The restaurants worth a reservation in Rome, from neighbourhood bistros to the new classics.
The restaurants worth the trip in Rome. bistros, neo-classics, neighbourhood favourites, and the rooms locals book first.
Roscioli in Rome's Centro Storico runs deli, restaurant and wine cellar as one room. Kitchen leans roman, salumeria. At Via dei Giubbonari 21.
OrderThe carbonara, the burrata with anchovies, and any cheese flight from the counter.
TipBook three weeks ahead for dinner. Lunch is the easier seating and the same kitchen runs both services.
Armando al Pantheon in Rome has cooked the four Roman pastas and the quinto quarto canon since 1961, a few steps from the Pantheon. Located in Centro Storico.
OrderCacio e pepe, coda alla vaccinara, and the abbacchio when it's on the carte.
TipBookings open exactly two months ahead on the website. Walk-up tables exist but only for lone diners and only at 12:30.
Felice a Testaccio in Rome has served the Testaccio working-quarter cucina since 1936. Kitchen leans roman trattoria. At Via Mastro Giorgio 29.
OrderThe tonnarelli cacio e pepe tossed at the table, then saltimbocca alla romana and tiramisu.
TipBook a fortnight ahead on the website. Lunch is calmer; the 21:00 dinner sitting is the longest wait.
Flavio al Velavevodetto in Rome's Testaccio is built into Monte dei Cocci, the ancient amphora mound. Priced at €€. Kitchen leans roman trattoria.
OrderThe rigatoni alla gricia, polpette al sugo and a half-litre of Cesanese del Piglio.
TipThe amphora-walled back rooms are the spot to ask for; the terrace fills up first in summer.
Da Enzo al 29 in Rome's Trastevere is the 30-seat trattoria with the longest queue in town. Kitchen leans roman trattoria. At Via dei Vascellari 29.
OrderCarbonara, carciofo alla giudia in season (March to May), tiramisu to finish.
TipNo bookings for parties under four. Queue from 18:45 for a 19:00 seating or you will wait an hour.
Trattoria Pennestri in Rome's Ostiense, opened 2017 by Tommaso Pennestri, runs the Roman canon with farmer-named meat sourcing. Priced at €€.
OrderThe rigatoni alla gricia, pajata when it's on, and any seasonal antipasto from the chalkboard.
TipClosed Monday all day, Sunday dinner. Lunch is much easier to book than the 20:30 dinner seating.
Sarah Cicolini's Santo Palato in Rome reads the quinto quarto offal grammar as modern technique. Located in Esquilino. Kitchen leans modern roman.
OrderThe trippa alla romana, tonnarelli cacio e pepe, and a glass of Cesanese.
TipBook three weeks ahead; the room has 35 covers. Lunch is the calmer service.
Da Cesare al Casaletto in Rome's western Trastevere edge, run by Leonardo Vignoli, is the locals' Sunday trattoria. Kitchen leans roman trattoria.
OrderThe fried cacio e pepe cup, polpette di bollito, and a quartino of house red.
TipTake tram 8 from Trastevere to the end of the line. Book a week ahead for Sunday lunch.
Checchino dal 1887 in Rome's Testaccio is the dynastic temple of the quinto quarto. Kitchen leans roman, offal cuisine. At Via di Monte Testaccio 30.
OrderRigatoni con la pajata, coda alla vaccinara, animelle and a glass from the historic Lazio cellar.
TipThe cellar tour before lunch is worth booking. Closed Sunday and Monday all day.
Piatto Romano in Rome's Testaccio is the small-room trattoria where the Cocco family cooks the four Roman pastas exactly as the rulebook says.
OrderThe four Roman pastas tasting if it's offered, otherwise the gricia and cacio e pepe.
TipClosed Wednesday all day. Book a week ahead; the dining room holds 30 covers.
Ba'Ghetto in Rome's Jewish Ghetto serves the cucina giudaico-romanesca canon under kosher supervision. Priced at €€. Kitchen leans roman-jewish.
OrderCarciofo alla giudia, aliciotti con l'indivia and the spaghetti with anchovies.
