Il Tempio di Iside - is our favorite for seafood in Rome.
http://isideristorante.it/home.html
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Many thanks - looks good!
Antico Arco (2017) was quite excellent
https://anticoarco.it/
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Thank you - booked!
Rome Report
Thank you all for the advice and recommendations - we have just returned from our trip and thought i’d offer a little feedback. Obviously, we couldn’t try all the recommendations and were somewhat limited by opening availability and the days we were available especially being there during the holiday period.
Sunday - Antico Arco
The place was pumping! What a delightful evening, attentive staff, classic cuisine with a few twists and a great view over Rome from the nearby park.
Monday - Tullio
Might be past its prime. Service perfunctory, the food was alright but nothing special and prices had more to do with its reputation than value - a little disappointing.
Tuesday - Brillo Restaurant (via della Fontonella)
A recommendation (not from HO) which i wish we had overlooked. Wanted a simple casual evening and we got simple alright! Very poor service, torn/worn menus and very average food. Seated outside (our request) constantly worrying if the numerous paswsing cars were going to hit us or the adjacent wall.
Wednesday - Babette
Probably our best meal in Rome! Great attentive service, interesting menu with excellent food in a delightful courtyard setting - thank you ninkat for the recommendation.
Roscioli Salumeria was high on our list to try but a reservation proved too elusive. so many places still to try so can’t wait to return! Thank you again to all for the advice in making our trip so memorable!
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Glad to know Babette is still good! It’s been a while since I have been, but going to be in Rome for T’giving with a cousin who has never been, and thinking of doing Thanksgiving dinner there. Nice big menu, lots of delicious things to choose from, as I recall.
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Ooh, I wish I had made it to Babette, where I’ve never been. I was in Rome the week of Ferragosto, and had good meals at Antico Arco, Cesare al Caseletto, Salumeria Roscioli, and even Pizzeria Emma (where I’ve had some uneven experiences in the past–not this time). Really enjoyed a cocco-maracuja-cioccolato gelato from Otaleg too.
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Has anyone been lately?
Our last visit was in 2017 and it was excellent but 7 years later who knows?
I was there spring of 2023, but don’t profess to be that much of an expert when it comes to recommendations when traveling for food, at least on HO.
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Katie Parla is stilll recommending it as the best seafood place in Rome - https://katieparla.com/city-guides/rome/
there is also PASCUCCI AL PORTICCIOLO in Fiumicino that is supposed to be super (I think Erica1 tried it out and reported here) but I havent personally been to either of thesse.
About Katie though, I have mostly found her recommendations to be very on-target and mostly in line with our taste:among other things we are mostly sit down eaters and favor local or at any rate well rendered home style cuisine over creative dishes.
You can look for our reports from last spring about our most recent week of eating.
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had dinner at Babette last night. I must be missing something because the food was very mediocre throughout. Wish I did not waste a night in Rome on this restaurant. I love the location and the dining room, was hoping for better executed meal and more polished service.
We were there several years ago, before Covid, and thought it was a complete tourist trap.
But then, to be fair, that’s probably true for every restaurant near the Piazza del Popolo.
What a shame! Enjoyed it ourselves last year…
Not quite that. It has two dining areas, a very cute indoor dining room and a nice looking patio. I noticed that all tourists are shuffled to the patio. We asked to sit inside which they did not seem to be thrilled about but sat us at a very nice table. Most of the diners appeared to be regular customers, speaking Italian but the average age of the room was 70+. Other than soups everything was mediocre.
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This is a bad thing? The 70 and 80something Italians I know eat a lot better than the Millennial and Gen X Italians I know! 
Sorry to hear the food was mediocre.
The mediocre meals I experienced in Rome were mostly a result of my elder GenX friends choosing the restaurants, based on places their friends had recommended. I usually go with the flow for group dinners, then treat myself to a couple good solo meals at the places I really want to check out.
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I think maybe the pandemic took the juice out of some of the old style places, with older waiters, etc. We had one experience like that in Rome last year at a place that used to be hard to get a seat at at lunchtime for the stylish Roman government officials, business people and shoppers eating there. Not any more.
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Here in Paris, where we’ve been for a month now, I have been blown away by the number of non-older career waiters. Although many places now have younger staff who are very well trained, speaking with them reveals that most of them have hopped from place to place to make a better living and that being part of “the family” at a good place aint what it used to be. And, many other places have trainees trying to keep up and who dont see their jobs as anything other than a waystation to something else (sound familiar?). A lot of the older staff left (retired? got ill? had enough? werent paid enough to continue?) over the past 5 years. Its a different world here than we experienced less than 2 years ago & certainly over the past 5-7 years. Some upscale reputable places even have a tipping option on the credit card machines — friends here cant believe it.
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I said nothing of the sort - I just wanted to point out the crowd was not touristy.
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Jen, YES! Worth the train to dine at PASCIUCCI in Fiumicino. I learned of this fish restaurant from Maureen Fant’s wonderful Trattoria book, alas out of print. Fiumicino is worth spending a night or two before or after a stay in Rome.
For years I hesitated about Al Moro (near Trevi) but when we finally went, we loved it. Yes, the waiters are old school and have little patience with some foreigners…who cares…take it as it is, a classic old-school Roman with the best carbonara I’ve ever eaten…we went for dinner but I think lunch is when the big whig politicos take their lunches… I will go again for sure!
We canceled Santo Palato when it was pouring rain and had what might have been the best burger of my life at JK Place restaurant, in the hotel. (Had Virtuoso credit for a dinner for two) I know no one is looking for burgers in Rome but if you are for some odd reason, theirs, made from Piemontese beef (long story about which part of the cow from the waiter which I’ve forgotten–maybe the throat??) but it was smashingly great!).
It’s been about 5 years since I’ve been in Rome (in Fiumicino more recently) so I need to plan a trip. But really, do not discount the fun and great food in Fiumicino town, especially on weekends)
AL MORO…front room:
We also liked EMMA very much–we ate there twice…is that not longer great?
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Was as excellent or even better than I remembered from 2017. Outstanding seafood and service. I much prefer upstairs space.
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