Happy Sunday, friends! As nice as it is to be back to real life (and, ya know, exercising and eating vegetables) the vacation nostalgia is still so real. Rome was so special and fun – loud, hectic, and very touristy in parts, yes, but also filled with so many gems that I still can hardly wrap my mind around it all. The sheer quantity of jaw-dropping, epic historical sites and ruins, the quaint and windy cobblestone streets, and the incredible artisan food that balances tradition and modernity so well – it is truly a one-of-a-kind place that I think everyone should visit at some point in their life. I hope you’re not sick of looking at plates of cheesy pasta and creamy burrata yet, because I have so much more where that came from. Read on for my favorite eats in Rome!
- For the best pizza, hands-down: Emma Pizzeria
I know, I know – claiming to have found the best pizza in all of Rome is pretty freakin’ bold. All I’m going to say is that this is the best pizza I’ve ever had and it was a true stand-out in our 2 weeks of eating a lot of really, really good pizza. We loved it so much we went back twice!! Emma has an incredible variety of options (including a ton of seasonal salads, sides, pastas, and pizzas) and everything we had was fantastic. We shared an amazing burrata dish with sun-dried tomatoes and olives, a gorgeous medley of spring vegetables, and – of course – a lot of pizza. Our favorite was a pie topped with Pomodoro sauce, mozzarella di bufala, and thinly sliced chorizo. It was truly out of this world, with a thin and chewy crust, perfectly melty cheese, and just the right amount of spicy, meaty goodness. UGH. I could eat their pizza every single day.
- For the cutest Sunday night dinner (and the best pasta I had all trip): Machiavelli’s Club
Brad and I tried to strike a nice balance of making reservations/planning ahead and allowing some nights to be spontaneous – this was one of those nights, and ended up being one of our favorite meals of the trip. After sharing a bottle of champagne at our Airbnb, we wandered around looking for something open on a Sunday in our little neighborhood in Rome. We were fortunate enough to snag the last table at this adorable, family-filled ristorante located down a tiny alley. Their menu is very small (just 3-4 options for each course) but everything was incredibly homey, rustic, and insanely delicious. I had a white bean soup dish for my starter and then followed our server’s recommendation for pasta: their specialty, a tonnarelli pasta with caramelized red onion and crispy bacon. It was the best pasta I had all trip – the combination of the slightly sweet red onion, the (heaps of) salty, crispy, bacon, and a copious helping of cheese tangled up with perfectly al dente homemade pasta was something I’ll never forget. I’m already working on replicating it because it’s all I want to eat, ever!
- For simply amazing gelato: Punto Gelato
We tried a lot of gelato places in 2 weeks in Italy, and Punto Gelato stood out as my favorite. It had a great mix of classics and innovative flavors and it was just so creamy and delicious. Brad had a spicy dark chocolate gelato that was unreal, and I stuck with my go-to of pistachio + nocciola (I had to have a basis for comparison, right?!). This was across the street from our hotel in Rome during the latter half of our trip, which was dangerous in the best way. Highly recommend a trip here!
- For epic plates of salumi and so much more: Roscioli
Roscioli is a go-to for foodies visiting Rome, and for good reason – everything we had there was just consistently excellent. We started with burrata with anchovies (!!!!) and a gigantic sampler platter of salumi that was probably meant for a family of 10 but we managed to eat pretty much all of it. I knew the cured meats wouldn’t disappoint (Roscioli is a salumeria, after all) but I was in love with everything else as well. For pastas, I got cacio e pepe (my fave forever) and Brad got a tortellini dish with ragu that was SO GOOD. We ended the meal with grappa as a treat and it was the perfect end to a perfect meal!
