BELLA ROMA!
Pasquale eventually got around to sending me his list of favourite eating and drinking establishments in Rome. I'm not going to give you a tour guide as to what to see in Rome, there are so many books giving you this information and it's always good to have a locals recommendation regarding food and drink. I've mentioned before Pasquale's parents have a restaurant in Atina which is part of the Slow Food movement so he knows his food!!
Atina is about 2 hours from Rome so we've been many times and we've been tour guides more times than we have for Bunratty Castle. No matter how many times we go there we never bore of it. Our last trip was last year March 2006, we went for Bruno's birthday for a long weekend a few of our friends joined us. We stayed in a really quaint hotel just off Via Veneto called Hotel Ottocento, it's nothing fancy but it's in a great location and is clean and affordable especially for a large group. There is a great restaurant across the road called Il Corte Dei Leone which served excellent local Roman cuisine. If you are looking for something more upmarket my parents stayed at the Boscolo Hotel on Via Veneto the year before and couldn't praise it enough.
Via del Corso is our favourite street for shopping as it has our two favourite shops - Puma and Diesel. I think we spent more time in the Puma shop on our last visit than we did at the colosseum, hey, Italians love their clothes as much as their food and their Mammas:).
Anyone who has been to Rome knows there are loads of restaurants in all the piazzas etc which are great for having a glass of wine or a coffee and for "people watching" but the food always leaves a lot to be desired so with any city you are better going off the beaten track and trying the local restaurants. If they are full of Italians you are guaranteed the food is good. The people of Roma are fussy about their food, we had one live with us a couple of years ago so believe me we know.
Here's Pasquale's list:
| Good Food | |||
| 1 | Trattoria Da Bucatino (tipical roman food) | Via Della Robbia Luca 84/87 | Zona Testaccio (center) |
| 2 | Taverna Trilussa (tipical roman food) | Via del Politeama 23/25 ROMA |
Zona Trastevere (center) |
| 3 | Ristorante La Casetta (sea food) | Via Nardini Famiano, 3 | Zona P.zza Bologna |
| 4 | Pizzeria da Baffetto (pizza) | Via del Governo Vecchio 114 | Zone P.zza Navona (center) |
| 5 | Pizzeria La Montecarlo (pizza) | Vicolo Savelli 13 | Zone P.zza Navona (center) |
| 6 | Ristorante dal Toscano | via Germanico 56/60 | Zona Vaticano (center) |
| 7 | Ristorante I Butteri | Piazza Regina Margherita, 28-29 | Zona Universita' |
| 8 | Checchino dal 1887 | Via di Monte Testaccio 30 | Zona Testaccio (center) |
| 9 | Ristorante Colline Emiliane | Via degli AvignonesiI, 22 | Zona Fontana di Trevi (center) |
| Good Aperitif and Luonge Bar | |||
| 1 | Fluid | Via del governo Vecchio 46/47 Roma | Zona Trastevere (center) |
| 2 | Crudo (food and drink) | Via degli Specchi 6 | Zona Campo de Fiori (center) |
| 3 | Acqua Negra (food and drink) | Largo del teatro valle, 9 | Zona Cetro storico |
| 4 | Café' Friends | P.zza Trilussa, 34 | Zona Trastevere (center) |
| 5 | Freni e Frizioni | Via del Politeama, 4 | Zona Trastevere (center) |
| 6 | Mom art | Viale 21 Aprile, 19 | Zona P.zza Bologna |
| 7 | Nazca | Via del Gazometro, 42 |
Zona Testaccio (center) |
| 8 | Societe' Lutes | Piazza di Montevecchio, 17 | Zona Cetro storico |
| 9 | Supper Club (food drink and dance) | Via de' Nari | Zona Cetro storico |
| 10 | Taverna del Campo | Piazza Campo de' Fiori, 16 |
Zona Cetro storico |
| Best Irish Pubs | |||
| 1 | Finnegan's | Via Leonina 66 | Zona Colosseo |
| 2 | Trinity College | via del Collegio Romano 6 | Zona Cetro storico |
| 3 | Abbey Theatre | Via del Governo Vecchio 51/53 | Zona Cetro storico |
| 4 | The Dog and the Duck | Via della Luce, 70 | Zona Trastevere (center) |
| Best Clubs | |||
| 1 | Classico Village | Via Libetta, 3 | Zona Testaccio (center) |
| 2 | Eto' R.O.M.A. | Via Galvani, 46 | Zona Testaccio (center) |
| 3 | Goa club | Via Libetta, 13 |
Zona Testaccio (center) |
| 4 | La Maison | Vicolo dei Granari, 30 | Zona Cetro storico |
| 5 | La Suite | Via Orti di Trastevere, 1 |
Zona Trastevere (center) |
| 6 | Micca club | Via Pietro Micca, 7A | Zona Termini |
| 7 | Qube | Via Portonaccio, 212 | Zona Portonaccio |
| 8 | Saponeira | Via degli Argonauti, 20 |
Zona Testaccio (center) |
| 9 | Brancaleone | Via Levanna, 11 | Zona Nomentano |
If anybody has any other recommendations please leave them in the comments section.
A BIG BACIO to Pasquale!! GRAZIE PARE!!!
Carla - it's a small world. Glad you like the subs, they are the most popular rolls with the students!! Coleslaw is a big Irish thing!!! (Comment this)