Where to Eat in Rome

Rome is a great food city. If you're planning on visiting, I'm going to assume you know this. A good meal isn't hard to find, but some places are definitely better than others. Three things I used to find good restaurants were:

1. TripAdvisor: For those of you familiar with Yelp, it works in the same way, but in Italy. If you go on their site and search "restaurants near Rome," it'll give you a pretty good list of recommendations. That's how I found a lot of these places.
2. Watch for Stickers: If you see a restaurant with a lot of stickers in the window, that's an excellent sign. The more the better, I've found. Be sure to look not only for Tripadvisor stickers (make sure they say "recommended" or "certificate of excellence" and not just "review us") but also for any with dates on them, like "Roma 2014" or something like that. These are usually signs of good places to eat.
3. Who is there/When?: When you walk by a restaurant, do you see mostly tourists or a bunch of locals? If you see a lot of locals eating there, that's a good sign. This is especially true if you see the restaurant packed at like 2 PM or 6 PM, times that are less busy than the respective lunch and dinner rushes. A restaurant being busy or having a line all the time is a double-edged sword. It means you have to wait a bit, but it's also the sign of a great restaurant that's probably worth waiting for. This is a great way to find good restaurants anywhere, not just in Rome.

While it's hard to go wrong with food in Rome, here's a few of the places I tried and would recommend going. Keep in mind that these places are takeout restaurants or street food. If you're looking for a fancy, upscale meal with friendly waiters in a place that oozes luxury, this list isn't for you. I travel on a budget and I'm also a firm believer in the fact that you can get as good if not better food from downscale local places than any fancy 5-star restaurant. At all of these places, you can get amazing food for €8-9 or less.

The Essentials--Places I'd consider can't-misses and worth going out of your way for:

One of Biscottificio Innocenti's owners and their cookies

Biscottificio Innocenti, Via della Luce, 21 (Trastevere): Holy shit, these cookies. The bakery is tucked away on a side street. If you can find the street, the bakery shouldn't be too hard to find--not because it's obvious, but because you can smell the delicious sugary smell from a good distance. The bakery is a family business that's been going for 4 generations, so they know how to bake cookies. Every single cookie I tried was incredible. They somehow manage to give them all a perfect texture. Not too chewy, but not too crunchy either. I can only describe it as "just right" and every one is a heavenly sensation in your mouth. I recommend getting the assorted cookies. It's a little more expensive, but for €6 (300 g) you get a pretty full bag, and it's a great way to try all the types of cookies they have. A majority of them are sugar cookies, but a good number have chocolate, nuts, coconut, or raisins. It took a good deal of restraint to not eat the entire bag in one sitting. This place is definitely a must visit if you're in Rome.

Da Simo's sandwich with chicken, pork, lamb, and chicory

Da Simo... pane e vino, Via di Parione, 34 (near Piazza Navona): This is one of the places in Rome I'm going to miss the most. They have the best sandwiches I had in the city. Whenever I needed my meat fix, I went here. The workers are all extremely friendly and speak pretty good English, and they knew me by name by the last couple times I visited. The sandwiches are a little more expensive than other places in Rome (€4.50 for half, €6 for full), but you get what you pay for. They're big, they have a lot of meat, they're insanely delicious. I've had the one with chicken, pork, and lamb, the one with boiled beef, onions, and chicory, and one with meatball and artichoke and they've all been crazy good. They also have a nice selection of beers in the fridge, though I never really took advantage of that because I usually had class right after I ate lunch. The seating area is subpar (all outside and on cheap tables), and they do tend to take their time, especially when they're busy, but the sandwiches are more than worth it.

Gelateria Frigidarium, Via del Governo Vecchio, 112 (between Piazza Navona & Castel Sant'Angelo): Hands down the best gelato in Rome. I've had some very good gelato in Rome, but this place is consistently head-over-heels better than any other place I've been (the only better gelato I've had anywhere was in Florence). There is usually a bit of a line, but don't be intimidated. It moves quickly and the gelato is totally worth the wait. €2 gets you a small cup (2 flavors) and then you have the option to dip it in white or dark chocolate. Frigidarium, the namesake flavor, is the best in my opinion. It's yellow with a chocolate swirl and cookies sticking up out of it and it tastes like a buttery chocolate cookie. Other flavors I really liked were the dark chocolate (fondente) (which is especially good if you combine it with the caffé flavor) and cannolo (cannoli). You won't go wrong with any flavor though. I've made a point to try at least one new flavor every time I went and everything I had there was amazing.

