The Favorites Guide

The toasted hay is outstanding and the pistachio might be the best in the world.

Very decent and they have an excellent small-size waffle cone.

Super high quality with great flavors.

Old school, exceptional flavors, high quality. Remember to pay first and then go to get your ice cream.

Artisanal gelato deep in Trastevere with creative flavors. Generic cone.

Fancy gelato right at Trilussa. The mango was particularly good but not every flavor was a hit.

High quality, very close the apartment. Generally has a long line, but it moves quickly. Nice honey-flavored small waffle cone.

A good number of flavors. Decent quality.

Quality gelato, but I wouldn't get it again.

Not as good as the others on this list but pairs well with a trip to the Vatican.

The gold standard of Amatriciana (€16). I don’t know how they get their guanciale to be so crispy and delicious. I asked the waiter. He said something about baking it, I think. Honestly, I should really learn Italian. You go here and the smugness of Stanley Tucci consumes you. You get to judge every pasta henceforth from the perspective of a supreme arbiter. The other pastas on the menu are great, but much less differentiated from the norm (imho I like my puttanesca more than theirs), and the rest of the menu is very offal forward. Book at midnight Italian time one month before you want to eat there, or you will not eat there.

The only restaurant in Rome where I’ve felt judged for how poorly we were dressed, which is very fun. Their Amatriciana (€16) is just about as good as Armando’s, and the menu as a whole is more American-friendly. Excellent wines by the glass. Less than a block from the apartment. Generally no wait.

Overall, a little more form than function. But the Amatriciana is only €20 and is excellent (so is the spigola and the pork pluma). Not hard to get a reservation, but there is a €75 per person minimum, so don’t go with the aim of just eating a bowl of pasta.

Also immediately next to the apartment. The owner is awesome. Never a wait. Not going to outclass Armando with the guanciale, but otherwise a terrific Amatriciana (€13). The menu is quite traditional, and not huge, but solid across the board. The Genovese meatball is stellar.

The amatriciana (€17) is very good, but candidly, a distant fifth. Still better than anything you’ll eat at Campo. I’m a big fan of their deli. And I remember really loving their raviolo and burro e alici (butter and anchovy) pasta years ago, but it’s become a pricey tourist trap. You have to get reservations online, but they are often available with short notice.

My favorite wine bar. Even their cheapest wines are all excellent. The music is always good. Popular with locals. Not service oriented.

Fantastic wines and great cheeses and gelato made in house. The guy behind the bar, Gui, used to be the chef at Sorella in SF and is super cool.

Directly downstairs. Great wines. Knowledgeable docents who speak English.

Priciest on the list, but well worth it. You will not have a glass of wine here that you don’t love.

Right next door to Enoteca Bortone and very similar.

Interesting wines you won’t find elsewhere. Good music. In a tourist trap part of town and no a/c.

It’s okay. The music is a gimmick. They don’t have many exciting records and a lot of them are scratched.

Slower service than the others because it gets crowded, but the wines are good.

World class kebab. The medium is only €8.

Dim sum and great fried rice, right at Piazza Farnese.

Very good smash burgers and milk shakes.

Very decent modern Indian food with decent chaat options. It’s a far walk, but very reasonably priced and well worth it if you’re in the mood for Indian food.

If you’re craving a legit pulled pork sandwich, you will not be disappointed (€11). If you order one of their burgers (€11.50), you will be disappointed. As with most burger places in Italy, they use lean beef which makes for a tough, dry, flavorless burger. Very close to the apartment and stays open late.

Further than Nest, but very good. The Ja Mo (Chinese pancake stuffed with shredded pork) is €8.50. The fried rice and noodles are better at Nest.

The sister restaurant of Miami Joe (they share a kitchen). Really good American food with decent prices and no wait.

Best classic (thick style) burger in town, large artisan beer list (but light on sours). Excellent house-made potato chips. Skip the Pulled pork.

Juices, smoothies, avocado toast, breakfast burritos, pulled pork.

Ital-Mex: high prices, small portions, high quality ingredients, cheese forward, the birria is beef.

Legit Japanese souffle pancakes. The closest one is not listed on Maps yet, but it’s in the former location of “It Bread & Salad” at Piazza di S. Claudio.

This is a ways out of town and the board game store next door has a very limited selection of games in English, so I don’t actually encourage you to head out this way, but if you’re craving really good peking duck, this place has it.

Asian/American/Italian fusion tapas. Decent cocktails, small portions.