Trattorium restaurants in Rome
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Siciliainbocca
Lemon-yellow and lined in dazzling southern ceramics, this trattoria is sunny in demeanour and colour. It's a great place to sample sumptuous seafood, Sicilian specialities like caponata (browned vegetables, anchovies and capers), and the island's legendary desserts, such as cannoli (fried pastry tubes filled with ricotta) accompanied by pantelleria, the great muscatel. There's another branch in Flaminio (06 324 01 87; Via Flaminia 390; ;Tue-Sun).
reviewed
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La Botticella
On a quiet Trastevere backstreet, La Botticella offers pure Roman cooking, outside under the lines of flapping washing, or inside in the picture-lined salon. Menu stalwarts include tripe and rigatoni alla paiata (pasta with calf’s intestines), but there are less demanding dishes, such as an excellent spaghetti all ’ amatriciana and fritto alla botticella ( deep-fried vegetables). There’s even a children’s menu.
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Da Enzo
This authentic, snug dining room with rough yellow walls and lots of character serves up great Roman meals with whatever is in season. You can start with bruschetta with burrata, and go on to rigatoni cacio e pepe followed by abbacchio al forno (roasted lamb) and other such Roman classics, finishing off with a tiramisu before staggering home. There’s a tiny terrace on the quintessential cobbled street.
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Matricianella
Tucked near Piazza di San Lorenzo in Lucina, this popular, chic trattoria, with gingham tablecloths and chintzy murals, also has some streetside seating on the quiet cobbled lane. The cooking is simple, delicious and largely Roman-Jewish. Romans go crazy for the delectable fried antipasti, the artichoke alla giudia (fried, Jewish style), the meatballs and the Jewish-style stew. Booking is essential.
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Da Lucia
Eat beneath the fluttering knickers of the neighbourhood at this terrific trattoria, frequented by hungry locals and ravenous tourists. On a cobbled backstreet that is classic Trastevere, it serves up a cavalcade of Roman specialities including trippa all romana (tripe with tomato sauce) and pollo con peperoni (chicken with peppers), as well as bountiful antipasti.
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Cacio e Pepe
Romans flock for the home cooking at this humble trattoria, with gingham-clad tables spreading across the pavement in all directions. They’ll even put up with freezing winter temperatures to sit outside and dig into great steaming bowls of cacio e pepe – the this-morning-fresh bucatini slicked with buttery cheese and pepper.
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Alfredo e Ada
Find a seat at this tiny brick-arched and wood-panelled place, with its spindly marble-topped tables, and then eat what Ada puts in front of you (there’s no menu). It’ll be simple tasty staples like pasta with tomato sauce and salsiccia con fagioli (sausage with beans). Dessert comes from Ada’s legendary biscuit tin.
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Gino
Oh, Gino! Surely the perfect trattoria: quaint, busy and buzzing, dishing out well-executed staples such as rigotoni alla gricia and meatballs under gaudily painted vines. It’s hidden away down a narrow lane close to parliament, and perennially packed by gossiping politicians. No credit cards.
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Nanà Vini e Cucina
An appealing and simple trattoria, specialising in Neopolitan flavours. Eat in the high-ceilinged interior, under huge brass pipes, overlooking the open kitchen, or outside on the piazzetta. Try la carne tenenera scaloppina Nanà, cooked simply in white wine, and other southern dishes.
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Taverna dei Quaranta
Off the main tourist track but near the Colosseum, this airy trattoria is run by gentle staff and offers simple Roman cooking, with delicious daily pasta specials, tasty bruschetta and arostocini (beef kebabs). There’s some outside seating on the leafy yet busy street.
reviewed
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Da Giggetto
The atmospheric ghetto, rustic interiors, white-jacketed waiters, Roman-Jewish cooking – who needs more? Celebrate all things fried by tucking into the marvellous carciofi alla giudia and follow on with delicious calamari (fried squid). In the warmer months, fight your way to an outside table under the shadow of the ruins of the Portico d’Ottavia.
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Osteria dell’Angelo
Having hung up his boots, former rugby player Angelo runs a neighbourhood trattoria that’s hugely popular (making a reservation is a must), with paper cloths on solid wooden tables, burly fresh-from-the-scrum waiters, photos of Angelo’s sporting heroes and a sociable atmosphere. The huge set menu features a mixed antipasti, a robust Roman-style pasta, salad and a choice of hearty main courses including everything from tripe to beef to rabbit. To finish, you’re offered lightly spiced biscuits to dunk in sweet dessert wine. The price includes bread, wine and water. No credit cards.
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Pommidoro
Throughout San Lorenzo’s metamorphosis from down-at-heel working-class district to down-at-heel bohemian enclave, Pommidoro has remained the same. A much-loved local institution, it’s a century-old trattoria, with high star-vaulted ceilings, a huge fireplace and outdoor conservatory seating. It was a favourite of controversial film director Pier Paolo Pasolini, and contemporary celebs stop by – from Nicole Kidman to Fabio Cappello – but it’s an unpretentious place with superb-quality traditional food, specialising in magnificent grilled meats.
