What we look for
Food is important. Sitting on a table and enjoying a good meal is like a ritual to us. We don’t eat to feed our bodies, but to feed our souls.
We have to admit, we are quite picky when we go to a restaurant. First and foremost, we look for good quality food, which means dishes made with good quality ingredients.
How do we tell if the ingredients were good quality? We just listen to our stomach. When cooking our meals at home, we only choose quality, organic ingredients. So when we eat out and the quality is not the best, our stomach bloats right away and the meal becomes difficult to digest. This is because we never eat processed food, we buy fruits and vegetables from local farmers and meat from butchers we trust. It’s a real gut feeling that is never wrong.
We personally tried the restaurants we listed below, and we consider them the best Rome restaurants because they have all passed our “gut feeling test” 😉
We also look for good service. We believe that is a crucial part of the experience. That feeling that the person serving you is REALLY enjoying what they do, is a priceless feeling that makes the whole experience much more special and relaxing.
Below each restaurant description we also wrote when was the last time we’ve been there. Just so you know how old our review is, in case of changes of these restaurants we are not aware of.
We’ll also update this list when new entries are added, so save this article keep checking it from time to time.
We hope you’ll find this useful and.. Buon appetito! 😊
The Best Rome Restaurants in Trastevere
Osteria della Trippa
When you read “osteria” that means it is a sort of “tavern” where you can find Roman traditional food. And in Osteria della Trippa you can find the real Roman food.
It is located in a quieter area of Trastevere (not too far from the busy side though), where you’ll find more locals than tourists. The menu includes the simple and traditional Roman dishes such as carbonara, coratella, animelle, pallotte cacio e ova.
Alessandra, the owner of this restaurant gives such a fun and personable touch to the whole experience, really taking care of the recipes and giving you advice on what to choose from the menu, in a pleasant and spontaneous Roman style. We loved it! Food was amazing, and the service too. This restaurant was also featured in the Michelin Guide in 2022. From here you can walk to the heart of Trastevere in less than 5 minutes.
Prices are just right for what you get, average to other restaurants.
Last time we went to this restaurant was in May 2022.
Website: https://www.losteriadellatrippa.it/
PRO TIP: Most tourists consider Trastevere the best area for food in Rome. Because of that, there are tons of touristy restaurants in this area. Trastevere is not just an area for food though, but also a beautiful neighborhood to explore. Our best-selling tour “Hidden gems of Trastevere” takes you to the less-touristy area of Trastevere to discover underground ancient ruins, the story of one of the most famous saints of Rome and other beautiful tidbits to get to know the area.
La Tavernaccia
This was such a great find! Central but totally off the beaten path, la Tavernaccia is a family owned restaurant operating since 1968. The menu offers a variety of traditional Roman dishes, with quality ingredients and good service. When eating at this restaurant we had the feeling we were at a friend’s house (a friend that cooks extremely well!). The absolute best dish we had was the maialino with potatoes. If you do eat meat you must try that!
Prices are average.
Last time we went to this restaurant was in July 2022.
Website: https://www.latavernacciaroma.com/en-gb
Pizza Seu Illuminati
This pizzeria is known among many Romans as one of the best Rome pizza restaurants. Pizza Seu is located in Trastevere, but away from the touristy crowds. There’s not much around this pizzeria, but we always found their tables to be full, which means people go there specifically to eat this pizza (this must mean something!). The vibe is more contemporary and hipster and their pizza is so good!
Pizza is a humble dish, but here pizza is treated with respect, as in fine dining. Their menu includes both traditional pizzas (margherita, marinara, diavola, etc) and more creative pizzas.
Pizza and beer is the perfect match, and here you’ll only find artisanal beer.
Pizza is fairly priced.
Last time we went to this restaurant was in July 2021.
Website: https://seu-pizza-illuminati.business.site/
The Best Rome restaurants in the Historic Center
Gino al Parlamento
This is an old time favorite. We still remember the first time we’ve been to Gino: “It is right next to the parliament building, so it must be expensive!”. Not at all.
We are in the super center of Rome, but as soon as you walk into the tiny alley of Vicolo Rosini you step into a different world. This place is a tiny gem that everybody should try at least once. We’ve been to Gino so many times and it has always been such a joy. This is everything you want to experience if you are looking for something typical Roman.
The restaurant is tiny (so book in advance!) and it’s frescoed all over, giving it such a traditional vibe. The food is really good, traditional and comforting: they serve so many recipes that our mums have cooked for us since we were little. That is probably why it is considered by many Romans one of the best Rome restaurants.
The staff is super friendly and always ready to make jokes with you. If you also understand Italian and the Roman sense of humor, you’ll give this place 6 stars!
