Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
chocolate shop, selling delights such as Japanese pink-tea pralines, and a stylish
restaurant-bar, all cosy urban chic, with battered sofas, industrial antiques and creative
cuisine.
SUSHIKO€€
JAPANESE
( 06 4434 0948; Via degli Irpini 8; sushi menus from €40; 1-2.30pm Tue-Sat & 8pm-midnight Mon-Sat;
Via Tiburtina)
This nondescript San Lorenzo lane is an unlikely place to find Rome's best
sushi, but here it is, with the freshest fish served up as sushi and sashimi, plus rolls, tem-
pura and teppanyaki. It's tiny, with only 24 covers, so book ahead. A set menu makes bet-
ter financial sense than à la carte.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
EATING IN ROME
Rome resident Elizabeth Minchilli, a prolific food journalist and blogger (
www.elizabethminchilliinrome.com
)
,
shares some top tips:
I always suggest going first to the markets to see what's fresh, because so much has to do with what's seasonal.
Besides the regular city markets, there are also weekend farmers markets, including one at Circus Maximus.
You should try
pizza bianca
(white pizza), which is typical Roman street food. There is always a discussion
about who has the best. Most people cite the
Forno di Campo de' Fiori
(
Click here
), but I prefer
Roscioli
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
(
Click here
) for
pizza bianca
. If you want pizza with red sauce, go to
Antico Forno
Urbani
(
Click here
). You won't find any foreigners there, it's all Italians. The
pizza rossa
is very thin, covered
with just a little bit of tomato sauce, really caramelised and fantastic.
In the last few years Rome has been having this renaissance of pizza makers. The king of pizza is Gabriele
Bonci; people come from all over the world to have his pizza, so it's well worth going to
Pizzarium
(
Click here
)
if you're near the Vatican.
Another thing to try is ice cream. You'll pass lots of places with huge fluffy mounds: ignore those and try and
look for the artisanal gelato makers. Again, seasonal is always good, so you'll get strawberry in the summer,
chestnut in the winter. For example, over near Piazza Navona is
Gelateria del Teatro
(
Click here
).
One of my favourite restaurants is
L'Asino d'Oro
(
Click here
), which has a really affordable lunch menu. I'd
also recommend
Settembrini
(
Click here
),
Campana
(
Click here
), which is very old-fashioned, and I also love
Giggetto in the Ghetto
. It has really great
carciofi alla giudia
(deep-fried artichokes). While you're in the
Ghetto, stop at the Jewish bakery
Boccione
(
Click here
) to get the
pizza ebraica
(Jewish pizza), a sort of dried-
fruit cake; it weighs a ton, but it's delicious!
The latest trend in Rome is for large restaurant-cafe-bar complexes that are open for all-day dining, including
Porto Fluviale
(
Click here
),
Romeo
(
Click here
), and
Baccano
(
Click here
). Plus there's the amazing
Eataly
(
Click here
), where you can eat at many different restaurants and buy excellent Italian food produce.
And finally, Rome's beer scene is still booming, and at places like
Open Baladin
(
Click here
) you can try lots
of different craft beers on tap.