A new thing to do at Rome Termini
Jan 7, 2017, 2:48 pm
#46
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Join Date: Jun 2013
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There may be. It doesn't make that much sense to walk through the shopping mall and out of the other side to the street to then go back inside, because the Mercato is basically the far end of the mall. I guess you could, but if arriving by train it would be like walking through the mall and out the other side, then stepping back in. I wasn't going to try that last night. Italy is freezing right now. My first stop after eating there was to the department store to buy some heavier clothes. Looking for an entrance along the tracks, I walked by it twice without seeing it, until I finally caught a view through a window that revealed where it was. The main message is, you can't walk into it and wouldn't barely even see it if trackside.
But on my departure from Rome, I want to stop at the food court before boarding so I'm thinking of asking the taxi driver to drop me back there.
Jan 7, 2017, 3:42 pm
#47
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Just check your time of departure. It opens at 7:30 AM, but only the Roman pizza and the bar. Other places open in stages. For example, the Napolitano pizza place opens at late 11:30 because it takes many hours to heat up a wood burning oven.
Jan 7, 2017, 4:14 pm
#48
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Posts: 17,455
I just found the website
http://www.mercatocentrale.it/roma/
What a fantastic addition to Termini!
Jan 8, 2017, 12:06 am
#50
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Probably. There's a large place where I believe I saw that. Plenty of offal too. All of the traditional Roman stuff is there, amatriciana, cacio e pepe, suppli, altri fritti.
Jan 26, 2017, 10:41 pm
#51
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There's another fantastic change at Rome Termini. Before July 2016, if you were looking for a place to eat or use the bathroom, there were a few coffee shop type counters on the ground floor, and also stairs to a terrace on the second floor, with another bar and cafeteria. It was pretty nice as far as airport food goes.
That upstairs terrace had one advantage - a bathroom that you could use for 0.70 euro. Paying to use the bathroom, in places where you can find it, is a good thing in Italy.
Public bathrooms everywhere tend to be very dirty, and Italy is no different. Most don't even have toilet seats. You either sit on the ceramic bowl, or have strong enough legs to hold a squat position. The upstairs bathroom at Termini has one clean bathroom each for males and females for 0.7 euros, and there is an attendant there all day who keeps them clean. If you buy a coffee upstairs, the receipt gets you into the bathroom for free.
I don't mind paying a euro for a coffee and a clean bathroom. In 2015 I arrived to Penn Station in NYC and needed to use the bathroom. It was too filthy to use. People were sleeping on the floor others were giving themselves sponge baths and shaving at the sinks. There was urine and feces on the floor in the stalls. Who knows how often they clean the Penn Station bathroom, or any public bathroom?
I couldn't use that facility. I went to the nearest decent looking bar on the street, ordered a drink and went to the bathroom. When I came back, the price of the drink was $17. In NYC you have to leave a tip. So to find a clean bathroom at Penn Station wound up costing $20. In Rome it costs one euro, with coffee included.
But something really changed. The new Mercato Centrale opened up in mid-December. When I arrived to Termini in early January there were no signs or advertisements, and I couldn't find it. It's hidden way back from the front doors, hundreds of meters away. There isn't even a sign for it.
Two days ago I wanted to eat a Trapezzino. This is street food invented by one guy, that is not a sandwich, not a pizza, not a pita pocket, but a mixture of the three. I had one there two weeks ago, and couldn't get it out of my mind. I walked to Termini to get one. I went upstairs to use the clean bathroom upstairs at the front entrance that comes free with a cup of coffee.
Looking down, I saw signs saying, "come visit our terrace." I couldn't see any terrace from there, and couldn't imagine what they were offering. Back downstairs I saw a very fancy escalator near the departure bulletin board, pointing up to the Terrace, as shown in the first picture, where it says, "come up, and discover our Terrace." Wow, when I got to the top it was as if I stepped into a very fancy airline terminal.
Like Termini Mercato Centrale, this was not marketed anywhere, and there were no signs. In fact, it opened up five months before Market Centrale. It's not the same thing, so there's room for both. Bonci, the most famous pizza maker in Rome makes pizza in the Mercato. In the new Terrace he makes sandwiches. His claim to fame is not actually pizza, but as a dough maker, which is what makes his pizza one of the best. In addition to Italian hamburgers, there are all types of sandwiches using his bread.
Garofolo is one of Rome's most famous mozzarella makers. I was disappointed that they didn't feature the mozzarella as much as they should. At lot of it was for take out, as Roman commuters stop there on their way home, but they also had a load of sandwiches, pastry, and other things to eat.
There were bars serving Aperitivi, including a fish wrapped in some type of leaf, and a glass of wine, and some other thing for 7.5 euros. One of Rome's other top pizzaioli had a pizza place here. Like Cento Mercato, you can't eat it all in one day.
The Terrace is definitely upscale. It is very close to the front door of the huge Termini, and Mercato Centrale is as far away as possible on the other end. It offers a different experience. Mercato is a long walk from the front doors and has a lot of hustle and bustle. Terrace is right near the front door, and as I spoke with some people behind the counters they told me the vibe they shooting for was not hustle and bustle, but a place to relax.
One other thing. I mentioned that the old second floor area was nice, but the restaurants and coffee shops are maybe 1970's vint
age. They have two clean toilets, one for a man, one for a woman. Sometimes there is a little bit of a line. In the new Terrace, you walk into a super-modern bathroom. that is cleaner than any I've ever seen at any airport first class lounge or hotel. It costs one euro, and has two attendants, and is worth it if the need arises.
So, there are two wonderful additions to Termini, making it a world class train station.
That upstairs terrace had one advantage - a bathroom that you could use for 0.70 euro. Paying to use the bathroom, in places where you can find it, is a good thing in Italy.
