Another Rome Restaurant Question
 

We have a one night stay in Rome in early June. We will be staying at the Hotel Indigo Rome - St. George located near the intersection of Via Giulia and Via die Bresciani. I have read with interest the comments about Taverna Ripetta and Roscioli. Both sound wonderful but appear to be a long walk from our hotel. Could Perche or one of our other knowledgable posters comment on the walk and/or recommend a restaurant of the same general type as the above that would be a shorter walk. We would prefer to walk but could or course take a taxi. I have never been in Rome so know nothing of the logistics. Thanks in advance for any help.

The hotel's location is optimal for walking just about anywhere. It's about half a mile, or a 5-10 minute walk to Roscioli. Taverna Ripetta is a little farther, almost a mile, a 15-20 minute walk.

You should know that Taverna is a combination Italian/Egyptian restaurant. The menu has mostly italian dishes but also falafel, hummus, baba ganoosh, fattush, cous cous, the meat is halal, etc. I'm not implying that you shouldn't go there or that they don't make good italian food, but just so that you are not surprised when you see the menu. http://halal.tripdiscovery.com/resta...PID77#ReadMore

I'd certainly walk to either one. In the case of Roscioli you can walk through Campo dei Fiori, in the case of Taverna Ripetta you get to see the Piazza Navona. These are two of the most famous (i.e. beautiful) piazzae in Rome. Of course, you can also walk along the Lungotevere, say, on the way back... Don't worry about the distance, on a map or Google Earth it looks longer than it really is. :)

Perche and KLouis, Thank you both for your advice, We will be walking to Roscioli for dinner on a route that takes us through Campo dei Fiori. We will begin our walk in the afternoon and probably stop for a glass of wine. Can you suggest an interesting place? Thanks again, ned.

I think you are on the right track. I didn't want to get blunt because everyone ultimately has to find their own way, but Taverna Ripetta, in addition to having Falafel and Baba Ganoush on the appetizer list, has Fettuccine in Curry Sauce with shrimp as a featured pasta. Curry is not a sauce that Romans put on a pasta.

I don't know how such places even come up on the radar, unless it is by TripAdvisor.

As for where to go for a wine on the way to Roscioli, the best advice I can give is that part of the wonderful experience of visiting Italy is to find your own path. Go from one place to another, and make note of places to visit again, where you will have nostalgia. Don't try to check off everyone else's, "must visit" list. Everyone will send you to a place where they had their own magic, romantic moment, and will recommend that place to you. You can't fill other peoples' place, or relive their lives.

You have your own special night, so go for it. After dinner, walk or talk a cab to the Colosseum, the Forum, and have a kiss there.

In general, right in Campo dei Fiore is too touristy. But, if you can get a table in June right outside on the Campo and want to people watch, why not have a glass of wine there, even if it is over-priced, cheap wine? Or, even better, explore a side street and drink good wine and watch Italians and how they act, and dress, and talk, instead of watching tourists? It's all going to be right there for you to choose from.

You only have one night. Know that with Roscioli you are going to be eating some excellent Roman food. Stay with the Roman dishes; carbonara, all' amatriciana, alla grecia, cacio e pepe, not the dishes from other parts of Italy. And please don't skip the burrata.

You can't get what Roscioli has in the USA. It's not possible.

I won't recommend an interesting place to stop for a glass of wine, because I don't think you should be more scripted than that. Go and explore, and then post back. Few cities have more to offer than Rome.

There is a vineria right on Campo dei Fiori, approximately in the middle of the square, on the side towards the river. It used to be excellent place to enjoy a glass of wine (many years ago :(). I'm afraid it may be overcrowded with tourists nowadays. Still, it might still be a nice place for a newcomer to Rome...

First, great pick on the hotel. I love the St. George, and Via Giulia in general. I believe it's one of the longest contiguous streets in the historic center, and it's a really nice walk.

I haven't been to Rome in a while, longer than is probably reasonable to throw out restaurant recommendations since I haven't been back to see if they've held up. However, I'll give you a place nearby if you need something close - it's in the Michelin Guide still (not starred, but mentioned, which suggests its held up). Taverna Giulia - it's a guy from Liguria and they serve a lot of Ligurian dishes, so it's not where I'd send someone for one night in Rome, but in a pinch it should be a good meal with another region's dishes :D

Just so you don't think I'm nuts, I discovered this place about 5-6 years ago when we were hungry around lunch time and wandering back from the Vatican. It was a purely random wandering find, but when we went in, it smelled nice so we decided to stay.

Just one block off Campo de' Fiori, and therefore not much of a detour on your way to Roscioli, is a very fine little wine bar called L'Angolo Divino. The proprietor will give you good recommendations for a glass of wine no matter what you might be interested in, or at what your price range is, and also suggest good pairing of particular snack foods to accompany the wines. Or have a glass of wine with the complementary taralli snack crackers. The L'Angolo Divino street angles off Campo de' Fiori just where the piazza meets Via dei Guibbonari, the street where Roscioli restaurant is.

http://www.angolodivino.it/it/homepage

Just had dinner at Roscioli, partly because of the recommendations here. It's clearly a place you want to like, partly because it ticks all the boxes of what you expect from a neighbourhood Italian restaurant (and they have an unbelievable wine list). Sadly the food was only ok. I had the mozzarella and anchovy starter, which was much too salty (anchovies obviously but bufalo was way off). The Carbonara did't really work for me either; much too stodgy, with the most al dente pasta I've had in a long time (still tasting grainy), and too much cheese and yolk...just too much of everything. I'll go back to give them another chance, because the atmosphere is brilliant, and because I enjoyed their 2008 Rosso del Conto at the bargain price of €50.