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Trattoria Monti
The Camerucci family runs this elegant, brick-arched place, offering top-notch traditional cooking from the Marches region, with an unusual menu that includes lots of daily specials. Expect wonderful fried things, delicate pastas and ingredients such as pecorino di fossa (sheeps’ cheese aged in caves), goose, swordfish, sultanas, mushrooms and truffles. Try the speciality egg-yolk tortelli pasta. Desserts are delectable, including apple pie with zabaglione that’s worthy of a postcard home. Word has spread, so book ahead.
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Da Felice
Cantankerous former owner Felice used to vet every client on sight, but nowadays you can book ahead without worrying about whether your face will fit at this Testaccio institution. A makeover has seen it turn all post-industrial chic, but the menu, recited at your table, remains resolutely Roman. Try the glorious tonnarelli cacio e pepe, mixed in front of you, and the steaks. For those who love offal, there’s also some buttery Roman soul food, and the tiramisu gets top marks.
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Osteria Margutta
The epitome of a picturesque trattoria, theatrical Osteria Margutta is colourful inside and out: inside combines blue glass, rich reds and fringed lampshades, while outside flowers and ivy cover the quaint entrance (snap up a terrace table in summer). Plaques on the chairs testify to the famous thespian bums they have supported. The menu combines classic and regional dishes, with fish served fresh on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday; desserts are homemade, and there’s a top wine list.
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Armando al Pantheon
Family-run trattoria (since 1961) Armando’s is a wood-panelled, inviting, authentic institution close to the Pantheon. Always busy, it’s fed the likes of philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre and footballer Pelé. It specialises in traditional Roman fare, so if it’s baccalo alla Pizzaiola, it’s Friday. Other dishes are available all week, such as ravioli al tartufo nero (ravioli with black truffle). To finish try the homemade cakes. Book ahead.
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Hostaria Zampagna
The trendification of Via Ostiense – with ever-growing numbers of bars and clubs in its side streets – has thankfully bypassed this humble trattoria. As for the past 80 years, you sit down to good hearty food prepared according to the city’s weekly calendar. It’s all splendid: try spaghetti alla carbonara,alla gricia or all ’ amatriciana, then tuck into tripe, beef or involtini.
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Casetta di Trastevere
With outside seating on a cobbled Trastevere corner, this characterful trattoria is held in high regard by Italians, who will cheerfully queue for a table, either inside or out. What they're waiting for is no-nonsense hearty fare served in pleasantly large portions. Particularly good is the crema di fave con crostini (broad-bean puree with croutons) and pasta e fagioli (thick borlotti-bean soup). Service can be slow when it's busy.
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Maccheroni
Maccheroni feels almost like a scene from a film – there’s something so artily styled about its vintage interior, with its spotless tablecloths, bottle-lined walls and strands of garlic. On set is a mix of well-off locals, from families to chic city slickers, keeping it busy even on a Monday night. The menu is stalwartly traditional, with delicious favourites such as carciofo alla Romana (artichoke Roman style).
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Trattoria
Walk through the discreet entrance and up the stairs to find yourself in the city's most innovative Sicilian restaurant. It has an excellent reputation for its interpretations of classics such as frittata and pasta alla Norma (with fried aubergine, tomato, basil and ricotta), as well as delicious fried gnocchi with culatello (a kind of prosciutto), all served amid modernist minimalism as well thought-out as the food.
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Taverna Angelica
A gorgeous, creative trattoria tucked away at the edge of the Borgo, this has an elegant, gracious interior with huge wicker lampshades and copper-framed pictures. Food is imaginative, with delicate and delicious flavours: Take, for example, tonnarelli with garlic and oil, pachino (a type of cherry tomato) and ricotta. Sunday lunch is a bargain at around €20 or around €25 (two different set menus).
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Da Olindo
One of Trastevere’s old-style basic kitchens, this is your classic family affair, where the menu is short and the atmosphere is lively. Cuisine is robust, portions are huge. Expect baccalà con patate on Fridays and gnocchi on Thursdays, but other dishes – such as coniglio all cacciatore (rabbit, hunter-style) or polpette al sugo (meatballs in sauce) – whichever day you like.
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Sergio alla Grotte
A flower’s throw from the Campo, Sergio’s is a textbook Roman trattoria: chequered tablecloths, bustling waiters, steaming plateloads of pasta, and not a frill in sight. A loyal following enjoys classic hearty Roman pastas – cacio e pepe,carbonara,amatriciana – and large steaks grilled over hot coals. In the summer there are tables outside on the cobbled, ivy-hung lane.
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Lilli
Close to the river, but only five minutes’ walk from Piazza Navona, this is a find, in a cobbled cul de sac undiscovered by the hordes. It’s frantically busy at lunch, with diners digging into beautifully turned-out traditional Roman grub such as spaghetti alla gricia (spaghetti with pecorino cheese, black pepper and pancetta) , surrounded by framed engravings and under wood beams.
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