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Rome anniversary dinner suggestions

Rome anniversary dinner suggestions

Old Jun 17, 2015, 7:19 pm
  #16  
JBD
 
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Rome itinerary for anniversary trip

Just surfing around found this thread in the Chowhound Italy Forum:

Rome itinerary for anniversary trip

It's 2 years old, but both Elizabeth Minchilli and Maureen Fant weigh in (and they're both true experts in Rome dining).

And then I saw this thread where Minchilli, Fant and Katie Parla post answers, although it's from 2012:

Question: Anniversary dinner in Rome - which restaurant?

You'll see the first reply tells the OP to do a search - and these restaurants might not be what our OP is looking for - but I just wanted to share these so you'd get an idea of the info available on that site. IMO, Chowhound is a far superior forum for asking about Rome's dining options - it's populated with real "foodies" - so you get good advice sans shaming sermons!
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Old Jun 17, 2015, 7:56 pm
  #17  
 
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Originally Posted by PWMTrav
However, this caught my eye, Katie Parla's recent column for Bon Appetit on the best pasta dishes in Rome:

http://www.bonappetit.com/restaurant...nts-rome-italy
We ate at two of the places listed here.

Pipero al Rex was good with some very unique items, but very expensive. The owner came out and talked with us and was quite friendly. You can order by the course or a multi course chefs selection menu (lots of food). The chefs menu for two, with a bottle of wine was 250 euro. We had other meals in Rome that we enjoyed more, for much less. (they have a Michelin star)

Tavernaccia da Brunos is a small place in a local neighborhood. Our cab driver had to call them find the exact location. Almost everyone here was a local and they were friendly towards us. It's not what I would call "romantic" but more of a place that you would go to eat on a regular basis if you lived in the area. The food was good, but we found it odd that the portions were quite large leaving us feeling like we had too much to eat. It may sound odd, but after an appetizer, an entre, and main course you really do appreciate the small portions. The prices were very reasonable here.
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Old Jun 17, 2015, 11:03 pm
  #18  
 
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Originally Posted by pbiflyer
Mrs PBIFLYER and I will be in Rome on our anniversary. Need a great suggestion. Long ago, we were in Rome and had a great dinner in a street side cafe in Trestavere. She loved that.
We aren't into stuffy, michellin rated restaurants that serve tiny fancy food.
Romantic, small, great view maybe? Outdoor, although sine it would be in July, maybe not. All suggestions welcome.
Originally Posted by josephineperry
Hi, I've heard that Felice a Testaccio offers great typical roman cuisine. I haven't been there so I don't know about the view, but here's the website http://www.feliceatestaccio.it/index-eng.html and you could have a look at the reviews on the net and see what htey say
Originally Posted by JBD
Then it seems you've never been to Metamorfosi:

http://metamorfosiroma.it/

The OP merely said that he wasn't into nouvelle cuisine as depicted in the pictures he shared. And nouvelle cuisine is not only found in Europe. Again you inferred something not stated by the OP.

The OP never said he wanted large portions. He said he wasn't into "tiny fancy food".

The OP never mentioned TripAdvisor.

If anyone is generalizing about a nationality, it's you generalizing about Americans.
Originally Posted by PWMTrav
I actually could recommend some good restaurants in Italy that serve large portions, but they're all around Florence where Bistecca is ordered by the kilogram
First, the OP didn't say he didn't want nouvelle cuisine in his original post. That came up after my post. He said he doesn't want tiny portions, which is generally taken to mean you want large portions. With rare exceptions large portions and good food don't go together in Italy, and I suspect this had something to do with only two please responding in 6 weeks.

I never said OP mentioned TripAdvisor. My response quoted the OP's original question, and Josephineperry's advise, which was to look for reviews on the net, which generally means TA or some similar site.

I stand by the advice that just wandering into any restaurant in Trastevere is a recipe for a disaster. Katie Parla's most recent column commented, "DOT Bistrot opened a little over a year ago just off Piazza San Cosimato in the tourist trap-laden zone of Trastevere. Normally, I avoid dining in this part of town like the plague, but DOT is a rare island in a sea of mediocrity http://www.parlafood.com/dot-bistrot-in-trastevere/ Tavernacia da Bruno is also good in Trastevere, but otherwise be careful in this neighborhood.