TipKosher kitchen; closed Friday evening through Saturday lunch. Book ahead for Sunday lunch.
Nonna Betta in Rome's Jewish Ghetto runs the giudaico-romanesca menu with a wider modern carte than the strictly-kosher houses. Priced at €€.
OrderCarciofo alla giudia, concia di zucchine and the spaghetti with bottarga.
TipOpen Saturday lunch; not strictly kosher but recipes follow the Roman-Jewish tradition.
Trecca in Rome reads the Lazio mountain cucina through a young-kitchen lens. Closed Tuesday; dinner only Mon, Wed-Sun. Book a week ahead; small front room.
OrderTortelli of ricotta and cicoria, polpette al sugo, and a glass of Cesanese.
TipClosed Tuesday; dinner only Mon, Wed-Sun. Book a week ahead; small front room.
Pianostrada in Rome's Regola district is the all-female kitchen behind the focaccia di Pianostrada (rosemary, mortadella, stracciatella) and the modern Roman.
OrderThe mortadella-and-stracciatella focaccia and the tagliolini cacio e pepe.
TipThe garden seats book six weeks out for summer. Closed Monday all day.
Trattoria Monti in Rome reads the Marchigiano kitchen, the Camerano family's home region, through a Roman lens. Kitchen leans le marche / roman.
OrderThe tortino di carciofi, the coniglio in porchetta, and an Offida Pecorino white.
TipClosed Sunday dinner and Monday all day. Book three weeks out; 30 seats only.
Marco Martini's Aventino-edge room holds a Michelin star for the chef's modern reading of Roman pastas, with a tasting menu that runs both omnivore.
OrderThe carbonara reinterpreted with smoked egg, then any of the seasonal pigeon courses.
TipLunch tasting is €95 vs €150 dinner. The vegetarian carte runs the same number of courses.
Il Sanlorenzo in Rome's Centro Storico is the Michelin-starred seafood-only room. Priced at €€€€. At Via dei Chiavari 4/5. Booking recommended.
OrderThe crudi platter and the spaghettone alle vongole with the daily catch.
TipThe €85 lunch tasting is the more accessible entry; dinner runs €150 carte. Book a fortnight ahead.
La Tavernaccia da Bruno in Rome's western Trastevere edge has a wood-fire spit roasting porchetta and a Thursday-only lasagna that locals book three weeks.
OrderThe Thursday lasagna if you can land a table, otherwise the porchetta and tonnarelli cacio e pepe.
TipThursday lasagna sells out by 14:00 and books up two weeks ahead. Closed Wednesday.
Perilli in Rome's Testaccio has cooked the rigatoni con la pajata and the bucatini all'amatriciana since 1911. Kitchen leans roman trattoria.
OrderRigatoni con la pajata (the dish of the house), bucatini all'amatriciana and a glass of Frascati.
TipClosed Wednesday all day. Cash and card; cover charge is €2 per head.
Antico Arco on Rome's Gianicolo hill is the modern-Roman dining room with a panoramic terrace. Located in Trastevere. Kitchen leans modern italian.
OrderThe carbonara, filetto al Barolo, and the molten chocolate tortino with vanilla gelato.
TipBook a sunset table on the terrace three weeks out. Tram 8 from Trastevere drops at the foot of the hill.
Rimessa Roscioli in Rome is the wine-tasting dinner format from the Roscioli family. Located in Centro Storico. Kitchen leans italian, wine-led.
OrderThe full tasting dinner; the wine flights are the experience, not optional add-ons.
TipSingle seating at 20:00. Reserve a fortnight ahead; the salumi flight alone is worth the ticket.
Osteria Fernanda in Rome's southern Trastevere edge is Davide Del Duca's modern-Italian tasting room. Priced at €€€. Kitchen leans modern italian.
OrderThe carte blanche tasting if you have three hours; otherwise the weekday lunch set.
TipClosed Sunday and Monday all day. The €80 lunch tasting is the steal vs €110 dinner.
Chinappi in Rome's Castro Pretorio quarter is the Formia fish family's city dining room, with three tasting menus and a 200-label cellar behind the seafood.
