Rome rewards the guest who knows which dishes belong to the city, and which tables are worth planning around
The best restaurants in Rome are rarely the newest. The city has a cuisine of its own, with a short list of dishes, a few neighbourhoods that shaped it, and a calendar that follows the market. A good table here is one that cooks the Roman repertoire with conviction, and a good evening is one placed in the right quarter.
Roman cuisine is built on a handful of pasta dishes, most of them using guanciale, cured pork jowl, and pecorino romano. Carbonara, cacio e pepe, amatriciana, and gricia are the four to know. Alongside them come supplì, the fried risotto balls, saltimbocca alla romana, and coda alla vaccinara, an oxtail stew.
There is also the Jewish-Roman tradition, best known for carciofi alla giudia, the deep-fried artichoke. And there is the so-called quinto quarto, the offal cooking that grew up among the butchers of Testaccio, with dishes such as trippa alla romana.
The pleasure is in the repetition. A good kitchen makes the same dishes slightly differently, and the best places to eat in Rome are the ones where you can taste the difference.
Testaccio is the district most associated with the offal tradition. It takes its name from Monte Testaccio, a hill made of discarded Roman amphorae, and grew into a working-class quarter and a centre of the butchers’ trade. The neighbourhood is home to several of Rome’s culinary highlights and has become increasingly attractive to visitors.
The historic centre holds the trattorias that visitors know best and the dining rooms that sit within the grandest hotels. Both are worth considering, but they ask for different planning: the first for timing, the second for a reservation.
The hills above the city are where the formal restaurants with a view tend to sit. La Pergola, at the Rome Cavalieri hotel on Monte Mario, is the only restaurant in the capital with three Michelin stars in the 2026 guide. Heinz Beck has led its kitchen since 1994.
The 2026 Michelin Guide for Italy lists twenty-four starred restaurants in Rome and its surrounding area. Three hold two stars: Acquolina, Enoteca La Torre, and Il Pagliaccio. That is one measure of the top restaurants in Rome, and a useful one for a celebratory dinner.
It is not the only one. Several of the evenings guests remember are not starred at all. Our guide to Michelin star restaurants in Rome covers the starred tables in full, while this page is about choosing by occasion.
Roman menus follow the season. The produce of the Roman countryside includes peas, globe artichokes, and fava beans, among others. A restaurant that follows the market will change with the month, so the same booking in two seasons is two different dinners.
Tell us the occasion and the dates, and we will secure the table
A table chosen for the occasion and the quarter, held ahead of the public listings, a dining room with a view where the evening calls for one, a driver who knows the narrow streets, and a back-up reservation if plans change. For guests visiting for business, our business concierge service coordinates the programme, and our fine dining and nightlife service holds the evenings.
It depends on the evening. A classic Roman trattoria, a formal dining room, and a terrace with a view each answer a different occasion, and we choose by occasion rather than by ranking.
Look for kitchens that cook carbonara, cacio e pepe, amatriciana, gricia, and the offal dishes of Testaccio with conviction. The district is a good place to start.
In the 2026 guide, La Pergola holds three stars, and Acquolina, Enoteca La Torre and Il Pagliaccio hold two.
For hosted dinners and the formal dining rooms, as early as possible. Our team holds the anchor dinners first.
They suit different evenings. Testaccio is the district associated with Roman offal cooking, while the centre holds both well-known trattorias and hotel dining rooms.
