ROME IS A city that adores tradition and adheres to ritual; its residents’ eating schedule is almost as immutable as the Catholic liturgy. Breakfast is coffee and a pastry, lunch is between 1 and 3 p.m., and the aperitivo hour lasts from the end of the workday until dinner, which rarely begins before 9 p.m.
This isn’t news to many of Rome’s several-million annual tourists, but what these visitors might not realize is that the city and its culinary charms stretch all the way to the sea. There, on the shore, lie the neighborhoods of Ostia, Fregene, and Fiumicino — the last of which is best-known for Rome’s international airport. But this coastal swath of the Eternal City is becoming ever more central to Roman life, in large part because of its vibrant food scene, which thrives on its proximity to the sea. Less than an hour’s journey (by car or train) from Rome’s historic center — but a tiny slice of the city — the coast is a fantastic place to experience gastronomic innovation.
Alessandra Serramondi and Gabriele Di Lecce — the young couple making a local splash with their elegant, modern seafood restaurant Dogma — insist that to truly taste Rome, you must taste the sea. Di Lecce is an Ostia native, whereas Serramondi was born in Cuba; they met while working at the Michelin-starred Roman restaurant Il Tino. Dogma, which opened in 2022 in Rome’s hip and central San Giovanni neighborhood, combines a passion for seafood with fastidious attention to ingredients. Bread is baked in-house from home-ground Sicilian flour, and the vegetables are grown at a family farm in Maccarese, above Fregene. Fish is grilled and served alongside an intrepid wine list, and the tasting menu is not to be missed.
One morning, as Dogma’s kitchen fired up, Di Lecce and Serramondi shared with me their favorite places to eat in Rome — from the center of the city all the way to the sea.
Coffee and Pastries
Forno Conti & Co.
An exceptional bakery with an all-day menu
In the quiet streets between Piazza Vittorio Emanuele and the Colosseum, you’ll find Forno Conti, a nontraditional bakery in an airy and fragrant space. Forno Conti serves coffee and tea alongside an array of baked goods of such high quality that Di Lecce called it “almost embarrassing.” Think:...
In the quiet streets between Piazza Vittorio Emanuele and the Colosseum, you’ll find Forno Conti, a nontraditional bakery in an airy and fragrant space. Forno Conti serves coffee and tea alongside an array of baked goods of such high quality that Di Lecce called it “almost embarrassing.” Think: small focaccia pizzas, banana bread, pistachio loaf, a sublime cheesecake topped with fresh berries, sandwiches filled with roast carrots, artichoke, pecorino, and prosciutto, a fluffy brioche stuffed with cherry jam and cream, all baked in the open kitchen. A small yet subtly innovative all-day menu features yogurt with homemade granola and a smoked-salmon toast with a burst of fresh salad on top. It’s also a rare place in Rome where you can sit and work or read all day, without judgment.
Triticum
A small spot celebrating the lost art of baking
Like Forno Conti, Triticum is reviving and reimagining the role of the “panettiere,” the baker, which in Rome has become something of a lost vocation. A tiny space in the Portuense neighborhood, south of Trastevere, Triticum (the name refers to a species of common wheat) stacks its wooden shelves...
Like Forno Conti, Triticum is reviving and reimagining the role of the “panettiere,” the baker, which in Rome has become something of a lost vocation. A tiny space in the Portuense neighborhood, south of Trastevere, Triticum (the name refers to a species of common wheat) stacks its wooden shelves with loaves of various colors, shapes, and sizes. It also bakes cookies, pizzas, and pizza con le cipolle, which is a typical Roman pizza, thick and soft, with white onions atop a focaccia-like base. Like Dogma, Triticum is the initiative of a young Ostia native, Matteo Valenti.
Allure
Pastry offerings made with passion
This Fiumicino gem does everything from breakfast and sandwiches to fine dining, but is best known for its pasticceria (pastry shop). Its chef, Giampaolo Zhan, was trained by Giuseppe Amato, the pastry chef at La Pergola, Rome’s only 3-Michelin-starred restaurant. This pedigree is revealed in...