Public bathrooms everywhere tend to be very dirty, and Italy is no different. Most don't even have toilet seats. You either sit on the ceramic bowl, or have strong enough legs to hold a squat position. The upstairs bathroom at Termini has one clean bathroom each for males and females for 0.7 euros, and there is an attendant there all day who keeps them clean. If you buy a coffee upstairs, the receipt gets you into the bathroom for free.
I don't mind paying a euro for a coffee and a clean bathroom. In 2015 I arrived to Penn Station in NYC and needed to use the bathroom. It was too filthy to use. People were sleeping on the floor others were giving themselves sponge baths and shaving at the sinks. There was urine and feces on the floor in the stalls. Who knows how often they clean the Penn Station bathroom, or any public bathroom?
I couldn't use that facility. I went to the nearest decent looking bar on the street, ordered a drink and went to the bathroom. When I came back, the price of the drink was $17. In NYC you have to leave a tip. So to find a clean bathroom at Penn Station wound up costing $20. In Rome it costs one euro, with coffee included.
But something really changed. The new Mercato Centrale opened up in mid-December. When I arrived to Termini in early January there were no signs or advertisements, and I couldn't find it. It's hidden way back from the front doors, hundreds of meters away. There isn't even a sign for it.
Two days ago I wanted to eat a Trapezzino. This is street food invented by one guy, that is not a sandwich, not a pizza, not a pita pocket, but a mixture of the three. I had one there two weeks ago, and couldn't get it out of my mind. I walked to Termini to get one. I went upstairs to use the clean bathroom upstairs at the front entrance that comes free with a cup of coffee.
Looking down, I saw signs saying, "come visit our terrace." I couldn't see any terrace from there, and couldn't imagine what they were offering. Back downstairs I saw a very fancy escalator near the departure bulletin board, pointing up to the Terrace, as shown in the first picture, where it says, "come up, and discover our Terrace." Wow, when I got to the top it was as if I stepped into a very fancy airline terminal.
Like Termini Mercato Centrale, this was not marketed anywhere, and there were no signs. In fact, it opened up five months before Market Centrale. It's not the same thing, so there's room for both. Bonci, the most famous pizza maker in Rome makes pizza in the Mercato. In the new Terrace he makes sandwiches. His claim to fame is not actually pizza, but as a dough maker, which is what makes his pizza one of the best. In addition to Italian hamburgers, there are all types of sandwiches using his bread.
Garofolo is one of Rome's most famous mozzarella makers. I was disappointed that they didn't feature the mozzarella as much as they should. At lot of it was for take out, as Roman commuters stop there on their way home, but they also had a load of sandwiches, pastry, and other things to eat.
There were bars serving Aperitivi, including a fish wrapped in some type of leaf, and a glass of wine, and some other thing for 7.5 euros. One of Rome's other top pizzaioli had a pizza place here. Like Cento Mercato, you can't eat it all in one day.
The Terrace is definitely upscale. It is very close to the front door of the huge Termini, and Mercato Centrale is as far away as possible on the other end. It offers a different experience. Mercato is a long walk from the front doors and has a lot of hustle and bustle. Terrace is right near the front door, and as I spoke with some people behind the counters they told me the vibe they shooting for was not hustle and bustle, but a place to relax.
One other thing. I mentioned that the old second floor area was nice, but the restaurants and coffee shops are maybe 1970's vint
So, there are two wonderful additions to Termini, making it a world class train station.
Jan 27, 2017, 3:42 pm
#52
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Left
Programs: FT
Posts: 7,285
Google maps has the entire terrace available for Street view. Looks like the best landmark is the mac dicks on Via Giovanni Giolitti and enter station and the new set of escalators up are just inside about 100m on right. And then if you walk outside down Via Giovanni Giolitti towards the Radisson Blu, about 300m on your left is the entrance to il Mercato Centrale on what looks to be the lower floor of the station. Looks to avoid the traffic of the train station tussle.
Mar 9, 2017, 11:51 am
#55
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
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Posts: 1,981
I visited both the Mercato Centrale and the Terazzo in Rome Termini today.
An easy way to find the Mercato Centrale is to follow the 'Left Luggage' signs - it's very close to the left luggage facility.
I didn't even mean to go to the Mercato as I'm off to Firenze tomorrow but I stumbled upon it as I went to leave some luggage for the afternoon.
Agree that the Terazzo place is nice - quite busy but it didn't feel crowded when I was there late afternoon.
I just got a take- away baguette with breasola to enjoy this evening on my hotel room's balcony while I enjoy the view of Rome...
Nice weather in Rome today.... (came from home today - just above 0° celcius).
An easy way to find the Mercato Centrale is to follow the 'Left Luggage' signs - it's very close to the left luggage facility.
I didn't even mean to go to the Mercato as I'm off to Firenze tomorrow but I stumbled upon it as I went to leave some luggage for the afternoon.
Agree that the Terazzo place is nice - quite busy but it didn't feel crowded when I was there late afternoon.
I just got a take- away baguette with breasola to enjoy this evening on my hotel room's balcony while I enjoy the view of Rome...
Nice weather in Rome today.... (came from home today - just above 0° celcius).
Jan 14, 2018, 9:53 am
#56
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: SFO, VCE
Programs: AA EXP >4 MM, Lifetime Plat
Posts: 2,881
The Mercato Centrale in Rome Termini was just closed down for reasons of hygiene. It started out when one of the Florentine restaurants was cleaning their artichokes on a stand where the public walks by, and not behind glass. They were warned that you can't clean food where people are walking by, but they ignored it. So the Board of Health did a number of inspections and found other infractions, and closed the place down. The good news is, everyone is cooperating, and it is likely to reopen soon. But as of today, it is closed.