Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
55
Spirito Divino
(Trastevere,
Trattoria da Giggetto
(near the
Ghetto,
€€€
, p. 40)
Tuttifrutti
(Testaccio,
€€
, p. 36)
Volpetti
(Testaccio,
€
, p. 36)
Volpetti Piu
(Testaccio,
€
, p. 36)
€€
, p. 38)
Taverna Angelica
(near the
Vatican,
€€
, p. 42)
RESTAURANTS IN TESTACCIO
If you're looking for very good food and willing to sacrifice ambience, go straight
to Testaccio. This neighborhood has the best meals for the price in the city. It's
just a short walk from the historical center and adjacent to Trastevere. Formerly
an area given over to slaughterhouses (now transformed into the MACRO
museum), restaurants here specialize in meats from the
quinto quarto
(fifth quar-
ter), the leftover segments of an animal after the slaughter, like sweetbreads, tripe,
entrails, and other goodies you won't find on most American menus (though you
also find the standard cuts). You come here for food, and it's always worth it.
(Via Marmorata, 39;
%
06-5742145; closed Wed)
has been a reliable favorite of Italians and foreigners living in Rome since it
opened in 1911. It's a classic noisy restaurant with terrible murals on the walls and
a bustling male-only waitstaff. It was a favorite restaurant of Federico Fellini, and
even now it's not uncommon to see local celebrities at the cramped tables inside.
Not that they're afforded any special treatment; instead, all patrons are treated like
regulars. As soon as you enter, you'll notice seasonal fruits and vegetables stacked
in baskets and plates on a table in the back corner by the kitchen; the chef leans
out from time to time to pluck what he needs as he prepares the meals. I espe-
cially enjoy Perilli on a winter's day when the hearty
cannelloni
(€8) warms your
insides before you get down to the serious business of devouring the superb
abbacchio al forno
(roast lamb) or the
maialino
(roast suckling pork). Both of these
second plates start at €10 and generally include roast potatoes. There is no out-
door seating, and this restaurant is always packed for dinner, so reservations for
the evening meal are compulsory, though you can almost always get a table for
lunch if you are at the door by 12:30pm, when they open.
555
Perilli a Testaccio
€
55
(Via Luca della
Robbia, 84;
%
06-5746886).
This is a true home-style restaurant, with garlic gar-
lands and dusty Chianti bottles, not to mention the head of a wild boar, on the
walls. You can almost always get a table, either in the main dining room or in the
basement under whitewashed arches. And in the summer you sit right on the cob-
blestone streets, often between parked cars. The waitstaff are anchored by two
married couples and their sons, who are as delightful to watch as any sitcom. The
food here is always satisfying, and the
antipasti
buffet is certainly enough for
lunch. Da Bucatino offers some of the best
secondi
in the area and most start
under €10, with such standards as
pollo con peperoni
and
abbacchio,
which are
worth coming back for. The restaurant's namesake pasta,
Bucatini all'Amatriciana
If Perilli's is full, a good second choice is
Da Bucatino
€