- For amazing Italian craft beers: Open Baladin
Brad found Open Baladin when we were searching for a place to grab a nightcap near our hotel, and it ended up being such a special find. After drinking pretty much exclusively wine (and negronis) for the whole trip, we were so excited to stumble upon this place filled with hundreds of Italian craft beers on tap! We sampled a few beers and took in the lively scene, which was filled with Italians catching up with friends or enjoying a late dinner. The beers were fantastic, with an incredible selection ranging from more traditional lighter lagers to IPAs to Belgians to sours. Open Baladin is a must for beer-lovers in Rome!
- For the best long lunch: Hosteria la vacca m’briaca
We stopped in for an alfresco late lunch at Hosteria la vacca after a loooooong day of sight-seeing, and it was exactly what we wanted. We shared some light appetizers of fried zucchini blossoms and anchovy butter on toast (YUM) and then again, had two amazing pastas. I had their all’amatriciana, which was amazing – tangles of homemade pasta in a light tomato sauce with guanciale and, of course, lots of pecorino cheese. Brad had a ragu of oxtail that was also fantastic. We topped it all off with a few glasses of white wine and it was the perfect long, leisurely lunch.
- For stand-out pastries and espresso: Sette Grammi and 081 Caffe
Breakfast in Italy is a total after-thought, generally a small pastry and a shot of espresso eaten standing up at a crowded café. We ate our fair share of very average breakfast pastries, so it’s worth mentioning that Sette Grammi had the best pastries we tried during the trip. Everything was delicious and beautiful, and the employees were nice enough to help us pick out pastries in English.
Not pictured, but we also loved 081 Caffe, a loud and crazy café near our Airbnb on the front end of the trip that had the best warm-from-the-oven chocolate croissant!
- For a can’t miss classic that’s worth the walk: Bonci Pizzarium
I don’t know if Brad will ever forgive me for forcing him to walk over an hour in 90 degree heat to trek to this one specific pizza place, but I for one think it was totally worth it! Bonci is a top-rated casual pizza place in Rome located around the other side of the Vatican (I swear, it didn’t look that far on the map). Their menu is very seasonal, and you order their thick, gorgeously topped pizzas by weight. It’s a quick serve place so seating is limited, but we managed to snag a spot at the counter where we devoured our pizzas and washed them down with some Italian craft beers. Both pizzas we tried were excellent – a lighter tomato and anchovy-topped pizza, and an amazing heartier spicy greens and Italian sausage pie. Bonci pizza is unique, delicious, and very different than most of the thinner pizza in Rome. It’s definitely worth the trek (right Brad?!) 🙂
Thanks for reliving this amazing trip with me! Much love from our pizza-loving hearts to all of yours! xo
Contact Info:
Emma Pizzeria
Via del Monte della Farina, 28, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
+39 06 6476 0475
https://www.emmapizzeria.com/
Machiavelli’s Club
Via Machiavelli, 49, 00185 Roma RM, Italy
+39 347 454 0179
https://www.facebook.com/Machiavellis-Club-160460810652444/
Punto Gelato
Via dei Pettinari, 43, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
+39 06 6839 5030
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d3263926-Reviews-Punto_Gelato-Rome_Lazio.html
Roscioli
Via dei Giubbonari, 21/22, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
+39 06 687 5287
Open Baladin
Via degli Specchi, 6, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
+39 06 683 8989
http://www.openbaladinroma.it/?lang=en
Hosteria la vacca m’briaca
Via Urbana, 29, 00184 Roma RM, Italy
+39 06 4890 7118
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d2725658-Reviews-Hosteria_la_vacca_m_briaca-Rome_Lazio.html
Bonci Pizzarium
Via della Meloria, 43, 00136 Roma RM, Italy
+39 06 3974 5416
Sette Grammi
Piazza Benedetto Cairoli, 114, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
+39 06 9784 5718
https://www.tripadvisor.it/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d8836325-Reviews-7_Grammi-Rome_Lazio.html
081 Caffe
Via Merulana, 83, 00185 Roma RM, Italy
+39 340 339 7933
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d3562875-Reviews-081_Cafe-Rome_Lazio.html
