Where Should You Eat in Rome?
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With over 13,000 restaurants to choose from in the Eternal City, it’s quite a daunting and delicious task to decide the best places to eat! Here are my suggestions of the best restaurants to get you started!
All Brothers Wine Bar – lunch near the Vatican
This little restaurant was the closest one we could find by the Vatican. Decent, inexpensive lunch after our morning touring the Vatican Museums and St. Peters. Good pizzas, sandwiches and beer!
Sant’ Eustachio Caffe – best coffee
This popular cafe is a short walk from the Pantheon. It was established in 1938, and is said by many to serve the best coffee in Rome. I enjoyed the coffee, so smooth! The cafe has coffee for sale and other fun gift items.
To order you pay first at the cash register on the right of the entrance, they give you a receipt and you walk to the bar on the other side and hand that to a barista. Alternatively, you can sit at a table outside where a waiter will serve you. This costs quite a bit more than ordering/drinking your coffee at the bar.
Gunther Gelato – best gelato
Gunther’s was recommended to me as Rome’s best authentic gelato by a Rome aficionado friend. There are 4 locations in Rome. We were all delighted by their gelato and the opportunity to get a small cup with 3 different flavors.
Though the word “gelato” actually means “ice cream” in Italian, they are quite different. Here’s a summary:
| Ice Cream | Gelato |
| More cream, less milk | More milk, less cream |
| Creamier | Richer and denser |
| Egg yolks | No egg yolks usually |
| 15 to 25 percent fat | 5 to 10 percent fat |
| More air | Less air |
Osteria Da Fortunata – best Carbonara and cute plates!
Osteria Da Fortunata (Lucky Tavern!) is a five minute walk from the Piazza Navona, right next to the Campo de’ Fiori. This is a great place to try traditional dishes. Amazing Carbonara, THE pasta dish to have in Rome! Another favorite was the Tagliolini Cacio E Pepe, a dream come true for kids or lovers of “basic” food.
I thought their dishes were so cute I asked if I could buy one, even though they don’t typically sell them. They sold me one for 10€, and it sits proudly on my kitchen counter, reminding me every day of our wonderful meal there!
Aroma – gourmet food with a Colosseum view
If you’re looking for fine dining in the Eternal City, Aroma is an amazing Michelin star restaurant on the top floor of Hotel Palazzo Manfredi. It has a postcard perfect view of the Colosseum from its sheltered outdoor deck. We splurged big time on this dinner and it was worth it! The view overlooking the Colosseum at and after sunset was priceless. Being a Michelin star restaurant the food wasn’t too shabby either!
La Fata Ignorante – cool rooftop bar/restaurant and more!
La Fata Ignorante (The Ignorant Fairy) is a fun restaurant, with delicious espresso martinis, on the top of the iQ Hotel. The seating is indoor or outdoor, overlooking the Opera House. The food, drinks and atmosphere were all stunning! They focus on following the seasonality of the fresh produce they serve.
One of the most memorable things about this place was the wine vending machine near the restroom! I’d never seen such a thing before! Across from the vending machine they had two wine bottle openers available. Such a fun reminder that I “wasn’t in Kansas anymore!” (Not that I’ve ever been to Kansas.).
As you may know, in the US we tend to have ice with any cold drink, but that is not common in Europe. Being there in July, I was desperate for ice water constantly. I asked for ice with my water at this restaurant and they brought a tiny bowl with 3 tiny ice cubes. So, the other super exciting find on my way to the restroom was the hotel’s ice machine! I was able to get a good sized cup of ice to bring back to the table for all of us. I felt like I’d struck gold! 😀
In Conclusion
I can’t think of many better uses of time than trying different restaurants in Rome! Please add a note in the comments about any favorite restaurants you have in Rome! I’d love to have recommendations for my next visit in 2024! Thanks for reading!
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As a gal who is lives in Kansas, I can confirm, we do not have wine vending machines! haha Great post! And I am excited to return so I can check out all these yummy places, buy a plate and get wine out of a vending machine 🙂
So, I might be showing my lack of poshness, but that beautiful bowl of carbonara from Osteria Da Fortunata is calling to me just as much as the fine dining options!
I have only visit Rome once, long before we had phones with maps and we *still* found so much fabulous food. I have a feeling that almost everything made in that city is good to eat! Ahhh you left me hungry after reading this!
This made me miss Rome, time to go back 🙂
Your post brings back good memories. We had a not-so-great experience in Rome’s old town with a tourist restaurant and then a fantastic cheap and good meal at Termini station market. So you never know 🙂 Also, thanks for explaining the difference between ice cream and gelato – had no idea!
This is such a good selection of food spots – that Carbonara at Osteria Da Fortunata looks SO YUM!