The food and people at Metamorfosi do not look like the picture the OP posted. Go to their website and watch the food scroll by on automatic. Note the size of the pasta dish, maybe 100 grams, a typical Italian portion, and the size of the piece of fish. That's normal. The picture you sent is just a small desert. It's one of the best restaurants in Rome, if not Italy, The sous chef just came from working at Noma in Denmark, the restaurant that has been ranked the best restaurant in the world almost every year since 2010. This doesn't seem what the OP is looking for even though the dining room is minimal, modern, and the waiters are unpretentious. http://metamorfosiroma.it/index.php?page=2

Josephineperry's recommendation for Felice in Testaccio is a good one. It's a veritable Testaccio institution, but as she said, there is no outdoor seating. The place his former chef Flavio opened up has two rooftop patios for dining. Ask for the upper one, and you'll have a nice view. And if you are willing to go to Testaccio, consider Perilli's and have the carbonara. It's not very romantic, but it is one of the where you will get a healthy portion, and it's one of the best restaurants in Rome. Like most places in Testaccio, you won't find tourists. It's a real neighborhood restaurant. You can also have great food in a gorgeous outdoor setting in a beautiful plaza at Pierluigi's in Testaccio, but concentrate on the fish there. None of these places are stuffy.

Not far from Campo dei Fiori is Costanza. No outdoor seating, but it's really romantic because it is located literally inside the ruins of an ancient roman amphitheater. The rooms are carved out of rock. It's very romantic and cozy.

Something a little out of the way, but many peoples' favorite place, is Cesare al Casaletto. Easy to get their by tram in 20 minutes. Pleasant outdoor patio, but no view. It's neighborhood place on the outskirts outside of the city. This is the place where the Rome's chefs go to eat. Many Romans consider it the best trattoria in rome. Relaxed, not stuffy, basic design room, but food to die for. They specialize in various fritti. Small portions but you're gonna get a lot of them and leave stuffed.

Piperno in the old jewish ghetto has outside seating in a beautiful plaza, great food, and is unpretentious.

Like WestCoastFlyer said, you really have to do your homework, then just go for it. You can't go someplace because another person said they had a great meal there. You have to create your own memories. You can look up some of these places to get you started. There's also a fantastic seafood place literally steps from your hotel, I'm blocking on the name, but you probably want to get around town.

PWM Traveler is right, there are a few dishes that are famous for being huge, such as bistec fiorentina, a four inch thick steak, but it's usually shared by two people. It's similar to a T-bone steak in the USA, but is prepared differently. Look at the website he posted of Katie Parla's 10 favorite pasta places and look at the small sizes of the ten pasta dishes, and you will see what I mean about how portion size and quality are inversely linked.

Oh, and in addition to ignoring reviews on the "net," I'd cross of the list any place the hotel concierge recommends.

Last edited by Perche; Jun 17, 2015 at 11:14 pm
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Old Jun 18, 2015, 2:38 am
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Originally Posted by Perche
Oh, and in addition to ignoring reviews on the "net," I'd cross of the list any place the hotel concierge recommends.
^^
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Old Jun 18, 2015, 5:50 am
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Originally Posted by pbiflyer
Mrs PBIFLYER and I will be in Rome on our anniversary. Need a great suggestion.
Long ago, we were in Rome and had a great dinner in a street side cafe in Trestavere. She loved that.
We aren't into stuffy, michellin rated restaurants that serve tiny fancy food.
Romantic, small, great view maybe? Outdoor, although sine it would be in July, maybe not.
All suggestions welcome.
Originally Posted by josephineperry
Hi, I've heard that Felice a Testaccio offers great typical roman cuisine. I haven't been there so I don't know about the view, but here's the website http://www.feliceatestaccio.it/index-eng.html
and you could have a look at the reviews on the net and see what htey say
Originally Posted by JBD
Just surfing around found this thread in the Chowhound Italy Forum:

Rome itinerary for anniversary trip

It's 2 years old, but both Elizabeth Minchilli and Maureen Fant weigh in (and they're both true experts in Rome dining).

And then I saw this thread where Minchilli, Fant and Katie Parla post answers, although it's from 2012:

Question: Anniversary dinner in Rome - which restaurant?

