 29, 2015 by cruisemom42

[Worldtraveler 4727]

Insalata Ricci near piazza navotas! gorgeous salads and tiramisu and reasonable.

 

This one looks wonderful! Thanks!:)

[slidergirl]

Thanks to the very nice concierge at the Westin Excelsior Rome, I have my reservations for dinner at Emma Pizzeria and Cesare al Casaletto!!! Add the reservation to Armando's that I was able to make via email, I'm pretty set for dinners that I wanted to do. I'm going to wing it about Panzirone; I may just stop in there for the pumpkin soup and a salad for one of the lunches.

I also just got my ressie for Sostanza in Florence for my one absolute dinner. If you want, you can line up for lunch at Sostanza an hour or so in advance (no ressies taken for lunch) or you can go for one of the two dinner seatings. Sooo looking forward to the butter chicken!!! I may have dinner one night at Sesto, the rooftop bar/restaurant at the Westin Florence - amazing night view, great cocktails, and I get a 50% discount on food :D

[cruisemom42]

Thanks to the very nice concierge at the Westin Excelsior Rome, I have my reservations for dinner at Emma Pizzeria and Cesare al Casaletto!!! Add the reservation to Armando's that I was able to make via email, I'm pretty set for dinners that I wanted to do. I'm going to wing it about Panzirone; I may just stop in there for the pumpkin soup and a salad for one of the lunches.

I also just got my ressie for Sostanza in Florence for my one absolute dinner. If you want, you can line up for lunch at Sostanza an hour or so in advance (no ressies taken for lunch) or you can go for one of the two dinner seatings. Sooo looking forward to the butter chicken!!! I may have dinner one night at Sesto, the rooftop bar/restaurant at the Westin Florence - amazing night view, great cocktails, and I get a 50% discount on food :D

 

Mangia bene -- Eat well and tell us what you liked (if you are more generous than I, lol) -- I will be in Rome at the end of May. :)

Edited April 13, 2015 by cruisemom42

[BaseballMomof4]

We had a fantastic lunch at a little sidewalk cafe called da Diego. It is located at Vicolo Sciarra 60. My sons has lasagna, I had pizza and we were all very happy with our food and the service was excellent.

[slidergirl]

Mangia bene -- Eat well and tell us what you liked (if you are more generous than I, lol) -- I will be in Rome at the end of May. :)

 

I will report back. My trip is starting to sound more like a food trip than anything else. I am going to visit some of the places in the "50 Places in Rome, Florence & Venice Every Woman Should Visit." I always like to look at history from a woman's perspective.

 

Pizzarium is back open after some renovations. I am going to be bold and try at least one of Bonci's more "esoteric" combinations this time.

 

Allow me to recommend to EVERYONE that you use the resources of the concierge, if your hotel has one. Before I worked in hospitality, I never really thought about the concierge. Now that I do work in hospitality (and so some part-time work as a concierge myself), I find that concierges can absolutely enhance a vacation.

[kitty.panza]

Armando al Pantheon - aa good as ever. Artichoke and bufalo mozzarella appy, spaghetti cacio e pepe, Roman torta dessert. Little bottle of house red. Yummm.

Stopped into Ginger for lunch. Bright, cheery, crowded, lots of business people. Good place if you are tired of carbs and want some greens. Big entree salads, sandwiches and good-looking entrees. Lunch specials looked excellent, but I wanted a salad and one of their drinks made fresh to order. If you are near Spanish Steps/Via Condotti area, it is there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[slidergirl]

I had dinner at Emma Pizzeria. In the campo di Fiore area, in the same area as Roscioli. It's a foodie place, but reasonably priced. I wasn't too hungry, I had an appy of misto fritti and then the pizza Margherita with fresh bufala mozzarella. Good chew to the crust, and a good ratio of cheese and tomato. Most expensive thing was the glass of Brunello - 10€. At the end of the alley from Emma is a little gelateria Carapina. Small batches of good gelato.

 

 

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[cruisemom42]

Andrew Zimmern (of Bizarre Foods fame) had a new show two nights ago on eating in Rome. He finally convinced me that I need to go eat in Testaccio next time I'm in Rome for more than a day...

 

Some of the things he ate were certainly not to everyone's taste, but he highlighted the return to Rome's roots in terms of cuisine.

