Rome Restaurants

  1. B-Said

    Set in a 1920s chocolate factory, where vintage machinery and designer armchairs glow in the candlelight, this atmospheric café peddles nine types of hot chocolate (try the cardamom variety), decadent pralines and cakes, and guilt-proof salads and quiches. The adjoining shop stocks Said's sublime cocoa concoctions, including Japanese pink-tea pralines.

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  2. Babington's Tea Rooms

    More English than the English, and right by the Spanish Steps, Babington's has been serving Earl Grey to homesick tourists since the 19th century. You'll need the kind of budget worthy of a grand tour: a full high tea costs around €29 , but what else can you do when you have a crumpet craving?

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  3. Café Café

    This is a hugely popular gem, the kind of pint-sized wine bar, restaurant and café that everyone needs in their neighbourhood. The changing menu features light stuff such as caprese as well as tastes from elsewhere like hummus and tzatziki. The few outside tables overlook the Colosseum at the end of the street.

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  4. GiNa

    Tucked around the corner from the Spanish Steps, this is an ideal place to drop into once you've shopped. Comfy white seats are strewn with powder-blue cushions, and the walls are hung with modern paintings. You can eat light snacks such as bruschetta with buffalo mozzarella and anchovies, pasta with beans, or smoked-salmon sandwiches. Villa Borghese picnics for two are also provided.

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  5. Gran Caffè La Caffettiera

    This stately café is a throwback to smarter days and is famous for its Neapolitan cakes - try the sumptuous babà (sponge cake soaked in rum) for something special, and the rustici (cheese-and-tomato-filled pastry puff) for something savoury. Sit in the elegant Art Deco interior or outside and watch life on the enchanting square, overlooked by the ancient Tempio di Adriano.

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  6. Moma

    Molto trendy: this café-restaurant, popular with workers from nearby offices, is a real find. There's a small stand-up café downstairs, with a nice little deck outside where you can linger longer over coffee and delicious dolcetti . Upstairs is a cucina creativa restaurant (meals around €60 ).

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  7. Museo Atelier Canova Tadolini

    In 1818 sculptor Canova signed a contract for this studio, which agreed it would be forever preserved for sculpture. The place is still stuffed with statues, and it's a curious but unique experience to sit among the great maquettes and sup an upmarket tea or drink an aperitivo .

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  8. Necci

    Cinema great Pier Paolo Pasolini loved the place, and local bohemians still flock to retro-tastic Necci to nosh and slosh to blaring '60s pop. Especially jumping at night, this place is Pigneto at its unadulterated best. Soak up beers and philosophy on the terrace or tuck into hearty, homemade grub to Little Tony jukebox tunes.

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