You'll see the first reply tells the OP to do a search - and these restaurants might not be what our OP is looking for - but I just wanted to share these so you'd get an idea of the info available on that site. IMO, Chowhound is a far superior forum for asking about Rome's dining options - it's populated with real "foodies" - so you get good advice sans shaming sermons!
Keep in mind, for the most part, the romantic anniversary restaurants recommendations listed on the above two links are mainly what the OP says he doesn't like; small portions and "stuffy" with Michelin star quality like Metamorfosi, Piperno, etc.
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Old Jun 18, 2015, 11:41 am
  #21  
 
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Originally Posted by pbiflyer
Mrs PBIFLYER and I will be in Rome on our anniversary. Need a great suggestion.
Long ago, we were in Rome and had a great dinner in a street side cafe in Trestavere. She loved that.
We aren't into stuffy, michellin rated restaurants that serve tiny fancy food.
Romantic, small, great view maybe? Outdoor, although sine it would be in July, maybe not.
All suggestions welcome.
Originally Posted by pbiflyer
We are staying at the Westin Excelsior. We are very mobile, willing to take cabs, subway, buses.

We really need a bit more information to be able to give you appropriate recommendations. Budget? Food type? Traditional Roman?
Contemporary Roman (updates to classic recipes)? Cucina Povera - poor mans food - including offal? Roman Jewish Cuisine? We've established you are not interested in Michelin starred restaurants.
Do you want fish/seafood? Do you want a great carbonara? a fantastic wine list?

Check out these Rome based bloggers, all of them are highly regarded. I can personally attest to Katie Parla and Elizabeth Minchilli's recommendations.
http://www.parlafood.com
http://www.elizabethminchilliinrome.com
http://www.maureenbfant.com

You can also check out the Rome Digest http://www.theromedigest.com - a joint effort between Katie Parla & Hande Leimer http://www. vinoroma.com . It is not updated, but still has some great info.

Hotel Eden and Hotel Minerva are great suggestions for aperitivos. I've not yet been to the Hotel Forum. Perche also had some good suggestions for restaurants.

I think we are fortunate to have Perche here and willing to answer Rome/Italy based questions. It's always beneficial to have an answer from someone who is "on the ground" daily. And not just a response from someone who was in Rome for 3 days, 5 years ago.
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Old Jun 18, 2015, 2:13 pm
  #22  
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Originally Posted by mromalley
We really need a bit more information to be able to give you appropriate recommendations. Budget? Food type? Traditional Roman?
Contemporary Roman (updates to classic recipes)? Cucina Povera - poor mans food - including offal? Roman Jewish Cuisine? We've established you are not interested in Michelin starred restaurants.
Do you want fish/seafood? Do you want a great carbonara? a fantastic wine list?

Check out these Rome based bloggers, all of them are highly regarded. I can personally attest to Katie Parla and Elizabeth Minchilli's recommendations.
http://www.parlafood.com
http://www.elizabethminchilliinrome.com
http://www.maureenbfant.com

You can also check out the Rome Digest http://www.theromedigest.com - a joint effort between Katie Parla & Hande Leimer http://www. vinoroma.com . It is not updated, but still has some great info.

Hotel Eden and Hotel Minerva are great suggestions for aperitivos. I've not yet been to the Hotel Forum. Perche also had some good suggestions for restaurants.

I think we are fortunate to have Perche here and willing to answer Rome/Italy based questions. It's always beneficial to have an answer from someone who is "on the ground" daily. And not just a response from someone who was in Rome for 3 days, 5 years ago.
The OP's first post was this:

Originally Posted by pbiflyer
Mrs PBIFLYER and I will be in Rome on our anniversary. Need a great suggestion.
Long ago, we were in Rome and had a great dinner in a street side cafe in Trestavere. She loved that.
We aren't into stuffy, michellin rated restaurants that serve tiny fancy food.
Romantic, small, great view maybe? Outdoor, although sine it would be in July, maybe not.
All suggestions welcome.
And when he said "stuffy, michellin rated restaurants that serve tiny fancy food" I immediately thought of Metamorfosi.

By his other requisites it seems like they'd enjoy a Testaccio, Monti or Ghetto mainstay. I use the resources you do, as well as Chowhound since you can get the immediate feedback of the women you reference. I think the OP would definitely benefit from checking out the links you provided to get some specific recommendations.

- I first learned of the people you mentioned from this thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/italy...-eat-rome.html

I agree nothing beats advise from someone on the ground, and we use to have Rome based FTers here on this board but they've been absent for some time. It's my understanding that Perche travels to Italy frequently, but that he's not a Roman. I imagine he'll correct me if my assumption is wrong.

And FTers that are tourists can definitely benefit from learning about cultural differences so as not to offend - or be offended.

