You know that electrifying feeling when you just arrived to your travel destination from the…read moreairport, dropped off your luggage at the hotel, quickly freshened up, and are now wandering a new city in search of your first authentic meal? L'Antica Fraschetta was my introductory gateway to all the pasta I was about to eat in Italy. With its checkered red table cloths, string lights, and charming decor, the ambiance was everything I imagined an Italian restaurant would have. I had trouble differentiating if the decor was authentic or overly cliché. Or maybe just had trouble accepting that I was actually in Italy. I still don't know, but I loved it! I had the CACIO E PEPE as my entree. I opted for the truffled version. So good! That pecorino romano just hits differently when you're in Rome. I also quickly learned the pasta is cooked al dente everywhere in Italy, which means on the firmer side. The patrons at L'Antica Fraschetta seemed to be a mixture of both locals and tourists. There is a bar area as well. I had a cappuccino to wake myself up after a long journey. Despite what social media videos may say, you can order cappuccinos any time. After our meal, we were given complimentary LIMONCELLOS. Great first meal, thank you!

The food was delicious! We were recommended to try the place and boy were we happy! So much we went…read moreback a second night. The food was delicious, service impeccable!

Taverna dei Quaranta was recommended to us by my husband's cousin's sister-in-law. Since the…read morerestaurant was located right by the Colosseum, we took the opportunity to try the place after we finished up our tour of the Colosseum, Palentine Hill, and Roman Forums. The restaurant is about a 15 minute walk from the exit by the Roman Forums closest to the Colosseum. Taverna dei Quaranta had the cutest outdoor patio with hanging vines, but we wanted to sit inside since we were under the sun all day. The interior of the restaurant was just as adorable. We were able to get a seat right away around 1pm, but the place quickly picked up after we sat down. Service was probably one of the best we've had at one of the smaller restaurants. The servers were very attentive, and the food came out fast. No time wasted here. We ordered a salad to share, which consisted of arugula, sliced pears, sliced parmesan, and walnuts. It was lightly coated with oil, but they provide bottles of olive oil and balsamic vinegar for the table that you can use to brighten up the flavor of the dressing. My husband ordered the rigatoni in a red sauce with oxtail. I felt that the rigatoni could could for 15 more seconds to get the right al dente bite. It was on the edge of being slightly undercooked. That said, the marinara was great. I thought that the oxtail meat was going to be incorporated in the sauce, but the restaurant provides only one oxtail segment. The meat was tender though. I absolutely loved my eggplant parmesan. Be careful, because it comes out still baking in its dish. When you get past the hot temperature, the eggplant parmesan was flavorful and so cheesy. One of my top 3 things I ate in Rome. Highly recommend this restaurant if you're by the Colosseum.

Our first night in Rome had us looking for anything that served pasta. That was not hard to find…read more This place blew the doors off anything we had been able to eat in the United States. All the pasta was fresh and tasted delicious. The restaurant was busy for a smaller side street location near the Colosseum. The waitstaff were attentive but not super friendly. This likely was more due to a small language barrier than anything else. I would highly recommend this place

During my trip to Italy, I only had a short time in Rome - about 36 hours. So, we squeezed in as…read moremuch as we could during the short time including a golf cart tour so we could hit all the hotspots. At the end of the tour, our guide dropped us off for lunch and provided this spot as a suggestion. (The one tip we heard repeatedly from locals while in Italy - avoid any restaurant that had pictures outside of their food or had alfredo, spaghetti and meatballs or chicken parmigiana on the menu.) So, she kindly dropped us off here - at this little spot just off the beaten path. We arrived at lunch time, but were lucky to secure a table outside (dining al fresco in Italy is just a must whenever possible). That said - we just had a light lunch as we had big dinner plans that evening. So, I had only a glass of rose wine and one dish - cacio e pepe. But, here's the thing - I am still thinking about that one bowl of pasta now - more than a month later. It was that good. It's such a simple dish - pasta, cheese, pepper. And yet - so much deliciousness. I've tried to recreate at home, but to no success. I will keep trying. But, the long story short, if you are in Rome, stray off the beaten path - go here and have the cacio e pepe. Honestly - I bet all their dishes are amazing. If I get back to Rome - I will seek this place out to test my theory!

This felt like the only local restaurant in the area, so automatically gets a good ranking for…read morethat. There wasn't a fellow american in sight so that felt like a good sign! I got the carbonara and it was very good, but the prices here are steep and I'm not sure it's quite worth the money. It was a good meal but not exceptional. Definitely worth escaping the chaos of the nearby tourists though!

If you are looking for a solid authentic pizza, come here!…read more We had pizza, beer, salad and the best dessert. Lemon tiramisu was on point! Also, the sangria was amazing! The place is small but they have a whole restaurant downstairs. Service was fast and friendly.

Great little place. Relaxed vibe. Great service and food tasty…read more Second night in Roma. Great time. A definite for nice meal relatively inexpensive food and wine, Super

Long day of walking tours. Saw the ratings on this restaurant and said, "gotta try it" Well there…read moreare NOT enough amazing words to describe this place; from the owner, the view, the fooookd. All the BESt. The carbinarra for 2 was brilliant. I had the Linguine Aophia Lorren and I wanted to pick the plate. Everyone raved over their meals. It is a MUST experience while in Rome.

THE place for carbonara! Don't miss the fried Zucchini flower. The sleeper option, the balsamic…read morevinegar Alfredo fettuccine! Charming view of back of the Forum. May have been our favorite of the trip.

In the Monti neighborhood, a charming walk from our hotel brought us to Taverna Urbana…read more The food in Rome is all pretty fantastic, and Taverna Urbana is right up there. It's a small place on a neighborhood street. Not a lot of traffic. We ate outside. At first there were water misters going to cool folks off. Then when it got later , they turned off not sure why. Servers were all nice & helpful. Spoke English. Bread was served in a small paper bag. My husband had the ravioli with tomatoes which was very good. I had cacio e Pepe but opted not to have the table side creation (4 euro more) , though we did see someone else having that. Dessert - best dessert ever! Torta Della Nonna - flaky shortbread crust, lemon curd, almonds/hazelnuts. Raspberry sauce.

For whatever reason I'm thinking of Anton Ego's monologue from "Ratatouille" and his review of…read moreeating Remy's dish. The review reflects on the nature of criticism: Ego muses that the harshest criticism can be entertaining, but ultimately worthless compared to the act of creation itself. This applies to the meal I just finished. I seem to have eaten endless versions of typical Roman trattoria, osteria etc. whilst in Rome but nothing like the meal I had at Taverna Urbana. The Caccio e pepe is prepared at table side and was excellent. Overall the service was excellent and the price reasonable.

A nice restaurant that hires people with special needs. Great food at very reasonable prices in…read moreTrastevere. Doesn't feel touristy, even the table next to us was a group of locals.

Great and friendly service. Lots of Italians eating here - expected a littttle more flavor but food…read morewas ok. Drinks were good!

Such a nice relaxing dinner here after a long day sightseeing in the area. Bottle of Chianti, mixed…read moresalad to share, lasagna, and carbonara were wonderful. Fun surprise when our server brought us limoncello and cookies to share. Also, I asked for our wine cork (we save them on our trips), and she brought us another 10+ from her other tables. **The restaurant has an outdoor section in the very back that would be enjoyable in the cooler weather.

A great place for dinner. The food was good. We ordered the Lasagna, linguine al pesto, pollo…read moregriglia, caprese con bufala, and carciofo romana. The food came out quickly and it was delicious. The service was very good. A very nice restaurant.