Map: every spot in this guide
Nothing matches both filters — try widening one.
Tap a pin or a name to jump to it. “Passeggiata route” traces the evening walk at the bottom of this post.
New for 2026
Four spots I added in Testaccio
Testaccio is where Romans actually eat, and it barely registers with tourists. Three of these four are a two-minute walk from each other — you can do the entire evening on one street.
- 01
Piatto Romano
Via Giovanni Battista Bodoni 62
Cucina romana taken seriously, and the one I’m happiest to have found. They cook the rare Roman vegetables nobody else bothers with — if something on the menu is unfamiliar, order it.
- 02
Pizzeria Nuovo Mondo
Via Amerigo Vespucci 15
Thin Roman pizza, no scene, all locals. Dinner only, and closed Mondays — turning up at lunchtime is the classic mistake.
- 03
Bar Giolitti (Testaccio)
Via Amerigo Vespucci 35
Going since 1914, and not the famous Giolitti near the Pantheon — same family, different branch, a fraction of the queue. Twenty doors up from Nuovo Mondo, so pizza then gelato is a thirty-second walk.
- 04
Piazza Testaccio
The neighborhood’s main square
Not a restaurant — just where we end up. The kids play soccer here at night while the adults have an aperitivo, and no guidebook will ever tell you to do that.
Honorable Mentions
- San Lorenzo – ristorante (fish)
- Roscioli – restaurant (amatriciana & cacio e pepe)
- Il Ceppo – ristorante
- Terrazza Eden – view & aperitivo at sunset
- Aroma – near the Colosseum
- L’Antica Pesa
- Pierluigi – Piazza dei Ricci (VERY fancy)
- Locarno – aperitivo spot
- Hôtel de la Ville – aperitivo
- Per Me – ristorante
Nightlife in Rome
Aperitivi and drinks at Wine Bar Camponeschi (great local crowd), or
Bar San Calisto in Trastevere for a rustic vibe. In Testaccio, skip the bars entirely and take your drink out into Piazza Testaccio with everyone else. Also see: Wes Anderson’s favorite spots
Best Food Tour in Rome:
Take a food tour with my friend Nesim, owner and operator of Full Belly Tours. I took his mini tour and was impressed! Start your trip with it and tell him Garrett sent you!
Favorite Historical Site
Church of San Clemente: A three-tiered time capsule—12th-century basilica,
4th-century church, and an ancient pagan temple/Mithraic shrine beneath. Walk through
Rome’s layers—pagan, early Christian, medieval—all in one visit. Quieter than the big
basilicas, richly decorated, and a true behind-the-scenes peek at the city’s evolution.
Reservations needed.
Check out our post with other fun activities here
, or my separate guide to the best restaurants in Trastevere.
Take a Passeggiata!
- Piazza del Popolo (climb to the Pincio for a view)
- Via del Corso
- Via Condotti → Spanish Steps (drink from the fountain if you dare)
- Trevi Fountain (throw three coins over your shoulder)
- Pantheon
- Piazza Navona
- Campo de’ Fiori (lively late-night scene)
- Ponte Sisto → Trastevere
- Along the river past Vatican & Castel Sant’Angelo back to Piazza del Popolo
- Tiber Island → Circus Maximus & Colosseum area
Want to order all of this in Italian?
Half the fun of these places is that nobody working there needs to speak English. If you want to walk into Piatto Romano and order the way a Roman would, we teach Italian classes in Los Angeles and online, with native tutors who will happily spend a lesson on restaurant vocabulary and the Roman dialect. Tell them Garrett sent you.