But you get what you pay for as they say, and not to completely undermine your recommendation of fellow FTer Perche, keep in mind that he's now broadened his advice from steering clear of TripAdvisor reviews (which I agree with), to now advising us to steer clear of all reviews on "the net". That means all the great resources you link above, Perche is saying you should avoid. And I definitely disagree with that advice. (Not to mention his apparently limited vocabulary: if something's not tiny then to him that means that something has to be large!)
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Old Jun 18, 2015, 5:12 pm
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Originally Posted by josephineperry
Hi, I've heard that Felice a Testaccio offers great typical roman cuisine...you could have a look at the reviews on the net and see what htey say
Originally Posted by Perche
In my opinion you can't rely on reviews on the net. Your asking American tourists where to eat in Rome.

I wondered why a query such as this only had two responses.

I couldn't answer it because although I'm sure it wasn't OP's intent, as worded about not liking tiny portion sizes it seemed as if he was asking for a recommendation for a bad restaurant.

There are great, independent food critics who haved lived in Rome for decades who write in English. They do this for a living.

Elizabeth Minchilli and Katie Parla come to mind. You can download their apps or books for just a few dollars. It's worth doing that before wasting 25 times that amount eating a super-sized portion of food in a tourist trap. You can also go to their free websites and get lots of info.

Rome Digest is another website in English that also comes to mind. Not in English but if you don't speak Italian you can cut and paste into Google Translate and try to make do, is the website, "Dissapore, Niente Sacro Tranne il Cibo." It means, "I disagree, nothing is sacred except for food."

There are many cozy, casual, budget-friendly restaurants with fantastic food, suitable for an anniversary in Rome, but not if portion size is a criterion standard for meaning good food, and good food is equated with meaning stuffy.
Originally Posted by mromalley
We really need a bit more information to be able to give you appropriate recommendations. Budget? Food type? Traditional Roman? Contemporary Roman (updates to classic recipes)? Cucina Povera - poor mans food - including offal? Roman Jewish Cuisine? We've established you are not interested in Michelin starred restaurants. Do you want fish/seafood? Do you want a great carbonara? a fantastic wine list?

Check out these Rome based bloggers, all of them are highly regarded. I can personally attest to Katie Parla and Elizabeth Minchilli's recommendations.
http://www.parlafood.com
http://www.elizabethminchilliinrome.com
http://www.maureenbfant.com

You can also check out the Rome Digest http://www.theromedigest.com - a joint effort between Katie Parla & Hande Leimer http://www. vinoroma.com . It is not updated, but still has some great info.
Originally Posted by JBD
It's my understanding that Perche travels to Italy frequently, but that he's not a Roman. I imagine he'll correct me if my assumption is wrong.

But you get what you pay for as they say, and not to completely undermine your recommendation of fellow FTer Perche, keep in mind that he's now broadened his advice from steering clear of TripAdvisor reviews (which I agree with), to now advising us to steer clear of all reviews on "the net". That means all the great resources you link above, Perche is saying you should avoid. And I definitely disagree with that advice. (Not to mention his apparently limited vocabulary: if something's not tiny then to him that means that something has to be large!)
This thread is getting off topic, but first JBD, I did not broaden my advice from steering clear of TripAdvisor to recommending that people steer clear of resources like Katie Parla, Liz Minchilli, Rome Digest, Dissapore, Niente e Sacro Tranne il Cibo, etc. I was the first one to recommend them upthread in this post. I've touted them and other professionals in this forum as an alternative to using tourist reviews on the "Net" for quite a while.

To reiterate, OP made a very valid request for recommendations for restaurants for his upcoming anniversary. For some reason, there was just one response in six weeks, and it puzzled me. I tried to respond several times but just couldn't do it. I said, "I am sure it was not his intent," but was due to the wording of his question. I couldn't get my mind around his dislike of tiny portions, stuffy restaurants, and star quality food because I don't think those are appropriate filters when searching for good restaurants in Italy. mromalley suggested it was because OP's question lacked specifics, or appropriate filters for guidance.

I felt bad about the lack of response after six weeks and decided to chime in three days ago. There were about 861 views of OP's post at that time, and only one reply. This post is now approaching 1200 views, and has 21 replies, many restaurant recommendations, and points to a number of useful websites (not "Net" reviews).

I am not Roman, but I am a dual Italian-US citizen, and since 2010 my job has required me to split my time about 50-50 between Italy and the USA. Most of the time in Italy has been in Venice, Torino, and Rome, and to a lesser extent, Naples, Modena, Palermo, and a few other places.

Last edited by Perche; Jun 18, 2015 at 8:34 pm
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Old Jun 19, 2015, 8:17 am
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Originally Posted by Perche
I couldn't get my mind around his dislike of tiny portions, stuffy restaurants, and star quality food because I don't think those are appropriate filters when searching for good restaurants in Italy.
^^ I couldn't agree more.

