Great Restaurants and Bars in Rome

I spent 2 1/2 days in Rome.  We had a couple of the best meals I have ever eaten.  2 places were recommendations from locals we met and several were finds from "Roma by Night" a restaurant and nightlife guide book I bought that was in Italian and English.  I highly recommend buying a guide like this if you can find it as you will get some great ideas and the restaurants are likely to be less touristy and more of where the locals hang out.

Ristorante der Pallaro Oh my god!  Talk about a fantastic little find.  The Chef is a woman named Pauola who is everything you expect an Italian grandmother to be.  She will come out in between cooking meals and say hello and make sure that you are enjoying her cooking.    There are no menus, which made eating there exciting for me.  We had a 4 course dinner that made my mouth water.  The lentils were delightful; we had a tasting of 2 different pastas and a meat dish.  I believe she changes things up all the time, and if you want to go back she will cater it to make sure you get something different.  Go there and put your culinary experience in her hands, and  you will have a fantastic night.

Largo del Pallaro, 15 in Campo de' Fiore 06.68801488

Ristorante Il Ciak –

On our last night in Rome we visited Ristorante Il Ciak.  It had been a recommendation from the "Roma by Night" book.  We had another spectacular meal.  Their specialty is Tuscan cuisine with a focus on Char-grilled meat.  There were very few people speaking English and the menu was all in Italian.  It was definitely not geared for tourists!  We loved it.   We had ravioli in a Wild Boar sauce and Pasta Amatriciana both were out of this world.  We also had a grilled pork dish that was so fresh we though we had gotten the wrong thing because it didn’t taste like any pork I had ever had.  It was outstanding.  This section in Trastevere is filled with restaurants so if this one is too packed there were some others right around the corner that looked fantastic.  

Vicolo dei Cinque, 21 Trastevere.   +39 06 58 94 774

Wine Bar Cul de Sac

If you are looking for a place for fantastic cheese and meats with a great selection of wine, Cul de Sac is a very popular place right near Piazza Navona.  They have a great wine list and it's a nice area to sit outside and pass the night away.  If you are going during a colder season the inside is warm, welcoming and small so you might have the chance to mingle.

The night life really gets fun in the square in Campo de' Fiore.  Especially in the summer with all the outside seating.   It is a great place to enjoy the languid summer nights.  Some other bars to check out are:

Obika (also a mozzarella bar where you can sample top-quality Mozzarella di Bufala Campana that is delivered daily from Paestum and Agro Pontino)  They have 2 locations in Rome.    www.obika.it

La Vineria.  A great place to sit and take in the scenery over a glass of vino.   Campo Dei Fiore 15.

La Boqueria Markets, Las Ramblas

La Boqueria Markets (FYI:  All Markets and most grocery stores are closed on Sundays.  Many of the grocery stores will close at 3pm on Saturday)

Do not miss La Boqueria Market in Las Ramblas.  It is filled with everything from amazing meats & cheeses to the freshest fish and fruit and chocolate/candy stalls.  If you have rented an apt in Barcelona and are planning on doing some cooking (or snacking before heading out to one of the fantastic tapas restaurants) this is the place to go.  You should definitely try one of the fresh juices at the juice stalls.  I had fresh coconut juice and it was amazing.   The Markets are generally open till 3 or 4 pm, but many of the stalls close around 2 (especially the fish stalls) so go early if you are planning to get food for dinner.  It is like having the largest farmers market you can imagine open all day!  I was in heaven.

 While there you should have an early lunch at Pinotxo (A tapas bar in La Boqueria).  Make sure you try the chickpea dish.   They are some of the tastiest chick peas you will ever have.  The server will order for you, (this is not uncommon in the tapas places) however you can ask for certain types of things.  They are very friendly, though not everyone speaks English.  Our server told us that the best day to go is Tuesday.  He said Monday is a bad day to go.  On Tuesdays the seafood is fresh.   Also arrive by 11:00 or 11:30 to get a seat.  The lunch crowd starts to roll in around 12pm.  It is really small but worth the wait.  We went twice!