A Guide to the Best Places to Eat in Rome from a Local

I met Gillian on a press trip last summer to the Amalfi and Cilento Coasts. She’s a fellow American who came to live in Italy through her husband’s job, just as I had. Based in Rome {in an apartment with a view of the Colosseum, no less}, Gillian was living out every fantasy I ever had about living in Italy. While I was trying to control a vine that would try to eat my neighbor’s children {not really, but it did viciously suck in one of the kid’s bicycles once} at my house in a rural Italian village in the North of Italy, Gillan was having chic dates eating Roman food with a view of the Trevi Fountain. She, without a doubt, wins in the battle of who did Italy best!

I have some favorites, but you can only eat at so many places on the handful of trips to Rome I’ve taken. So I asked Gillian to share her favorites from her years of eating her way through Rome. She came up the best places to eat in Rome for a whole bunch of different scenarios. Take a look and enjoy eating where the locals eat on your next trip to Rome.

The Best Places to Eat in Rome

When you live in one of the most visited cities in the world you get asked where to eat. A Lot. It’s a question that is actually kind of difficult to answer. Are you a first time visitor? Do you have two days or two weeks in Rome? Is it hot outside? Or raining? An so on. I have created this Rome Restaurant guide for Luxe Adventure Traveler in the hopes that there is an answer for just about any situation.

Near Termini Train Station
Da Nazzareno
via Magenta 33
Closed Wednesdays

It is quite likely you will arrive and or depart from Rome via Termini, the city’s main train station. Da Nazzareno is one block away. It is a very old fashioned Roman place with a long antipasta station filled with platters and dishes of grilled vegetables, marinated anchovies and olives, traditional pasta dishes and seconds like grilled lamb chops and if you are lucky roast suckling pig. The desserts are made in house and have the same time-honored vibe that is a true please of this place.

Best Bet by the Trevi Fountain
Baccano
via della Muratte 23

A trip to Rome means lots of walking. Like wear out your Fitbit kind of walking. Most of the establishments that are near the cities most famous monuments are mediocre at best. Don’t be fooled by the checkered table clothes and friendly greeters luring you in. Baccano is a modern New York style place that fills at least half a block around the corner from the Trevi Fountain and a short walk from the Spanish Steps. It is open from early to late, has a great bar where you can stop for an excellent cocktail and a menu that ranges from cheese and salami plates, excellent pasta and if you have had your fill of Italian cuisine one of the Rome’s best hamburgers.

Best Traditional Pasta
Flavio al Velavevodetto
Via di Monte Testaccio, 97
Book a reservation on TheFork

Testaccio has been a food centric neighborhood for literally centuries, from where deliveries arrived and were distributed from in the Roman empire, to the location of Rome’s slaughterhouses until the turn of the last century and today as home to a terrific market and an excellent selection of classic trattorias. My go to in this part of town is Flavio al Velavevodetto. The main dining room is built into the Monte Testaccio which was made from ancient pottery shards and in nice weather there is a lovely rooftop. Come here for fried zucchini flowers stuffed with mozzarella and anchovies, fried artichokes (in season), bucatini Amatriciana, coda alla vaccinara and what I think is the best tiramisu in Rome.

Pizza in the Daytime
Emma Pizzeria
via Monte della Farina 28/29
06 6476 0475

Italy is famous for its pizza, justifiably so. What you may not know is that pizza is almost exclusively an evening only meal. There is an exception which I will tell you about in the next listing. If you are craving a proper wood fire oven pizza Emma near Campo di Fiori breaks the rules. There is outside seating and a bright modern dining room. The pizza here is traditional with gourmet toppings. The best buffalo mozzarella from Paestum, tomatoes from the slopes of Vesuvius, prosciutto from Tuscany and anchovies from Sicily. There is an excellent wine list and an interesting collection of craft beers to drink.

Pizza al Taglio
Forno Campo de’Fiori
Campo De’ Fiori, 22 – Vicolo del Gallo, 14

As a general rule Italians do not snack in between meals or eat on the run. Of course there are exceptions to the rules and pizza al taglio is one of them. This is pizza by the slice and the bakery in the corner behind the flower sellers in the Campo di Fiori is the place to go. Meters long strips of pizza bianca is left plain or topped with slicks of tomato sauce or potatoes or stuffed with mortadella or zucchini flowers, ordered to go, swiftly cut to order and wrapped in brown paper to be enjoyed perched on the edge of the nearby fountain.

Exhausted at the End of the Day
Pasta Chef
Via Baccina, 42
Closed Sunday

A trip to Rome can be exhausting. Sometimes you really don’t want another meal in a restaurant, but you want more than a quick panino. Pasta Chef to the rescue. This is fast food Italian style. The amatriciana and carbonara are some the city’s best plates of pasta. There is a good caesar salad if you need some greens. You can eat in or take your dinner back to your apartment.

A Great Cup of Coffee
Roscioli Caffè
Piazza Benedetto Cairoli, 16

This sliver of a space in between Largo Argentina and Campo di Fiori is the newest addition to the Roscioli empire. There is a hipster vibe with aeropress and pour over coffee on the menu, but you can get a quick espresso shot and an excellent cappuccino here too. There is a small, stylish room in the back where you can have a pastry or a quick sandwich.

More than 31 Flavors
Gunther Rohegger Gelato
Via dei Pettinari, 43
Piazza Sant’eustachio
via Due Macelli 108

With three locations in Rome’s historic center you are probably only a short walk from this vast selection of gelato flavors. There are at least ten chocolate flavors alone! Gunther uses meticulously sourced ingredients to create some of Rome’s creamiest gelato, freshest granitas and sorbet. Try inventive flavors like buffalo milk with pink peppercorn, rosemary dark chocolate and ricotta, strawberry and balsamic vinegar alongside simple Madagascar vanilla, and Sicilian pistachio.

Best Pastries
Regoli
Via dello Statuto, 60
Closed Tuesdays

This tiny pastry shop near the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica is one that even Romans will cross town for. Their Maritozzi, a sweet whipped cream filled bun are legendary, flaky pastry sandwiches a creamy center in their Bavarese and the strawberry studded, custard filled tarts are as delicious as they are Instagram worthy. There is a small bar next door where can can bring your pastry and order a cup of coffee.

Best Breakfast
Coromandel
via di Monte Giordano 60/61
06 68802461
Closed Mondays

Roman breakfast is a cappuccino and a cornetto eaten quickly standing at the bar. If you are looking for something more substantial head to the very pretty Coromandel near Piazza Navona. On the morning menu you will find pancakes, french toast, omelets and bacon. Add a freshly pressed juice and coffee and you will be well fueled for a full day of Roman sightseeing.

Gillian is a a Rome based blogger at Gillian’s Lists, ebook writer of the Amalfi Coast Essentials Guide and Ponza Travel Essentials Guide, information curator, traveler, coffee and cocktail drinker. Her friends call her “the Source” and she is your go-to girl for the best information on just about anything in the Eternal City, the Amalfi Coast, Capri and the island of Ponza. Follow Gillian on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat.