These Roman Restaurants Do 1 Dish Well—and Everything Else Terribly
Among the many legends surrounding Rome is this one: that any visitor can walk into any random trattoria and enjoy a brilliant meal. Maybe this was true in the distant past (or maybe not), but the reality is, plenty of restaurants in the Italian capital serve terrible food made with low-quality, out-of-season, or frozen ingredients. Of course, bad food tastes better on vacation, and restaurants looking to exploit tourists have capitalized on that. But even outside the tourist districts, flawless food is increasingly rare, since many Romans are content to eat terrible food as long as it's cheap, trendy, or close to home. Amid the duds, though, are one-hit-wonders—worth visiting if you stick to the one thing (and only one thing) they do really, really well.
1/14Fritto Misto
Piperno is a Jewish Ghetto institution that oozes Old World charm. If only it was as committed to its menu as it is to maintaing its endearing décor, starched linens, and formal atmosphere. Piperno serves poorly executed Roman classics with an emphasis on the native Jewish cuisine. Pasta dishes disappoint and overcooked meat and offal abound. But the fritto misto starter, a combination of deep-fried mozzarella and vegetables such as artichokes and stuffed squash blossoms, is light and crispy every time.
Katie Parla2/14Pizza Capriciosa
Ivo a Trastevere (Via di San Francesco a Ripa 158; +39 06 5817082), a long-established pizzeria, serves inedible pasta dishes and mediocre thin-crust Roman pizzas. But the place is cheap, so it's always packed. While most pies fall flat, the capriciosa, a pizza margherita topped with mushrooms, olives, a single slice of prosciutto, and a runny egg, is excellent. Not only that, it's better than the typical Roman capriciosa, which employs half of a sad, overcooked, hard-boiled egg.
Katie Parla3/14Fried Potato Snacks
Open Baladin, a gastropub co-owned by the Baladin and Birra del Borgo breweries, serves a satisfying selection of (mostly) Italian brews, but its limp salads and overly lean burgers make for a disappointing pairing. The best menu items, by far, are the fried potato snacks. The homemade potato chips, dubbed fatate and the scrocchette (potato croquettes) are outrageously good. Order Birra del Borgo's Enkir with scrocchette cacio e pepe, luscious whipped potatoes deep fried and dusted with grated pecorino romano and black pepper, or Baladin's Nora and fatate with licorice powder.
4/14Whole Fish
Rome isn't known for its great ethnic offerings. Most international cuisine is dumbed down for Roman flavor-phobes. As a result, most of the Chinese, Thai, and Malaysian specialties at Court Delicati (Viale Aventino 41; +39 06 5746108) are beyond bland. But the whole fish, served steamed or stewed, is lovely. And since it's large enough to be a meal on its own, it saves you from disappointment elsewhere on the menu.
Katie Parla5/14Coda alla Vaccinara
Checchino dal 1887, a pricey offal specialist next to a former slaughterhouse, has mastered the dubious art of overcooked pasta and sweetbreads—clear signs of decline from the days when it was among the city's most revered institutions. The coda alla vaccinara—richly flavored, perfectly braised oxtail segments—is still worth the €65 you'll spend on the tasting menu.
Katie Parla6/14Pizza Piccante
Pizzeria Florida (Via Florida 25; +39 06 68803236) is a hole-in-the-wall slice joint that serves about a dozen types of pizza from its busy storefront next to Largo Argentina. Most are, in a word, undigestible. (In Italy, whether a pizza is easily digested is the main criteria for enjoyment.) But the cheeseless pizza piccante, a spongy base topped with cherry tomatoes and chile flakes, is so light and airy even a second slice won't stress the stomach.
Katie Parla7/14Crostini
A vast wine list and central location make Cul de Sac (Piazza di Pasquino 73; +39 06 68801094), an enoteca near Piazza Navona, a popular spot to quaff, especially on the patio. Resist the temptation to pair your wine with the bar's microwaved hot food. Stick with the crostini, liberally topped with assorted pâté; the heartier ones go well with the local Cesanese-based reds.
Katie Parla8/14Oven-Roasted Quail
Er Quagliaro, in working-class Quarticciolo on the outskirts of eastern Rome, serves grim pastas and mediocre pizzas. But as its name suggests, the main attraction is quaglie—quails—beautifully roasted in the wood-burning oven and served dripping in oil with a few olives, mushrooms, and crusty bread on the side.
Katie Parla9/14Spiedone di Pajata
Pommidoro (Piazza dei Sanniti 46'; +39 06 4452652), a no-frills trattoria in San Lorenzo, does cheap Roman classics, but the thing that makes it a destination is the roasted spiedone di pajata, intestines of milk-fed lambs wrapped around cholesterol-rich chunks of fat, then roasted on a spit. The charred tangle of intestines gives way to more tender strands, then oozing fat. Spread it over a few bruschetta and you'll be glad you skipped the pasta course.
Katie Parla10/14Filetti di Baccalà
Felice a Testaccio,Rome's preeminent trattoria, has taken an unfortunate nosedive in recent years. Its signature pasta dish,tonnarelli cacio e pepe, is swimming in olive oil—near blasphemy in Rome, where the recipe calls for gratedpecorino romano, black pepper, and no added fat—and the famous lamb dishes are tragically overcooked. The menu's most consistent item is*filetti di baccalà,*plump, properly fried cod filets—and one of the best versions in town.
Katie Parla11/14The Wine List
The Trimani family's focus is squarely on vino, and when you visit Trimani il Wine Bar, around the corner from the historic wine shop near Termini, yours should be, too. The wine list is a great one. But don't eat a thing. That ping you hear coming from the kitchen is a microwave, but even the cold dishes are sloppy and soulless. A great bottle might dull the pain of suffering through a meal here, but I doubt it.
12/14Mont Blanc
The poor lighting and kitschy décor are half of what's lovable aboutSettimio al Pellegrino (Via del Pellegrino 117; +39 06 68801978), abasic trattoria near Campo de' Fiori. Adorable owners Teresa and Mario are the other half. The simple, homecooked food, however, is just average, while the wine is undrinkable. Settimio's one saving grace is the Mont Blanc, an unsightly pile of whipped cream, meringue, candied chestnuts, and chestnut paste. Not surprisingly, it is not made in house, but fetched daily from a traditional pastry shop. Why not just go there instead? Well, the pastry shop doesn't have Teresa or Mario, of course.
Katie Parla13/14Supplì
The folks at Zizzi Pizza (Piazza di San Martino Ai Monti, +39 366 410 7376) are an earnest bunch, and the busy slice joint is decked out in signage declaring its dedication to long-leavened pizza made with stone-ground organic wheat. For all their efforts, the pizza is simply not up to snuff, but do swing by for asupplìor two. These deep-fried rice balls contain a molten heart of mozzarella and the flavors of the rice itself vary. The best of the best is thesupplì cacio e pepe, liberally seasoned with black pepper and saltypecorino romano.
Katie Parla14/14Porchetta
Everyone visits Er Buchetto, which has been in business since 1890, for porchetta sandwiches. The deboned roast pork is sliced from a twine-bound hunk and stuffed into bread so chalky it masks the savory meat. Get the porchetta, sure, but hold the bread—all you need are a few thick slices, and don't skimp on the cracklings.
