Rome Dinners

[Jess]

My parents will be in Rome in a few weeks. They like good food, but are not very extravagant and tend to eat pretty lightly. They are looking for recommendations for about 4-5 nice restaurants that are serve simple, basic fare and are average to moderately priced by Rome standards. (I would be more specific about price, but I don't know what a decent meals cost in Rome right now.) My dad speaks Italian, so mom-and-pop places where language might be a barrier would not be a problem. They are not looking for elaborate meals and definitely want to avoid tourist traps.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[CJ]

Here's my standard list as posted in December 2003:

Food in Rome

1. Best recommendation for quality, quantity, price, and ambience is Marcello at Via Aurora 37 between Ludovisi and Lombardo, 2 blocks in from the Via Veneto where the large hotels are. Recommended is a set meal they may suggest (if they don’t, ask your waiter for it): antipasti misti (5-6 vegetarian appetizers in large bowls from which you take what and how much you wish), primo is a platter of 3 different pastas in 3 different sauces, secundo is a large chunk of roast veal with potatoes and other items (veal is excellent, it will be enough for two; if you have a good deal left over, ask waiter to wrap it up and take it with you – might be enough for next day’s meal). House wine is good and can be had in ½ or full liter pitchers, in white or red. This meal for 2 with 1 liter of wine was 60 Euros in December 2003.
2. Giarrosto Dal Toscano at Via Germanica 56, near the Vatican Museum. Huge fireplace/grill for steaks, other meats, and slabs of meat on hooks. Try the Pasta Giulio Caesaro or pasta with boar sauce (cinghale) or rabbit/hare sauce (coniglie). Great grilled meats. Try for lunch when you are near the Vatican Museum.
3. At the corner next to Giarrosto Dal Toscano, on Via Ottaviano is a combination grocery store, candy shop, and café (not sure of the name) where you can browse for food items to bring home (olive oil, porcini mushrooms, Italian candies, etc.).
4. Nearer to St. Peter’s just off the Borgo Pio is Hostaria Orfeo da Cesaretta at Vicolo d’Orfeo 20. Small neighborhood restaurant with a tourist menu. A delicious dish they serve is risotto alla crema di spinaci (creamed spinach risotto). Also serve spaghetti alla carbonara, a traditional pasta dish made with eggs, bacon, and cream. Good choice for lunch.
5. Just behind the Coliseum (side not bordering on the ruins of the Forum – Via dei SS. Quattro 66) is another small neighborhood restaurant with a local flavor and good food. Pasqualino looks like a storefront restaurant but it is very Roman. Try their papardelle and ask for other recommendations; fettucine with fresh porcini mushrooms is very good if you like porcinis. The waiters are friendly and helpful.
6. Da Robertino (Via Panisperna 231 between Via Cavour and Via Nazionale, but closer to Nazionale) Good seafood restaurant with moderate prices. Mixed antipasti of seafood is excellent and pasta dishes are very good. A main course (secundo) of baked fresh fish will add substantially to the bill, as it is priced by the weight. Ask the owner, Roberto, for recommendations but be careful to understand pricing for what he recommends. His bottle of house wine is a nice Frascati.
7. Panella – L’Arte del Pane is a bakery/chocolate shop at Via Merulana 54-55 (this is a main street which begins at the Piazza of Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica). In addition to fine breads, cakes, cookies, chocolates, and other sweets, they also offer a limited number of prepared food for take-out: 4 or 5 pizzas/foccacias with different toppings, fried rice balls with prosciutto and cheese, baked vegetable dishes, etc. They will reheat these for you if you ask. A less expensive way to eat a tasty meal.
8. Look for supermarkets and small grocery shops which sell cheeses and sliced meats. They are a good source of inexpensive lunch supplies. Sliced porchetta (roast pork) is a Roman specialty. Good supermarket in Piazza S. Maria Maggiore in basement of PRM department store – modern, wide selection, good deli counter, bakery, wines.

[Jess]

That's a great list. I've sent it to my parents. Thanks a lot!

[MB]

Had a fine meal at Marcello back in October - suggested by the concierge at our hotel (the Westin). Antipasti looked fabulous. Food was uncomplicated and tasty.

[jen kalb]

If they want to eat real good food economically, you should definitely get them the list of restaurants on the slowfood website - its an extremely reliable source (info only in italian), and the restaurants we have tried from it have been convivial, traditional, delicious and very reasonable. From our last visit, Armando al Pantheon, and Sora Margherita (in the ghetto)were standouts. I posted a couple weeks ago about the very good convivial and again, cheap restaurants we found which were convenient to the Vatican, in Prati and you might want to look down this board for it.

For food specialties, I recommend highly a trip to volpetti's on Via Marmorata in Testaccio, cheese meats oils, breads, prepared foods etc. Have been told by a Roman that "La Tradizione" in Prati is even better. IMO Castrone, mentioned by a prior poster is overcrowded and not nearly as interesting as one of the above. Trattoria Nerone on the Oppian Hill across from the Colisseum is a good moderate traditional trattoria. The "Volpetti Piu" tavola calda next door to the Volpetti store is a great place to put together a high quality meal - they offer a tremendous range of hot and cold dishes, salads, focaccia, etc just point at what you want and they will add it to your plate. Very reasonable.
I recommend sampling all the wonderful breads from the Castelli Romani esp the Genzano and Lariano versions which can be bought by weight(the loaves are very large in many bakeries.

Panella Arte di Pane (I think on Via Merulana) mentioned by another poster is very good and charming but truly exorbitantly priced. their claim to fame, I think, is baking the specialties of many regions in one place. For example (we were there at Christmastime) I was able to buy in one place a Gubana (a specialty of the NE) and a very fine and elegantly wrapped pannetone - (however, for 35euros each!) they also offered the roman specialties pan giallo and panpepato, as well as very good whole wheat bread (rather uncommon in Rome). HOwever, the cooked foods we bought were just buried in besciamella, much too much was the family consensus.

[CJ]

I have posted on and bought food many times at Panella Arte di Pane and found wonderful choices without bechamel sauce (only one with it we ever ate was endives and the dish was great). Last time we had excellent rice balls and different pizzas and focaccia. Their prices are not low for chocolate and other items they sell, but I never considered them exorbitant. But the quality of everything was very high!

[jbw]

From an earlier post, if you're there on Sunday at midday. My recollection is that the antipasto misto is 15 euros:

We were there on a Sunday midday so we can also confirm an earlier post on Orso 80 (via Orso 80, near the Umberto Bridge). There we ordered -- along with everyone else who knew anything about the place -- the antipasto misto, an extravagant display of antipasti that certainly requires neither primo nor secondo. Not something you'd want to do every day (some of the piatti were hit or miss, but with such abundance who cares?), but certainly a classic Roman experience.

[foodiemahoodie]

If you like seafood, run, don't walk to Assunta Madre. Just got into Rome yesterday and my good friend (who cooks and knows food) took me here.

This place is simply great. Raw fish (crudo di pesci) - sea bream with pomegrante sees and olive oil, lobster with cherry tomatoes vin blanco. This is what you're looking for. I wish there was one in L.A.