OrderThe menu a sorpresa, a multi-course set chosen by Stefano Chinappi from the day's catch.
TipClosed Monday. The set menus are the way in; the a la carte fish is priced by weight, so ask before ordering.
Clotilde in Rome's Centro Storico is Clemente Quaglia's 1996 dining room near Piazza Cardelli, where Roman and Ciociaria cooking share the menu with seafood.
OrderCacio e pepe with fried courgette, then the alici abbottonate from the sea side of the menu.
TipClosed Monday and Tuesday lunch. The owner named the place for his mother; ask for the Ciociaria dishes.
Spazio Niko Romito in Rome's Parioli is the Abruzzo chef's all-day bar and kitchen on Piazza Verdi, running from Italian breakfast to lunch and afternoon tea.
OrderThe fried chicken, the dish the place is known for, with a filled bomba to finish.
TipOpen 07:30-17:00 on weekdays and from 08:00 at weekends, so this is a breakfast and lunch stop, not a dinner booking.
Oolong in Rome's Centro Storico is Jiang Yan's small Chinese dining room on Piazza San Paolo alla Regola, cooking imperial recipes and eight regional schools.
OrderThe lacquered duck served in three courses, ordered when you book, plus the four-flavour ravioli.
TipDinner only, Wednesday to Sunday. The room is tiny and the underground imperial hall seats few, so book ahead.
Song in Rome's Prati is Lin Sang Chu's Hong Kong dim sum house on Via Valadier, steaming xiao long bao and crystal dumplings and roasting duck over 30 hours.
OrderThe eight-piece dim sum tasting, then the Peking duck with crepes if there are two of you.
TipOpen daily for lunch and dinner. The dim sum set is about 29 euros; the duck is 18 euros and worth planning around.
UMA in Rome's Ostiense is the 2024 tasting-menu room of chefs Matteo Taccini and Luigi Senese, built on charcoal, fermentation and single-ingredient plates.
OrderThe nine-course Unico Zar at 85 euros; the seven-course vegetarian menu is 60 euros.
TipDinner only, closed Tuesday; the online booking takes tables from 20:00. The room is small and the menus are set.
Nero di Seppia in Rome's Montesacro is a 2008 neighbourhood fish restaurant on Via Valdinievole, doing crudi, seafood pasta and the day's fry for locals.
OrderSpaghetti al nero di seppia, the house dish, followed by the frittura di pescato.
TipClosed Monday. Far from the centre on the Nomentana side; combine with a walk in the Aniene park. Takeaway available.
Roma Amor in Rome's Salario quarter is chef Pierpaolo Presta's seafood room on Via Velletri, cooking wild-caught Tyrrhenian fish with small-farm vegetables.
OrderThe barbecued octopus and a plate of crudo di mare, then whatever local scampi came in that morning.
TipClosed Monday; Saturday is dinner only and Sunday is lunch only. Book by phone or through the site.
Chiaroscuro in Rome's San Giovanni is a fish restaurant on Via Rimini near Re di Roma, running from tartare trios and squid-ink tagliolini to a mixed grill.
OrderThe tris di tartare of tuna, cod and amberjack, then the tagliolino al nero di seppia.
TipClosed Monday. Phone bookings are taken after 10:30; the kitchen stops at 22:00, so do not arrive late for dinner.
Bussarakham in Rome's Esquilino is a Thai restaurant on Via Emanuele Filiberto by Manzoni metro, with green curry and clearly marked vegan dishes.
OrderThe green curry, then a vegetable stir-fry; the vegan choices are marked on the menu.
TipTuesday is dinner only; every other day runs lunch and dinner. A ten-minute walk from San Giovanni in Laterano.
I Goliardi in Rome's Ludovisi quarter is a Piedmontese trattoria on Via Sardegna, a street off Via Veneto, putting the northern region's tradition first.
OrderWork through the Piedmontese antipasti before the fresh pasta: the menu belongs to Piedmont rather than to Rome.
TipOpen daily; Tuesday is dinner only. Mid-priced for the Via Veneto area, which is the point of coming here.
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