Prices are fair.
Last time we went to this restaurant was in 2019.
Website: https://www.ristoranteparlamento.roma.it/
PLAN WISELY: These restaurants in the Historic Center of Rome are all VERY short walking distance to the start and end points of our “Rome Historic Center: behind the scenes tour with Underground Piazza Navona“. This answers one of the most frequently asked questions at the end of the tour: where can we go have a nice dinner not far from here?
Est Artigiani del Gusto
Few steps away from Piazza Navona, among tons of touristy restaurants, you take a little quite alley and find this relaxing little restaurant.
This family-run restaurant serves traditional Roman dishes as well as other dishes more creative and different. Their pasta is either fresh homemade by them, or in case of the dry pasta, is very good quality and “al dente” (which means cooked just right as per Italian taste, not too hard but not too overcooked). The quality of the ingredients is really good.
We had dinner here with a group of 9 friends, including kids. Everybody was happy and said they would return. The grandma of the family was so sweet and asked personally to one of our kids if he was happy about the pasta she made just for him. The staff was super nice and available to any request we had.
Last time we were here was in December 2024.
Website: https://www.estartigianidelgusto.it/
Virginiae
This Rome restaurant is a happy island in the midst of very touristic restaurants. It is located a couple of minutes walk from Piazza Navona and it offers traditional Roman cuisine. Food is great and service too. This restaurant has seats both indoor and outdoor (in a little street with views of Santa Maria della Pace).
We loved their rigatoni alla gricia, the carciofo alla romana (“Roman way” artichoke, different from the “Jewish way” artichoke) and the gnocchi with tomato and basil.
Last time we’ve been to this restaurant was in March 2023.
Website: https://www.ristorantevirginiae.it/
The Best Rome Restaurants near the Vatican
Margot
This trendy and colorful restaurant is walking distance from the Vatican and Castel Sant’Angelo ( and a perfect dinner location after our Rome Ghost tour, which ends only few minutes walk from it).
It is located in via Crescenzio, a street in the Prati district which features many trendy bars and restaurants, mostly frequented by locals. Service is very friendly, the location is colorful and richly decorated with flowers and plants hanging on the walls and ceilings. It also has outdoor seating.
We loved the food and what we recommend trying is the Pasta alla Gricia with Artichokes.
We last visited this restaurant in March 2023.
Website: https://www.ristorantemargotprati.it/
The Best Rome Restaurants in Monteverde
Lumie di Sicilia
One of the most hidden of the gems of this list, because it is located in the residential area of Monteverde (near Trastevere and the Janiculum hill).
We decided to go and try Lumie di Sicilia, because each time we passed by it was full of people, even though it is located in a residential area. And this was already a really good sign.
We were not disappointed. This restaurant serves dishes from the Sicilian tradition. You’ll find good quality ingredients and good Sicilian wines. The service is great, friendly and attentive to details.
Prices are fair.
Last time we went to this restaurant was in July 2024.
Website: https://www.facebook.com/people/Lumie-Di-Sicilia/100063775620718/
Hosteria da Settimio
This is the hidden gem of the hidden gems! Hosteria da Settimio doesn’t have a website, an Instagram page.. and not even a menu! In this traditional and authentic Roman restaurant you’ll have two seating times for dinner, at 7:30PM and at 9:30PM. And you must be on time, because once everybody is seated, the lady managing the restaurant takes a chair, sits in the middle and starts announcing the menu. She always says men always ask her to repeat twice because they don’t pay attention, and they do ask her to repeat. And she tells them off.
Apart from this super fun and unique experience, the food is absolutely amazing and authentic. The type of food that you would find in a grandma’s house for dinner.
Book well in advance by phone. There’s only about 20 seats and they always sell out. Located in the residential area of Monteverde.
Phone number: +39 06 5823 0701
Monteverde super local street food tour
You probably consider food an important part in your travel experience in Rome – or otherwise you wouldn’t be here.
We run a small group food tour in the neighborhood where we live, called “Super Local Street Food Tour with Breakfast“. During this tour you will taste the real Roman food from family-run businesses since generations in a neighborhood where only the locals live and shop. Higher quality of food than the touristy areas of Rome.
We are very proud of this tour, because we designed every single step of it to give you an insider look of the REAL local life. It can’t get any more local than that!
You can find this tour here: Super Local Street Food Tour with Breakfast
We also asked the Romans what’s the best restaurant in Rome..
We don’t go out for dinner very often (we like to cook at home), so the recommendations of restaurants we tried personally are limited. That is why we thought of extending our Rome restaurants recommendations by stopping random Romans in the streets and ask them what’s their favorite restaurant. Here are some of the answers:
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