Trapizzino's coda alla vaccinaria (oxtail)

Trapizzino Testaccio, Via Giovanni Branca, 88 (Testaccio neighborhood)- A trapizzino is basically a pocket made out of pizza dough and filled with a variety of things. I've had the chicken cacciatore and the oxtail (coda alla vaccinanara) and they've both been amazing, though I think I liked the ox tail more. I think the concept of a trapizzino is unique to this restaurant, which has two branches in Rome, though I've only visited the Testaccio location. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but around lunch, there's usually a line or a crowd of people around it, which is always a great sign. Just be warned that since it's street food, seating is limited.

Other favorites: A tier below "can't miss," but also incredibly good.

Bar Amore's cappuccino

Bar Amore, 41 Via dei Banchi Nuovi (between Piazza Navona & Castel Sant'Angelo)- I went here probably more than any other restaurant in Rome, for three reasons: 1). It's right next to the UC study center, 2). It's delicious, 3). It's a great value. This place is really easy to miss. The only thing that makes it place stick out from the street is a thin sign that says "snack bar," that you probably wouldn't pay attention to unless you knew it was there. There's usually a line when you go in, and there's two areas of the restaurant: one where you can order a panino or a pastry, and then the coffee bar. Their cappuccinos are truly some of the best I had in Rome. I didn't drink a cappuccino the last day I was in Rome because I wanted my last cappuccino in Italy to be from Bar Amore. Their paninis are also great. They have several different types of meat and vegetables to choose from as fillings, and the portions are also pretty big for Italy. It's a great place to get coffee and/or lunch.

Suppli'

I Suppli', Via di S. Francesco a Ripa, 137 (Trastevere)- Suppli', for those who don't know, is a fried rice ball filled with meat sauce and cheese. Yes, it's as good as it sounds, maybe even better. I about cried the first time I had suppli' because of just how good it was. I Suppli' is easy to miss. I walked past it a good 2-3 times without ever noticing it, but just look for a mob of people eating rice balls outside, and that should help you find it. They also have pasta and pizza, which I didn't try, but the suppli' is the main attraction, and at €1.20 a piece, it's a great deal. They're kinda small, but they're definitely filling.

Pasta e Vino's Fettuccine Carbonara

Pasta e Vino Come na vorta, 
Vicolo Del Cinque 40 (Trastevere)- Really good pasta place. They have some of the tastiest and richest carbonara (a Roman specialty made with cheese, pork cheek, cream, black pepper, and eggs) in Rome. They seem to have perfected "al dente," as the pasta consistency is perfect. This is probably due to how fresh it is. You can see the pasta being made right in front of you. The restaurant has a window in front of a cutting board where you can watch the owner knead the dough and then cut it into pasta-shaped strips and prepare it to be cooked. It's a little more expensive than some of the other pasta take away places in town, but not overpriced by any means (€6-7.5 per plate). Just be sure to plan ahead if you decide to go. Seating availability is limited and this place also likes to take its time making your food.

Fettuccine with Pesto

Pasta Imperiale, Via dei Coronari, 160, (Pretty close to Castel Sant'Angelo): I'm sad because I only got to visit this place once, on my last night in Rome. The pasta I had, though, was excellent--truly some of the best I had in Rome. I had the pesto and it was absolutely fantastic. I'm not sure if I've ever had such fresh, tasty, and cheesy pesto. I really regret not finding this place sooner. You can also get it in a combo meal, which is €8-9 and includes pasta, a piece of tiramisu and a bottle of water. The restaurant has a couple small tables, but not much. I didn't get to eat my food there at all, so I can't comment too much on it.

Cappuccino & mini cannoli 

Sicilia e Duci, Viale di Trastevere, 69 (Trastevere): This was a place I found on accident when I was walking somewhere and impulsively decided to get coffee. They have pretty good coffee and excellent Sicilian pastries. This was my favorite place to get a cannoli in Rome. They have mini cannolis that are delicious, only €1, and not so big and filling as in other places. They also have freddo, which is one of the only ways to get iced coffee in Rome. Like many cafés, they also have actual food, which I didn't try, but can only assume is delicious based off the quality of the other stuff they had. It's a great place for a mid-afternoon snack and coffee.

Solopasta's spaghetti carbonara & wine

Solopasta, Via della Vetrina, 1 (Between Piazza Navona & Castel Sant'Angelo)- Really good pasta place. I've had the carbonara and ragu' before and they're both excellent. The best part about this place is the deal you get: €5 gets you a big plate of delicious pasta AND a drink, which is pretty much unbeatable. They have Peroni, the standard Italian beer, red and white wine, and water to choose from. Just don't go if you're in a hurry. The place is small and it can take them a little time to get your order out, but it's worth it for the food and the value.

Honorable mentions: Pompi (Via Albalonga, 7, near the Spanish Steps), Il Pastaio di Roma (Via dei Coronari, 102/103, down the street from Pasta Imperiale), Caffe' Lungara 1940 (Via della Lungara, 14, Northern Trastevere)

Now go to Rome and eat like motherf'ing royalty.