Historic Restaurants of Rome

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This list includes the historic restaurants of Rome based on their age, cuisine, and to a lesser extent, their location. They count among the most renowned or most ancient restaurants serving typical, authentic Roman cuisine.

N.B. For the most luxury restaurants of Rome, see our list of gourmet restaurants in rome.

Da Alfredo
Via della Scrofa, 104
000186 Roma
Tel.: +39-06-68.80.61.63

Alfredo is famous for having invented the world renowned fettuccine in triple butter sauce. Located in the centre of Rome, this nice restaurant started as a trattoria in 1907 and offers a friendly - but somewhat touristic - environment. You will be seated surrounded by a selection of photographs of Hollywood stars who have all eaten the famous fettuccine by Alfredo... Gary Cooper, Audrey Hepburn, Marylin Monroe, Harry Truman, Clark Gable, Maria Callas, Eisenhower, Ringo Star, Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, Sofia Loren, and the Pirelli family are just some of the famous stars, politicians and industrialists who dined in this restaurant. Note that the 'true' Alfredo sold his trattoria with all his secrets and recipes to the current owners' family on May 5, 1943 for the modest sum of 100.000 lire.

Price range is medium (50 Euro/person). Reservation required on weekends and at night.

Hostaria Antica Roma
Via Appia Antica, 87
Tel: +39 06 5132888

One of those restaurants that is worth a visit only for the location, in the middle of the ancient Roman Road and surrounded by Roman ruins in the archeological park of Appia Antica. At night, the atmosphere is really breathtaking. The cuisine is a mix of international and Roman traditional cooking where homemade pasta blends with nice crepes. Don't forget to try the Apicius cakes: the recipe presumably dates back from to the time of the Roman empire.

Price range is medium (30-50 Euro per person). Reservations recommended.

Casina Valadier
Viale Valadier
Tel.: 39 06 69922090

Designed by the famous Roman architect, Giuseppe Valadier (1762-1839), the Casina Valadier reopened to the public on June 2004 and, after alternating periods of great splendour and "dark" years, seems to have come back to a quality food.

Very nice restaurant with panoramic terrace on the first floor and an international menu. Those who of you who do not want to have a complete lunch or dinner, can enjoy a coffee in the garden or a drink in the elegant wine cellar. We definitively recommend to go there once - at least for an aperitif or after dinner - and enjoy the wonderful view of Rome.

Price range is high (50-70 Euro per person depending on wine). Reservations recommended.

Sora Lella
Via Ponte 4 Capi, 16, on the the Tiberin Island.
Tel.: +39 06 6861601.

It is a typical - Roman cuisine - restaurant originally owned by Elena Fabrizi (Sora Lella), the sister of a famous Italian movie actor from the 60', Aldo Fabrizi. Good pasta plates, good selection of wines from the area of Rome. Overall a typical place if you want to try foods from the Roman tradition.

Price range is medium-low (30-40 Euro/person). Reservations recommended on weekends.

Probably the most famous restaurant in town for typical Roman cuisine. Despite its success, the owners have managed to keep the authentic character of this family-run restaurant, which dates back to 1887 (which makes it the oldest restaurant of Rome still run by the same family). The restaurant started as a wineshop in the late 1800s, which soon evolved into a Osteria con cucina,

"Checchino" is the diminutive of Francesco (grandson of the original owners and grandfather of the current owners), who restructured the restaurant in 1927 into a culinary institution frequented by politicians, noblemen and business men.

Checchino is renowned for having invented one of the most typical Roman dishes, the "Coda alla Vaccinara" (ox-tail stewed in tomata sauce with celery, pine nuts and peppered with chocolate sprinkles) and many other dishes made out of the quinto quarto (the fifth fourth, or 'poorer' cuts of meat). Typical primi include: Bucatini all'Amatriciana (thick rod shaped pasta with spicy tomato and pancetta sauce), Tonarelli al ragù di coratelle (tonarelli pasta with lamb meat sauce), Bucatini alla gricia (bucatini pasta with sheep's milk cheese, rendered pig cheek and black pepper). Fixed price menus include a Historical Tasting menu at 63 Euro and a vegetarian menu at 53 Euro. Nice choice of Roman (and Italian) cheeses and desserts with pairing wine (by the glass).

Price range is medium (45 Euro/person for a three-course à la carte meal, depending on the choice of wine). A small selection of wines is mentioned on the menu, but ask for the separate wine-list if you want to appreciate the full offer of about 500 wines from Italy, France, California, Spain, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, Chile and Portugal.
Reservations recommended on weekends.