We are headed to Rome for. in early June 2026 – my wife’s choral group will be performing there – and will spend 5 nights in Bologna beforehand. I know that we’re staying the Pati area in Rome and will be somewhere central in Bologna. Ravenna will be a day trip or perhaps an overnight, and we may take day trips by train to one or more other nearby towns, This is an “extra” trip for our year’s budget on the heels of two Florida and one St. Thomas trip after a pretty extravagant 50th anniversary trip this year, so we’ll be looking for lower end eateries - osterie and trattorie. I welcome suggestions.
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I really like Roscioli in Rome, which has a cheaper bakery location where you could find things like suppli. Their Salumeria is what I would consider an upscale wine bar and restaurant.
Roscioli Salumeria con Cucina [Rome, Centro Storico]
I also really liked Mercato Centrale, the food hall next to the Termini train station, which has is like a mid-range food court with some stalls from well known chefs, and licensed beverages.
I think a dinner in the Jewish Ghetto is a must. We liked our affordable meal at Nonna Betta .
I think it would help other HOs with their recommendations if you provided a specific Euro amount for what you consider to be the most you would want to spend on a dinner for 2, or the maximum amount you would spend on a main dish.
Apart from Nonna Betta, Roscioli, and some food at Mercato Centrale, most of the affordable food at restaurants my friends chose in Rome was fairly forgettable. Salumeria Roscioli was more than they wanted to spend, so I dined there at lunch, alone.
I tend to keep my own dinners to less than 40 euros per person, and usually spend less than 40 euros on breakfast, lunch, drinks, and snacks combined, when I travel. Which I consider mid-range, but that’s relative.
The Salumeria Roscioli lunch was an exception to my typical budget.
These are some places I have enjoyed.
I wanted to visit this trattoria but it did not work out.
If you have a car for Bologna I would highly recommend Trattoria Amerigo 1934 which was by far the best restaurants we visited when staying in Bologna. It is about a 30 minutes drive outside of Bologna but definitely worth the drive. Even though it has a Michelin star for the last ~30 years it serves very classical/authentic E-R dishes in a beautiful small village at very good prices
If you don’t have a car Trattoria Da Me is also very good. The one restaurant we wanted to visit based on recommendations but was closed due to summer holidays is Trattoria Trippa
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Maybe peep these very recent threads (if you haven’t yet, that is):
And lastly, not sure how good this is, but the NYT had a thing recently, too.
Thanks, Natascha! I’d searched “bologna” but not Rome – yet. you always come through, and I really appreciate your recommendations.
40 euros/person/meal is a bit high. I’d like to keep a fair number of meals below that so we can have a splurge or two. I expect both of us will to skip breakfast – just a cafe americano for me, the for the much better half..
It’s been a while since we were in Italy. As I recall, I usually did and appetizer and a primi or secondi, not both. And wine. Accurate?
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Aw, shucks!
Maybe it’s just my search fu that is good. After all, you have the HOs to thank who generously shared their travel reports and experiences here 
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Hey, lots of good food in Rome. Lots of tourism (and touristic eating) concentrates around the historic center, understandably, and the Vatican. Since the historic center is also the governmental and business center, there are good restaurants there, we remember enjoying watching some aging lion of business or government having lunch at Armando al Pantheon on a Sunday surrounded by fawning acolytes, pretty females and big guys with wires in their ears The food at that restaurant remains is truly excellent, by the way. There are also a lot of places mobbed by tourists too. We always try to plan our eating convenient to or at least convenient to reach from where we are touring that day. That last on a past visit included making our way out on the tram to Cesare al Casaletto where the cooking was fine and the atmosphere relaxed (now with a second location , al Pellegrino in the Center)
Katie Parla’s blog and recommendations on Eater etc are probably the most useful current info source https://katieparla.com/city-guides/rome/, the Slowfood guide is helpful too. Our tastes usually run to high quality versions of local and regional food. Rome has its own cuisine and thankfully some vey good regional wines now which a good resto will offer to you, but you can find food well represented from other provinces as well here in the capital which is great. We last spent time in Rome Iin 2023, and here is my report of the places we visited then (staying near Ostiense Station/Testaccio) [Rome] Visit 2023 .
YOu definitely dont have to eat only the 4 classic pastas, baby lamb chops and scallopini variations as some say; there are plenty of other dishes to try including fish, seafood, game, wonderful vegetables and great mushrooms in season.
Since the residential Prati neighborhood is adjacent to the Vatican you can be disappointed if you just randomly go into a restaurant, including those recommended in tourist guides, websites, etc; there are a lot of bad ones. Its been many years but we enjoyed a simple trattoria, Osteria del Angelo, with local neighborhood patronage (then in the Slowfood Guide) Here are some Parla suggestions I saw for Prati https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKzt3E9Rece/.