Whereas we all have our own takes on the world, our esteemed on-line community relies on those who have 'been there and done that' offering the benefit of their experience. If the person offering the advice also has a broad understanding of the cultural background of the person asking advice, this could further enhance the validity of the reply. So, if I were a visitor to Rome, and an Italo-American who has spent a lot of time working there offers advice about the city, I would definitely be reluctant to challenge it.

If I were looking for a special restaurant in Rome I'd probably not go for a top-20 TripAdvisor recommendation, as I'd assume (perhaps erroneously) that it'd be full of tourists – (not a problem in itself); pedlars disturbing my romantic meal by trying to persuade me to purchase a long stemmed red rose for my wife; and (horror of horrors) roving minstrels playing Roman music at full volume and serenading my wife with such evergreens as 'Volare' and 'Tu vu f L'Americano' whilst my body language goes into overdrive gesticulating the message: "No – I am not going to give you €10, so go away now and hassle that couple with the long stemmed red roses on that table over there!"

If I were the OP and had a few days in Rome before the special evening, I'd take a stroll around the city and eventually take a punt on a place with a decent looking menu in a great location – and would make sure that if eating 'al fresco' were not an option, the place were not too brightly lit. Unless you're unlucky, you won't be served a poor meal in Italy.

[For the record, I am British, my wife is American, I spent 20 years of my adult life living in Italy (in Genoa, Rome and in the Turin area), and now spend over three months of the year working in the Turin area.]
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Old Jun 19, 2015, 1:32 pm
  #25  
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Originally Posted by Up In The Air
^^ I couldn't agree more.

If I were the OP and had a few days in Rome before the special evening, I'd take a stroll around the city and eventually take a punt on a place with a decent looking menu in a great location and would make sure that if eating 'al fresco' were not an option, the place were not too brightly lit. Unless you're unlucky, you won't be served a poor meal in Italy.
Numerous times it has been posted that you need to make reservations at least a week in advance at any good restaurant in Rome.
For most nights I don't mind taking a chance, but I wanted one to be smooth.
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Old Jun 20, 2015, 1:32 am
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Originally Posted by pbiflyer
Numerous times it has been posted that you need to make reservations at least a week in advance at any good restaurant in Rome.
For most nights I don't mind taking a chance, but I wanted one to be smooth.
You may well be right and if it'll give you peace of mind you should definitely book in advance. However (and maybe I've never been to a 'good' restaurant in Rome) in all the time I lived there, and on the 50 or so occasions I've visited since, I've never not been able to get a table for two at relatively short notice.
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Old Jun 27, 2015, 1:48 pm
  #27  
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Originally Posted by Perche
And if you are willing to go to Testaccio, consider Perilli's and have the carbonara.
So, carbonara is something that mrs. pbiflyer is looking forward to. When I tried to find Perilli's, I found three in very close proximity of each other.
One is located at Via Marmorata, 2, Roma, Italy, one is located at Via Marmorata, 39, one is located at Via Marmorata, 71.
Which one are you referring to? I am guessing Via Marmorata 39, with this website: http://www.trattoria-romana.it/da/perilli/
Correct?
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Old Jun 28, 2015, 8:17 am
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Originally Posted by pbiflyer
So, carbonara is something that mrs. pbiflyer is looking forward to. When I tried to find Perilli's, I found three in very close proximity of each other.
One is located at Via Marmorata, 2, Roma, Italy, one is located at Via Marmorata, 39, one is located at Via Marmorata, 71.
Which one are you referring to? I am guessing Via Marmorata 39, with this website: http://www.trattoria-romana.it/da/perilli/
Correct?
Via Marmorata 39.
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Old Jul 24, 2015, 1:01 pm
  #29  
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Originally Posted by Perche
Not far from Campo dei Fiori is Costanza. No outdoor seating, but it's really romantic because it is located literally inside the ruins of an ancient roman amphitheater. The rooms are carved out of rock. It's very romantic and cozy.
Due to the stifling heat while we were there (the first week of July with high temps ranging from 97-101), we opted for indoor dining. We ended up at Constanza.
Had reservations via email, but they could not find them on arrival even though we showed the email. They did find us a table quickly.

Food was excellent. The artichoke appetizer was amazing. My wife said the gnocchi was best she has ever had.

Funny, after all the discussions on portions, it seems that their portions were very similar to those found in local US restaurants.

Thanks for all the help and advice.
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