Any favorite spots in the Eternal City?

We're spending a week in the old city center in mid- to late-April. My wife studied architecture in Rome 25 years ago, so we'll have a solid itinerary of monuments, churches, museums, etc. Looking more for recommendations for restaurants, cafes, markets, vintage espresso machine museums (I wish!) and so forth.

It's been many years since I've been there (early-90s), but one restaurant that still sticks in my mind is Alla Rampa which is close to the Spanish Steps. I primarily remember it because I was traveling with co-worker who insisted we go there and I was afraid it would just be a tourist trap with lousy food. Instead I found the food to be excellent.

Of course much may have changed since then but in looking it up quickly it still seems to score reasonably well in reviews: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_R ... Lazio.html So if your near the Spanish Steps (very likely) consider giving it a try.

Be sure to not pass on gelato while you are in Rome.

--Paul

Caffe Greco by the Spanish Steps. May not be the best espresso but it's one of the oldest and most interesting bars in Rome.

Gran cafe at Sant'Eustachio for the experience. Might not be our whole third-wave thing - the coffee is quite darkly-roasted - but I challenge someone in the coffee world to explain how the **** SE's baristas coax out so much (and such foamy) crema. There's no way they're not doing something weird/special in addition to simply pulling the shot.

As far as restaurants - it's been a few years since I lived there, so YMMV, but my favorites at the time were:

- Da Francesco (my favorite low/mid-range restaurant, IMO the best Carciofi and Cacio e Pepe in the city)
- Forno Campo de Fiori (pizza shop)
- Ambasciatta d'Abruzzo (my favorite mid/high-range restaurant)

The Campo de Fiori market is great for fresh produce. If you're looking for more of a flea-market market, there's an enormous one across the river once a week (on Saturdays I think?).

Calcium added to the water is the usual explanation for the appearance of their crema.

I love Sant'Eustachio - but not so much for the coffee as the whole scene. I still can't get used to the sugar-cube-in-the-bottom style, but their espresso isn't really designed to taste good without it either. But although I might prefer my own espresso at home, my kitchen doesn't exactly have the Pantheon wrapped around it. So yeah, I can't wait to go back there. But I'd try these others too.

Appreciate the feedback. Based on some of the descriptions I'd read about the added sugar and stiff crema, I was inclined to pass on Sant'Eustachio. But I'll make sure to go there for the experience and just enjoy it for what it is. It will be unique, even if it unlikely to be my favorite espresso in Rome.

I'm sure we'll find many lovely neighborhood Caffés, but there are a few that I'd like to target, including: Tazza d'Oro and Sciacia. Apparently Caffé Parana near the Stazione Termini, which is a "culinary wasteland" otherwise, is the place for 100% Arabica espresso. We discovered a helpful culinary app for Rome-"Parla Food" aka "Rome Foodie"-that we can use even if our phone is off-line.

Thanks for the restaurant recommendations, as well. We'll make a list and cross some of these off of it. We're staying a block off of the Campo di Fiori, so we'll be in striking distance of a lot of good restaurants.

If you want to check out Tazza d'Oro, it is less than a minute's walk from Sant Eustachio so they're a good pair to hit back-to-back.

If you're staying near Campo, you'd might check out Da Baffetto as well - probably the most famous pizzeria in Rome. Not as good as Da Michele in Naples, but it's definitely good pizza, with a very raucous atmosphere and a shot at meeting interesting people (you sit at communal tables so you will bump in to tourists, football players, celebrities, and everything in between).

Termini is a culinary wasteland for Italian food but there is some great ethnic (various Middle Eastern/African mostly) food there. Just go during the day

Thanks for the tips, everyone. We fly out tomorrow morning and will be in Rome for breakfast on Friday. I think the magic words are, "Vorrei un caffe, per favore." I'll take photos and report back.

Thank goodness for all of the bars in Rome-coffee bars, that is. We were on our feet 12 hours or more every day, and probably walked 7 or 8 miles daily. So frequent espresso stops were a must. Sometimes we even sat down, paying a premium for the table service. However, caffé (espresso) is by far the best bargain in Rome. Figure it costs 1 Euro (±$1.35) for a shot. If you sit down, you pay more-probably the equivalent of buying a shot of specialty espresso in the US.

The process of ordering can be unique. At busy bars you must place an order and pay in advance at a cash register near the front door, then take a paper ticket to the bar. At most bars that are less busy you can order from the barista at the counter. When an Italian orders "caffé," they are given a shot of espresso no questions asked. However, when I ordered "caffé," the next question was invariably "espresso?" As in, "Are you sure?" Rome is a tourist town, and many tourists must order "caffé" when what they really want is a bowl of coffee, an Americano.

I only had straight espresso shots, with the exception of a single "caffé al cioccolato" (espresso with bitter chocolate), which is a house drink at Sciascia, a bar in the Prati neighborhood (not far from the Vatican). As promised, good espresso is easy to find in Rome, even if it is impossible to escape the burnt rubber aftertaste of Robusta. A couple shots were even excellent, transcending the commodity-grade raw materials. My wife sampled both caffé and cappuccino. One nice thing about a roasty shot of espresso from a blend with a Robusta component is that it stands up well in milk.

My breakfast of champions in Rome was "un caffé e un corrnetto." A coronetto is basically a croissant, which can be ordered plain or filled with cream, chocolate, fruit preserves, etc. It just needs to tide you over to a mid-morning pizza bianca (or similar), so don't worry if it's a light breakfast.



Having sampled both Tazza d'Oro and Sant'Eustachio, I'd recommend not waiting in line at either venue unless it's on your bucket list. (Both were on mine.) Go across the piazza to the Camiloni a S.Eustachio or around the corner to Bar "Il Lucano."



The caffé at Tazza d'Oro is very roasty. Not bad; not great. The crema at Sant'Eustachio is indeed on steroids. It's not simply Robusta-in fact, their coffee is reportedly 100% arabica-but there is something in the water, and they're probably not running it through the espresso machine. They have blinders on the sides of their machines so you can't see how the shots are actually prepped. You can draw your own conclusions, but I had my shot without sugar and tasted a little something extra in the cup. I am casting my vote in "the secret ingredient is bicarbonate of soda" (or similar) camp.

Of the many bars we visited, I'd recommend trying Er Caffettierre in the Monti (near the entrance to the Metro) and Sciasia in the Prati. The later has been roasting since 1919. No long lines. Otherwise, try any bar you like. It's even safe to order caffé at restaurants. It's really a wonderful-if not a specialty-coffee destination.

If you want to see more coffee and food pics from Rome, you can do so here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21519888@N ... 387066168/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21519888@N ... 387084432/

Thanks again to everyone who provided advice in advance of our trip.