Rome’s Top 10 : Restaurants

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  1. Checchino dal 1887

    The
    premier restaurant of Testaccio since 1887 boasts Rome’s largest wine
    cellar. Working-class dishes – this is the place that invented coda alla vaccinara  – and more elegant fare are prepared divinely, with the best selection of Italian and French cheeses in town .




    Checchino dal 1887



    Terrace, Checchino dal 1887

  2. Agata e Romeo

    Romeo
    Caraccio runs the dining room in this Liberty-style temple to creative
    Roman cuisine near Santa Maria Maggiore. His wife Agata Parisella reigns
    in the kitchen, preparing rich and highly original concoctions of meat,
    fish and fresh vegetables. Don’t miss her heavenly desserts, including
    the millefoglie – puff pastry filled with cream .

  3. Alberto Ciarla

    The
    quality of the cooking at Trastevere’s famed fish restaurant has gone
    up and down over the years, but when it’s good it can be outstanding.
    Prices are stratospheric, even for simple seafood, and the darkened
    atmosphere of the modern rooms is somewhat overbearing, but it has loyal
    fans.

  4. Sabatini

    One
    of Rome’s most famed restaurants, favoured by the likes of Fellini in
    the days before it became too hyped for its own good. Killer location on
    the piazza, but terribly steep prices. The cuisine is refined Roman and
    seafood .

  5. Sapori del Lord Byron

    The
    location, inside one of Rome’s most exclusive small hotels, and the
    chef’s renowned ability to turn both Italian classics and inventive new
    dishes into works of art, keeps this elegant restaurant on the A-list –
    and makes it a great place for celebrity-spotting.

    • Via G. de Notaris 5, Hotel Lord Byron

    • 06 322 0404

    • Closed Sun

  6. Da Cesaretto

    Also known as Fiaschetteria Beltramme, little has changed since this osteria opened in 1886. Prices are relatively low and dishes are solid Roman specialities. There is no phone and no reservations so come early. The tables are shared.

    • Via della Croce 39

    • Closed Sun

    • No credit cards

  7. Piperno

    The
    best Roman Jewish cooking in the Ghetto since 1856 (although also the
    priciest). Hosts of TV shows have been seen sneaking in to try and
    unlock the chef’s secrets. Service can be slightly off-hand, but the
    artichokes can’t be beat .




    Piperno

  8. Da Augusto

    Archetypal Trastevere trattoria.
    Block-style wooden tables and butchers’ paper mats form the decor; the
    menu is recited by the busily indifferent waiters rather than printed.
    Good table wine and the food comprises excellent, simple traditional
    dishes. In fine weather there is seating on the tiny piazza-cum-car park
    out front.

  9. ‘Gusto

    The
    latest see-and be-seen restaurant, kitschily installed in one of
    Mussolini’s pompous travertine buildings lining the piazza. Glass walls
    and outdoor tables overlook Augustus’s Mausoleum . Several dining choices, each excellent: cucina
    creativa is served in the restaurant proper, and there’s a pizzeria
    (open until 1am), and a wine bar (open 11am to 2am) serving Thai
    cuisine. Booking is recommended .




    ‘Gusto

  10. Birreria Peroni

    Local
    businessmen regularly take their lunchtime discussions to this 1906
    beer hall sponsored by Italy’s biggest brewery. The buffet snacks and
    scrumptious main dishes cross Roman and Germanic influences, and the Art
    Deco murals feature cherubs playing sports and promising “He who drinks
    beer lives to 100”.