The Best Little Mom-and-Pop Trattorie in Rome

With just one more day to go in National Italian Heritage Month, I thought I'd give you an excerpt from Chow Italy: Eat Well, Spend Less (Rome 2013) to whet your appetite!

Near the Piazza Navona

Trattoria da Ugo e Maria

Via dei Prefetti, 19
Telephone: +39 06 687 3752
Closed Saturday and Sunday
Cash only
Google map: http://goo.gl/maps/ze1Km

A tiny trattoria with six tables—tops—and wood-paneled walls located in Old Rome, sandwiched between the Villa Borghese to the north and the Pantheon to the south, da Ugo e Maria is a family-run affair since 1942. The handwritten menu changes daily depending on the time of year and the whim of the chef. Try the homemade gnocchi (Thursdays only) or spinach ravioli and then move on to coniglio alla cacciatora, a savory rabbit stew, or abbacchio al forno con patate, roasted lamb with potatoes. No wine list but reasonably-priced house wine.

Near the Pantheon

Enoteca Corsi
Via del Gesù, 87
Telephone: +39 06 679 0821
Lunch only; closed Sunday, Christmas week and August
Cash only
Website: http://www.enotecacorsi.com
Google map: http://goo.gl/maps/AYZCp

Open only for lunch, this wine tavern-cum-trattoria prepares simple Roman fare at reasonable prices. Check out the menu printed every morning on a chalkboard outside their door then venture in where you’ll often find yourself eating alongside other diners at tightly-packed communal tables. Watch for homemade gnocchi on Thursdays, the house specialty, tripe, on Friday or baccalà and potatoes simmered in tomato sauce. Enoteca Corsi, obviously, has an impressive wine list with more than 300 labels from which to choose but we vote for the equally impressive house wine for €4 a liter.

Near the Villa Borghese

Fiaschetteria Marini 
Via Raffaele Cadorna, 7
Telephone: +39 06 474 5534
Lunch only; closed Sunday, Christmas week and part of August
Google map: http://goo.gl/maps/x8c67

Fiaschetteria, located on a quiet side street just off the Piazza Sallustio, began life as a wine shop back in 1913. Today it’s one of the best kept dining secrets in Rome with daily specials such as gnocchi al sugo, penne alla burina (pasta with a rustic tomato sauce), saltimbocca alla romana as well as a few choice Austrian dishes—all for next to niente. (Primi or pasta dishes average €5 while secondi meat dishes average a mere €7.) The tidy dining room with small, marble-topped wooden tables dressed with sheets of paper pays homage to its roots as a bottle shop with floor-to-ceiling shelves of wines (for sale). Wine served by the glass.

Near Termini Station

Il Cappellaio Matto 
Via dei Marsi, 25
Telephone: +39 06 664 4735
Dinner only; closed Tuesday
Cash only
Bing map: http://binged.it/SplEtS

“The Mad Hatter” is one of the oldest eateries in the San Lorenzo neighborhood, just southeast of Termini Station. (It began life as a crepe house back in the 1950s.) A bit rough around the edges—think graffiti-covered exterior and tiny interior with well-worn marble-top tables—this trattoria delivers with tasty Roman specialties such as rigatoni all’amatriciana, riso radicchio e taleggio (risotto with radicchio and taleggio cheese), saltimbocca alla romana, at hard-to-beat prices. Tempting selection of sweet and savory crepes, too. 

In Trastevere

Dai Due Ciccioni
Vicolo del Cedra, 3
Telephone: + 39 06 581 2652
Closed Wednesday
Google map: http://goo.gl/maps/NXQDA

This unofficial eatery (no one knows if they possess a restaurant license), Dai Due Ciccioni or “Two Fat Guys,” is hidden down a narrow, graffiti-filled side street just off of Via dei Panieri. No frills and no menu; you eat what they cook, and cook they do—fresh and authentic. The dining room (if you can call it that) is sparse—a few card tables dressed in vinyl cloths, a refrigerator, sink and stove. A good deal at €25 for three courses plus dessert and unlimited wine. Rough around the edges but what an experience!

Read the rest of Chow Italy: Eat Well, Spend Less (Rome 2013). On sale now for $1.99 (Kindle) or $5.99 (paperback).

Amazon Kindle
Apple iBooks
B&N Nook
Kobo
Smashwords