When in Rome act like a Roman!
One of the top European holiday destinations, Rome can prove to be a challenge for those traveling on a budget. The eternal city is overflowing with restaurants and finding good value for money in its historic center can be a real mission.
Travelling Cheap offers you a guide to the city’s best cheap restaurants so that you don’t have to stalk the locals to find out the city’s gastronomical gems.
Best Pizzerias
Pizzarium
As is often the case, the best slice in Rome is also one of the cheapest!
Served out of a small takeaway outlet near the entrance to the Vatican Museums in Viale Vatico, not far from Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, you’ll find the “Michelangelo of pizza.”
The maestro of dough, Gabriele Bonci, makes slow-rise dough from special organic flours, while the toppings include traditional pizza fare, like margherita or pepperoni, and branch out further with Bronci’s inventions, such as ricotta, courgettes and black pepper.
If you’re not in the mood for pizza…you’d probably better not mention it, or they’ll kick you out of Italy. Instead, keep it to yourself, and simply try Bonci’s Roman spring soup or his delicious baked bread instead.
La Gatta Mangiona
For a fantastically addictive pizza, head into the suburbs of Rome!
The last fifteen years have seen low rents in the suburbs and, as always, high demand in pizza, so sit-down pizzerias are a dime a dozen.
Sit down at one of the more centre-accessible ones, La Gatta Mangiona, where a full pizza starts at €8 and a three-course meal starts at €22.
The busier the restaurant, the better the food; and La Gatta Mangiona is a busy one in the Monteverde Nuovo district.
For starters, try “The Greedy Cat”s gourmet selection, such as their bruschetta (comes in pesto, chilli and tuna versions) or the supplì (rice croquettes).
As for pizza, the chefs use special flour to create delicious high-edged dough. You can top your Neapolitan style either with classic pizza toppings or go crazy and try some potato or smoked salmon.
Also, the selection of wine, craft beers, and single-malt whiskies available is not often seen in your average pizzeria.
Best Gelaterias
Gelato Fantasia
Claudio Torcè’s gelato is defo some of the best in Rome…and also some of the cheapest with cones starting at €1.80!
If you’re a connoisseur of chocolate, never fear – you’ll have eight different chocolate flavours to choose from.
Fruit fans can try everything from forest berries to papaya, while those looking to wet their taste buds with something completely different might want to give savoury flavours a shot, like gorgonzola or garlic (…if you’re not on a date).
You can visit the Torcè headquarters in the suburb, Il Gelato, Viale dell’Aeronautica 105, or try the more centrally located, Viale Aventino, a short walk from the Forum, Palantine hill and the Colosseum.
Viale Aventino 59, 00153
Cones and tubs from €1.80
Monday-Thursday, midday-10pm; Friday-Sunday, midday-11pm
Fatamorgana
Owner Maria Agnese Spagnuolo has always had a passion for gelato and for flavours native to her region of Apulia, and this is demonstrated in her creative creations.
Her aim was to produce a “clean label” product, containing only those raw materials strictly necessary, which means food colouring, thickeners, preservatives do not appear in any of Fatamorgana’s products.
This makes her gelato especially light and gluten free. Fatamorgana’s fantastic selection of flavours includes chocolate with lapsang souchong, wasabi, and Black Forest gateau and, with only five outlets, you’d better get in line fast.
The season determines the flavours available; for instance, summer and autumn bring a must-try strawberry grape and ginger.
Starting at €2 for a two-scoop cone, it’s also one of the cheapest gelaterias you’ll find in Rome. Central branches include Via Laurina 10, near Via del Corso, and Piazza degli Zingari 5 in Monti.
Best Pasta
Pastificio
Pastificio serves up some of the freshest prepared pasta dishes for under €5. Though not in the least bit fancy, served atop plastic plates, and with plastic cups and utensils, Pastificio offers one of the best lunch deals in town.For €4, you can choose between two dishes, and the price also includes either water or house wine.
Though the place is small, with limited seating, it’s well worth the wait if you want a heaping plate of delicious pasta at a low, low price. Or simply get the pasta to go and plop down in nearby Piazza di Spagna, where you can people-watch and pasta-eat under a clear blue Roman sky.
Pastificio is popular with the locals, so to beat the crowds, you might head over just before 1pm.
Via della Croce 8
Pasta meal, starting at €4
Lunch from 1pm-2pm
Trattoria Vecchia Roma
Another very popular pasta place is Trattoria Vecchia Roma, located in the neighborhood of Esquilino, not far from metro A Vittorio Emanuele.
Bucatini all’amatriciana is their specialty, flambéed and mixed in a pecorino wheel. With heaping portion sizes starting at €9, you might want to book a reservation at this sit-down restaurant, as it’s considered a landmark in the heart of Rome, having stood there since 1916.
Via Ferruccio, 12
Pasta dishes, starting at €9
06 446 7143
Mondays to Saturdays 12.30pm to 3pm, 7pm to 11pm