A tour of five restaurants where you can enjoy the taste of Italy while taking in the most famous buildings of the Eternal City. A delight for the eye and the palate!
There’s nothing like looking out at Rome while enjoying its gastronomy. Eating like the gods while admiring great views of the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon or the Spanish Steps is one of those experiences that’s worth having at least once in the Eternal City. That’s why we’re recommending a tour of the best restaurants to enjoy Italian delicacies with an extra ingredient: stunning views of Rome’s most iconic monuments!
1. Dinner with a priceless view of the Colosseum
With exceptional views of one of Rome’s most emblematic monuments, at Aroma you can almost literally touch the Colosseum while enjoying authentic dishes with fragrances of Mediterranean cuisine created by chef Giuseppe Di Iorio. This restaurant, with one Michelin star, is located on the rooftop of the luxurious Palazzo Manfredi on Via Labicana, a few steps away from the Colosseum, and promises an immersive multi-sensory experience with truly special and traditional culinary inventions that are an invitation to discover modern versions of ancient flavours. This is a gastronomic journey closely linked to the land. The ingredients can lead you, for example, to savour a delicious marinated octopus with red cabbage, a three-potato pie or tagliolini with pumpkin and gorgonzola with caviar pearls. Or more traditional dishes such as their carbonara “shakerata”. There is also a wine selection boasting over 600 labels. A memorable dining experience on any visit to Rome.
- Menu: Tasting menu options range from €150 to €240
- Info: +39 06 97615109
- Adress: Via Labicana, 125
- Note: Smart casual dress is required. Long trousers and shirts are welcome, according to the website.
- Lunch is served from Wednesday to Sunday and dinner every day.
2. Delicacies in Rome’s first panoramic restaurant
What better way to eat like the gods than by making a reservation at Imàgo? Famous for being the first panoramic restaurant in Rome, it opened over 60 years ago (it was originally called the Roof). To sit at the table of this Michelin-starred restaurant is to take a journey, through its dishes, into the flavours of traditional Italian cuisine, refined and daringly reinterpreted by chef Andrea Antonini. The pasta, rice or meat dishes, such as lobster with mushrooms, potatoes and almonds, or ravioli with rabbit liver, morels and cocoa broth, vary according to the season. The experience is made even more remarkable by its location on the sixth floor of the Hassler Hotel, which gives you a unique view of monuments such as the Santa Maria Maggiore church, the Campidoglio (Capitoline Hill), the monument to Victor Emmanuel II, the Pantheon, Castel Sant’Angelo, the obelisk and the Trinità dei Monti church, among others.
- Menu: From €170 – €200
- Info: +39 06 699 34726
- Adress: Piazza Trinità dei Monti , 6
- Note: Formal dress code is required. Men must wear smart jackets and long trousers (tie not required).
- Open from Tuesday to Saturday.
3. Italian gastronomy with a view of Circo Massimo
The 47 Circus Roof Garden restaurant has a unique atmosphere, boasting a 360° view of Rome monuments such as the Temple of Vesta (one of the oldest in the city), the Bocca della Verità and the Circus Maximus. This famous dining space is located on the panoramic terrace of the 47 Boutique Hotel and offers Mediterranean cuisine while remaining faithful to traditional Roman gastronomy. Creations such as tagliatella stuffed with beef genovese, provolone Del Monaco and fennel; sea bass and artichoke in a salt crust with its sauce, and a sweet “tirami-choux” beignet filled with mascarpone mousse, cream and coffee ice cream are the result of a gastronomy based around eating in season and carefully searching for local products, all under the innovative leadership of chef Gabriele Enrico, a Gambero Rosso instructor. And we can’t forget about the restaurant’s wine cellar, stocked with over 200 Italian wines.
- Menu: Tasting from €70 – €90
- Info: +39 3480162378
- Adress: Av. Luigi Petroselli, 47
- Note: Smart-casual dress code (no baseball caps, sportswear, flip-flops beach sandals, or shorts, including Bermuda shorts).
- Open from Monday to Sunday.
4. Italian flavours in front of architectural gems
How about treating yourself to a view of the Imperial Fora of Nerva, Trajan and Augustus while savouring some of Rome’s most delicious dishes? The Roof Garden is the place to be! Its location on the top floor of the Hotel Forum also allows you to admire other architectural gems of Rome, such as Piazza Venezia or the Colosseum. At this restaurant, you’ll be able to fill up not only on the Eternal City’s classic monuments but also on a rewarding variety of flavours from traditional Italian cuisine and international dishes, including vegetarian options. Fish, meat and pasta are on the menu prepared by chef Enzo Passanisi, who may very well surprise you with sea urchin spaghetti, fettuccine with prawns, courgette and saffron, a large piece of Sicilian-style swordfish or a Milanese-style veal cutlet. Undoubtedly a romantic place to admire Rome from a different perspective.
- Menu: On the menu you can find dishes from €25–€85. There are also menu services for all occasions: group events, work gatherings, cocktail parties…
- Info: +39 06 67 92 446
- Adress: Via Tor de ‘Conti, 25-30
- Note: The restaurant is very busy during the summer months and weekends. Advance booking is recommended.
- Saturday and Sunday: lunch / Monday to Saturday: dinner
5. Les Étoiles Rome Restaurant
Another destination with a charming view is the Les Étoiles Rome restaurant. Its special location, its philosophy of the aroma of traditional cuisine, plus an international touch, make a lunch or dinner here a unique experience. Enjoy every bite while looking out on classic views of the Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica in the foreground. Sit down to enjoy cannelloni with buffalo ricotta, lemon and toasted almonds or a selection of fish and seafood (octopus, prawns, turbot, croaker and squid) with courgette scapece and roasted tomato made using the highest-quality ingredients. Guaranteed to make your trip to Rome an eternal memory.
- Menu: On the menu you can find dishes from €22–€70
- Info: +39 06 686386
- Adress: Via Giovanni Vitelleschi, 34
- Note: There is also the option of having a drink on the terrace.
- Lunch (Saturday and Sunday only)/ Dinner every day from 7:00 to 10:00 pm.