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Keep in mind that a lot of bars will often have a very generous spread of stuzzichini with your drinks, which may render any multi-course meals unnecessary.
We had to stop ourselves from stuffing our gullets while having aperitivi in Lucca a few years ago, so as to not spoil our appetites for dinner.
It’s a good and delicious way to eat for free— almost, not counting the drinks 
I found, unless I was eating at nice bakeries that might have some street food like suppli (Roman- style rice fritters), or an upscale food hall without table service, the cheaper trattorias at a similar price point that I tried in Rome were pretty forgettable. Most were a 6/10 or a 7/10, whereas my fancy lunch was a 9/10.
I spent a lot of time pouring over reviews online, and on my phone while I was out with my friends to narrow down our options to the most bang for the buck that still was a great meal at a cheaper price point.
I hope you find the kind of places in your price point that float your boat. I have gotten to the point where I will eat from grocery stores or bakeries most of the day, then spend a bit more for a special lunch or dinner. Or I do the hotel breakfast that might be included, a nice coffee or 2 and a pastry, and one lunch or dinner at a place that probably costs a bit closer to 40 Euros per person.
I had better luck with the cheaper food in trattorias in small villages in Tuscany and Umbria on my visit. Of course, rent is cheaper, and the small town resto might value its customers more, and want them to come back.
In Bologna, I lucked out with some really delicious sandwiches near the train station. Best prosciutto and arugula sandwich I have ever had. This was from a take-out spot, and too long ago that my rec would be current. What I’m saying is, things like good panino shops loved by the locals might be the way for you to eat really well, for less.
One of my favourite finds in Rome happened when I was wandering aimlessly, and my phone battery had died. I had a book for walks in Rome. I had walked into a neighbourhood that was not on the map in my book.
I found an upscale Sicilian café, that was packed with locals. Beautiful pastries. Of course this wasn’t Roman food, and it was off the beaten path.
I think, sometimes, putting the phone down, or having it run out of juice, let’s things just happen.
She also just released a fairly extensive cookbook/guidebook to Rome as well. The stuff on her site is great but if John, or anyone, wanted a more indepth look it might be worth a try. I’m only 30 or so pages into it but it looks very well put together. It is titled: Rome
Phoenicia, as always, thanks for the suggestions. We both skip breakfast, except for coffee or tea, and I think (or fear) that there will be some group dinners.. And while I try to keep costs down, we recently ended up spending over $100 pp at Mollard in Paris – and here in DC from time to time. Indeed, exceeding budget is a local specialty here in DC. We’re getting lots of good suggestions, and I plan to report back (as well as post) on the places were eat.
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I know you will find ways to make it work.
Italian grocery stores are so lovely,too.
JenKalb, Mille grazie! (I’m trying to transfer from pidgin French of our Bordeaux-Paris trip to pidgin Italian.) I’m a major panino fan, the wife less so. And since we decided not to take a direct flight from DC to Rome, we were able to reduce the airfare from $6k (!) to $2k, so we’re feeling flush.
I’ll take a look at Parla’s book. We’ve already been to Rome a couple of times and toured the main sites. We’ll be looking, as in Paris for some smaller museums, etc..
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the Companion Guide by Georgiana Masson, a long time ago) is a great resource if you like just walking around, Its been updated a couple of times into a bigger heavier book but its just wonderful on the art architecture and history if you are into exploring neighborhoods, roman ruins, churches and just plain interesting streetscapes.. From Prati, walking over the Janiculum hill to Trastevere, provides lovely views and the opportunity to explore several historic churches as well as amusement (on the weekend many strollers and a punch and judy show in the park up there) along with a noon cannon. and the possiblity of Trastevere or farther on for lunch; The Caelian Hill has a great collection of ruins and ancient churches, as does the Aventine, very restful and also close to Testaccio etc.
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JenKalb, Nice. We stayed in Trastevere on my first trip to Rome and loved the neighborhood
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Have you visited the Borghese Gallery on previous trips ? I really enjoyed it on my last trip, and I also liked the gardens surrounding it, and the Pinciano neighbourhood.
I was walking around 10 to 12 miles a day when I was in Rome.
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Just remember, you need a reservation for the Borghese. A good thing to get in advance they are in demand (worth checking ahead at other museums and sites too so you wont be disappointed.) We have had several disappointments of this sort in recent years..
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Great tip!
In Bologna, we had a fabulous lunch at Trattoria da Me–creative takes on traditional food. Also don’t forget about piadine–italian quesadillas. We had really excellent ones at Vecchio Mulino in the student area. Also , very affordable is to go to the Mercato di Mezzo food hall. I think we ate there twice! This was in 2022.
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