Sapori del Lord Byron was chosen by mainstream guidebook Frommer's as the most romantic restaurant in all of Rome due to its picturesque setting and lush interior design. Set in an art deco villa on a residential hilltop at the edge of the Villa Borghese, it serves a creative variety of regional dishes accentuated by a choice of the best Italian wines. The menu includes beetroot carpaccio with seared king prawns and wasabi sauce and homemade tagliolini pasta in oxtail sauce.
Sapori del Lord Byron
Hotel Lord Byron
Via G. de Notaris 5
00197 Rome, Italy
(+39) 06 3220404
lordbyronhotel.com
For something a bit different, try the four-star Il Pagliaccio, recommended by the New York Times as one of Rome's best. It is located in the heart of the city on Via dei Banchi Vecchi. The slim restaurant offers a mere 28 seats, creating an intimate dining experience under its old wood ceilings. The menu takes traditional Italian cuisine and infuses it with flavors from the Far East. Eastern-influenced dishes include fried prawn and seaweed rolls with coconut milk and peach sauce. The traditional Italian menu is highlighted by choices such as ravioli stuffed with beef and Swiss chard.
Il Pagliaccio
Via dei Banchi Vecchi, 129
00186 Rome, Italy
(+39) 06 8809595
ristoranteilpagliaccio.it
Food and Wine Magazine profiled 'Gusto, a unique food "megaplex," as a prime destination for food lovers to visit while in Rome. The complex defies all expectations of the small, intimate Italian ristorante. The 7,500-square-foot space just off the Piazza Augusto Imperatore houses a restaurant, a wine bar, a pizzeria and an osteria. A sampling of the restaurant's straight-ahead menu includes meatballs with sage, pasta with pecorino, Parmesan cheese and black pepper, and eggplant parmigiana. The osteria serves cicchetti, which are small Italian plates of cheese or salami that are traditionally served in Venetian bars.
'Gusto - Ristorante
Piazza Augusto Imperatore 9
00186 Rome, Italy
(+39) 06 3226273
gusto.it
If you seek something close to culinary perfection, you should definitely make reservations at La Pergola, housed inside the Rome Cavalieri Hotel. As the only three-star Michelin restaurant in Rome, Chef Heinz Beck has earned worldwide renown for his mastery of Italian food. The current menu includes duck liver terrine with persimmon puree, fillet of amberjack with cannellini beans and venison with almonds and cocoa beans. And if the food isn't enough to overwhelm your taste buds, there is a wine cellar with more than 53,000 bottles and a water menu with 29 choices.
La Pergola
Via A. Cadlolo, 101
00136 Rome, Italy
(+39)06 35092152
romecavalieri.com
Ranked as one of the best restaurants in Rome for a business lunch by Fodors.com, Il Convivio is a family-owned eclectic restaurant located just off Ponte Umberto. It is famous for its cold-weather pigeon dish but also serves such delicacies as a tuna fillet lacquered with chestnut honey, rosemary, red peppercorns and a squid ink risotto with baby cuttlefish. The small 25-seat restaurant mixes its formal white table decor with traditional Italian frescoes that cover the walls.
Il Convivio
Vicolo dei Soldati 31, Navona
00186 Rome, Italy
(+39) 06 6869432
ilconviviotroiani.com
