Rome, Where to Eat? Expat gives great advice

 

Where to eat when you arrive in a new city is an opportunity or something to dread.....

While traveling I try to keep a list of restaurants and cafes where I am comfortable to drop in and enjoy a meal.   Browsingrome.com http://www.browsingrome.com/    has taken all the work out of searching for 'food' while traveling in Rome.    Her descriptions of a number of restaurants and cafes in Rome have me looking forward to my next visit.

Thank you Diana for your great post.

New Places to Eat in Rome

September 2, 2012 By Diana

 

 

It’s awesome to see some new places opening up in Rome that are located in centro storico (historic centre). What’s even more important is that the food and prices are decent. I have also included two gelaterie in this listing as they deserve the mention.
Except for the couple of weeks I was in Sicily, I spent most of my summer in Rome and had the opportunity to check out the following new places with some friends.
RED Feltrinelli
Via del Corso, 506
06 3213676 or 3460162804 (Restaurant)
Daily from 9.00am to 10.00pm
Email red.roma@afsf.it
Website
Location: Between Piazza del Popolo and Spanish Steps
RED acronym for Read Eat Dream may not look like much from its small entrance. Step in and you will see how spacious it actually is. When meeting up with Gillian for lunch and walking to the restaurant area way at the back, I was thinking “How big is this place?”
It was packed when we were here for lunch and service was fast. I had a delicious black ink risotto and the creme brulee was as good. Another plus was we sat there for quite some time after lunch, to the point, we were the only ones there but they didn’t “kick us out”.

I love the atmosphere of this place, it must be the fact that it’s in a bookstore and they also sell specialty food items in the area before getting to the restaurant.
One thing to note is that I came back here for a small tweetup with LazioExplorer and SpacedLaw for a drink one afternoon but service was quite the opposite from lunch. We sat down and no one came with the menu. Eventually, we found they didn’t offer table service and you had to order at the counter.

When we were at the counter, the staff asked us what we would like to order and my reply was “Do you have a menu?”. You would think a menu would be helpful!
Ginger
Via Borgognona 43/44 00187 Roma
Tel. Fax +39 06.960.363.90 +39 06.699.408.36
Website
Email info@ginger.roma.it
Location: Near Spanish Steps
I have been here three times and love it. The interior, all painted white with a modern yet simple look feels like a world away from the heatwave we’re experiencing in summer. They also have an outdoor dining area with misters if you were courageous enough to brave the heat.

There is lovely section with fruits and vegetables on display that makes it feel like it’s a place for some guilt-free eating. They also have a cold cuts area with legs of prosciutto hanging overhead.
While I saw some huge plates of cold cuts and some nice selection of fruit platters heading to other tables, I had a sandwich here. I wouldn’t say they are cheap but will say they are decent.

On another visit, I got a smoothie at the counter area instead of a table and the price was cheaper. It probably wasn’t a mistake on their part as when I went to pay, they asked if I was seating at the table or counter.
The price was about 20% less than the listed price on the menu which was a nice surprise. I’ll have to do this again, also ordering food to make sure that is the case.

One thing to note is that there were often crowded and service was slow. However, we were there when they just opened and probably didn’t have things quite together yet.
Coromandel
Via di Monte Giordano 60 / 61, Roma
Tel 06-68802461
Location: Near Piazza Navona
I missed the breakfast get together the first time around that Gillian had written about. I was drooling at the fluffy eggs and guanciale and couldn’t wait to have breakfast here when I got back from Sicily.

Thanks to Nathalie who arranged it again when I got back. It was a quiet morning as most residents are still away on vacation and we were only one of two tables that morning. Kudos to Coromandel for staying open when most places are closed.

They had a nice menu selection and though I was tempted by the cake selection, I was craving for a savoury breakfast. I had the image of the fluffly eggs in my head.
It was a hearty breakfast, starting with toast, not plain toast but Italian toast which is like a grilled cheese sandwich. I am not complaning as the scrambled eggs also came with plain toast. Unfortunately, the eggs weren’t quite what I had expected and what came to mind was “This isn’t like the fluffy eggs that I saw on Gillian’s post“.

Disappointing but maybe the head chef was on vacation. Who knows? I will just have to go back again as their friendly staff, elegant interior and reasonable prices made up for the eggs..
Baccano
Via delle Muratte, 23 / 00187 Rome
Open Daily from 8:30am to 2:00am
Reservations: 06 6994 1166
Website
Location: Near Trevi Fountain
I was there just this past Friday for breakfast with some awesome company. Baccano claims to open at 8.30am but that’s probably when they open but not when they are ready to serve breakfast.

You would be less disappointed if you showed up at 9.00am. We got the set menu with eggs and bacon which were served with french fries. That’s new! Nathalie, who is French, also highly recommends the whole wheat croissant.

Staff were friendly and we were here until lunch. Very nice of them not to chase us away but they place was relatively empty.

Staff were friendly and we were here until lunch. Very nice of them not to chase us away but they place was relatively empty.

Come il Latte – Gelateria

Via Silvio Spaventa 24-26
Tel 06 4290 3882
Opening Hours:
Mondays to Fridays 12:00pm to midnight
Saturdays 3.00pm to midnight
Sundays 2.00pm to 10.00pm
Location – Near Piazza Barberini / Piazza della Repubblica

When I saw the photo of the chocolate coming out of the tap, I had to check it out. It’s nothing like what I have seen before in Rome and that alone makes it a must-visit. It also helps that Vinoroma has good things to say about Come il Latte.

The salted caramel gelato was what I wanted to try and it was good. However, the combination with the malt and honey that was recommended by the staff and topped with white chocolate didn’t wow me. I can think of a few reasons why.

First was that the weekend prior, I had a really great caramel fleur de sel gelato at Chocoice in Senigallia. When I was done with that gelato at Chocoice, I wanted another one. With some caramel mixed in it and yet not too sweet, it was so flavorful.


Second, the malt and honey gelato was a bit bland and tasted just sweet. Third, since I am prefer dark chocolate, the white chocolate recommendation wasn’t the right one.
Oh well, that just means I have to go back to get other combinations and this time a cone with dark chocolate for sure.
V-ice Gelateria
Corso Vittorio Emanuele 96
Location – Near Largo Argentina
V-ice is not new but this location is. I saw this gelateria by chance as it’s right in front of a bus stop. While waiting for the bus and with the gelateria starring back at you in the heatwave, it’s impossible to resist. They got their marketing right – their location is perfect.

I got the pistacchio and nocciola (hazelnut) which were good – the nocciola better than the pistacchio. I am coming back here to try the granita di mandorla, something new I discovered while in Sicily and will keep my expectations real considering we are not in Sicily.

They open at 11.30am as per the opening hours listed on their door. However, others have been told by their staff that they open at 11am. Not sure why the different information but when we were there at 10.55am, they were still mopping the floor. I am bringing this up as I know how frustrating it is to find a place closed when it should be opened. We had this issue with Fatamorgana earlier this year.