The Best Local Restaurants in Rome, Italy
- Family Tips For Trips
- Apr 24, 2020
- 3 min read
Hungry? One of the exciting parts about a vacation in Rome, is all the great local “trattoria or osterias” (Italian name for restaurants). What you’ll find in Rome is a variety of great family-owned places to stop and have a bite. If you’re like my family, we tried not to eat too much at each place but rather get a few plates and share. We saved money this way, and all of us got to try a few items off the menu. Whether you’re searching for gelato, pasta or oxtail, Rome is sure to have some of the best food in the country. The trick is to know where to stop. In this blog are some of my top recommendations. I’ll list some restaurants and gelateria’s by the different neighborhoods or closest tourist locations. That way it will be easier for you to find.
If you’re in the area between Piazza Navona and The Pantheon, then stop by Osteria Pizzeria Margherita. This restaurant is located on Villa delle Coppelle, 34. We stopped by for lunch on our free walking tour on our first day in Rome. Our party of 7 sat down quickly, considering how busy they were during this time. The staff is very friendly, and we didn’t have to wait long for our pizza’s. We just ordered a couple of margherita pizza’s and Cacio e Pepe pasta dish. I thought the prices were reasonable, 7 euros for the pizza and 9 euros for the pasta. If you’re looking for something on a budget for a large family, I would highly recommend Osteria Pizzeria Margherita.
In historic Rome, near Campo di Fiori, you will find Emma Pizzeria. I first heard about Emma through Vice’s The Pizza Show. The host was listing the top pizza’s in Rome and Emma was on the list. Emma’s signature pizza is crispy and thin. We ordered a few margherita di bufala, a calzone, fries, and fettuccina and tomato pasta. (If you have any allergies, the menu has a guide to let you know what allergens are in each dish). The food came out at a decent time, but let me tell you, it smelled and looked so good, I didn’t get a chance to take a picture of the plates. My family devoured everything in about 15 minutes. This was one of our top places to eat dinner in Rome.
Right in front of the Colosseum you will find an excellent restaurant called Gran Café Rossi Martini. Our family was very hungry after our colosseum tour, and we found this restaurant with stunning views. We stopped by right as the sun was setting and that made our experience here even better. Our order included: you guessed it…. a margherita pizza, spaghetti and meatballs with black truffles sprinkled on top, lasagna, cheeseburger and fries. I did get a chance to snap a few pictures of the food. Everything was cooked perfectly, service was fantastic. We ate so good, my family wanted to eat here again the next day.
If you are in the Trastevere area, stop by Tonnarello (Via della Paglia 1). I would recommend calling ahead for a reservation if you plan on eating after 7pm. We showed up for an early dinner, around 6 and got a table right away. Dishes range from 8-12 euros. We ordered the spaghetti, lasagna, and focaccia with several toppings. The food was delightful, and the atmosphere is great. This restaurant is great for families.
Now that I’ve listed a few places for lunch and dinner, now I need to let you know a couple of Gelateria’s that we tried. The first one is located right down the street from the Trevi Fountain, BAR Café and Gelateria (Via di S. Vincenzo, 14). They have a large variety of flavors. A medium is 4 euros. We tried a strawberry, pistachio and lemon-flavored gelato. Very creamy and yummy, everyone approved this gelateria.
In the Campo di Fiori area, we found Gunther Gelato (Via dei Pettinari, 43). Our Airbnb was in the area, so we stopped here almost every night after dinner. I never knew there were so many different flavors of chocolate gelato until I came here. They have over 12 different kinds….just chocolate! You will find over 30 different flavors of handmade, locally sourced gelato. My favorite combination is Madagascar vanilla with milk chocolate. Just typing that out makes my mouth water. It’s that good!
I hope this list of restaurants and gelateria’s helps you on your next Roman Holiday. One thing that I make sure we do on vacation is eat good. I found that walking just a few blocks away from the main tourist attractions, are excellent restaurants to try. I love to eat like a local in any city that I visit. Do you have any more restaurant suggestions to add to my list? Leave a comment below.
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