 

The porchetta from Il Norcino Bernabei (15 miles outside Rome in Marino) made me want to fly there immediately and sample some. http://andrewzimmern.com/2015/04/27/il-norcino-bernabei/

 

 

Pizzeria Ostiense also sounds wonderful. See brief NY Times write: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/05/travel/05Surfacing_Rome-Ostiense.html?_r=0

[drdaddy]

I have that show on the DVR. Nice that these guys are going and keeping things current. Nothing like watching a show from 2004 and the restaurant is gone!

 

Pizzeria Ostiense sounds good but it seems too new. Ovens not seasoned yet! I would rather go to Da Baffetto and be abused there and get great pizza. They seem to be abusive to everyone but you cannot go against the fact that there is always a long wait.

 

Can't wait!

[slidergirl]

Andrew Zimmern (of Bizarre Foods fame) had a new show two nights ago on eating in Rome. He finally convinced me that I need to go eat in Testaccio next time I'm in Rome for more than a day...

 

Some of the things he ate were certainly not to everyone's taste, but he highlighted the return to Rome's roots in terms of cuisine.

 

The porchetta from Il Norcino Bernabei (15 miles outside Rome in Marino) made me want to fly there immediately and sample some. http://andrewzimmern.com/2015/04/27/il-norcino-bernabei/

 

 

Pizzeria Ostiense also sounds wonderful. See brief NY Times write: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/05/travel/05Surfacing_Rome-Ostiense.html?_r=0

 

I'll admit it: I'm a porchetta slut. Got to have it several times when I go to Italy. Bonci had a very good porchetta sandwich at his panificeria until he went vegetarian. I went to that webpage and looked at that gorgeous piece of pig and I WANTED SOME IMMEDIATELY… That crusty fat had me salivating…

 

For those who are in Rome for more than a day and are not afraid of venturing outside the tourist area: dal Cesare al Cassaleto. It's far out in Trastevere near the Portuense area - it is literally a block from the end of the #8 tram that you pick up at Piazza Venezia/Largo Argentina. Small, basic trattoria. But, yummy food. It's one of those places that you are at a major disadvantage if you go solo - there are soooo many tasty appetizers that you have to share multiple plates to get a taste of everything. But, I had to go anyway ;) I had an appetizer of the fried gnocchi that floats on a pool of cacio e pepe sauce. It was literally a portion that would have been considered a primi. Who knew that fried gnocchi would be so tasty! I wanted lamp chops, but they had none that day. I went against my "no beef" thing and ordered the beef rolls in tomato sauce. How something so totally basic could be so totally yummy!!! The beef melted in my mouth and the sauce was just so on point, just a tad of sweetness to it. To feel like I was eating slightly healthy, I had a contorni of sautéed chicory with red pepper. I acquired a real love for chicory this trip. The Italian cicoria is a lot like dandelion - I grew up having dandelion salads for dinner, so it was a welcome memory.

 

The last night, I just wandered back to Ginger. After seeing so many people at lunch order the budino of greens, I had to try one. That night, they had a cicoria budino. It is kind of like a blend of a soufflé and a pudding. It was excellent. Then I had their paccheri pasta with lamb sauce. It wasn't a "sauce", like you think, but more of ground lamb in broth. Very light and had good flavor balance.

[slidergirl]

I did get to Bonci's expanded Pizzarium for my last lunch. "Expanded" is a bit of a laugh - instead of only 8 people at a time fitting in the store, he can now fit maybe 16. He bought the storefront next door and just expanded that front area. Still no place to sit inside, but he added 6 bar tables outside to stand at. Still esoteric toppings. I had goat cheese and sautéed spring onions. Then, he had a few "sandwich" things. Big sheets of crispy thin foccacia with "stuff" in-between. I had a piece of one with sautéed chicory. Plain, basic, but really good. This is a good place to hit for a post-Vatican Museum lunch; it's just down the hill, right at the Cipro Metro stop on Via della Meloria.

[slidergirl]

For everyone who likes to stay at Albergo al Senato: there is a little pastry/sandwich shop right across the piazza. I went in there one night for a little sweet snack. Really good variety of different cookies. I picked up a couple cookies and a "palm leaf".