This Fiumicino gem does everything from breakfast and sandwiches to fine dining, but is best known for its pasticceria (pastry shop). Its chef, Giampaolo Zhan, was trained by Giuseppe Amato, the pastry chef at La Pergola, Rome’s only 3-Michelin-starred restaurant. This pedigree is revealed in Allure’s details: the impeccably glossy surface of the gianduia (chocolate blended with hazelnut paste), the cocoa shower on the tiramisu, and the lemon cream swirls. Almost everything is offered in small portions, so you can mix and match. As Serramondi describes, “Their touch, their style, is fantastic. To work with such passion and respect for the ingredients is much more than simply cooking or running a restaurant. It’s really a way of life.”
Lunch
SantoPalato
A restaurant shaping the city’s culinary identity
It’s hard to overstate SantoPalato’s importance to Rome’s culinary identity, or its popularity. Practically every dish at this San Giovanni restaurant is remarkable: the crackling meatball filled with shredded oxtail, dusted with cacao; the chicken innards on a fluffy egg soufflé; the glossy...
It’s hard to overstate SantoPalato’s importance to Rome’s culinary identity, or its popularity. Practically every dish at this San Giovanni restaurant is remarkable: the crackling meatball filled with shredded oxtail, dusted with cacao; the chicken innards on a fluffy egg soufflé; the glossy carbonara mezze maniche (a pasta similar to a rigatone); the pork-stuffed chicken wrapped in truffle and spinach; and Rome’s signature breakfast pastry, a bun made from blue grano arso flour filled with white cream. Which is not to speak of the constantly changing specials on the chalkboard. The menu is the same at dinner, but SantoPalato is best enjoyed over a leisurely lunch, when the yolk-yellow dining room glows in the afternoon sun.
Nomisan
A Japanese restaurant inspired by the Roman coast
Located in a quiet neighborhood along the road to the coast, Nomisan is a traditional Japanese restaurant, run by a Japanese-Italian couple, that draws its expertise from chef Chikako Masuda’s fishermen lineage. Speaking to Masuda, Di Lecce states, “She knows everything about fish, more than...
Located in a quiet neighborhood along the road to the coast, Nomisan is a traditional Japanese restaurant, run by a Japanese-Italian couple, that draws its expertise from chef Chikako Masuda’s fishermen lineage. Speaking to Masuda, Di Lecce states, “She knows everything about fish, more than anyone else in Rome. To buy the fish when it goes to auction, she first studies the winds; she knows the winds and the currents, and therefore understands when and how and from whom to buy, based on the boats. That attention is enviable, it’s something no one else would think about.” Chikako’s family photos from Japan adorn a wide menu of sushi, tempura, donburi, noodles, onigiri, and more — all exquisitely executed and beautifully presented.
L’Osteria dell’Orologio
A pioneering seafood restaurant
In Fiumicino, where the Tiber River meets the sea, L’Osteria dell’Orologio serves some of the city’s best seafood, with an emphasis on the fish’s quinto quarto, or fifth quarter, meaning the parts often thrown away. They are especially known for their bottarga: salted and cured fish roe typically...
In Fiumicino, where the Tiber River meets the sea, L’Osteria dell’Orologio serves some of the city’s best seafood, with an emphasis on the fish’s quinto quarto, or fifth quarter, meaning the parts often thrown away. They are especially known for their bottarga: salted and cured fish roe typically made from tuna. “We’ve been at least 10 to 15 times,” says Di Lecce, “and it’s not enough. They are pioneers. Their tuna amatriciana is hard to explain. Often, revisited dishes [elsewhere] are disappointing, but this amatriciana … It certainly has no reason to envy the original.” Di Lecce and Serramondi recommend the macelleria, orbutcher’s, tasting menu, with its emphasis on all things salted and cured.
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Aperitivo
Landi Degustazione
A wine bar with seafood offerings
Side by side in Ostia, Landi and Mas are two beautiful spots to watch a long afternoon turn into night. “Both top quality, but different styles,” says Di Lecce. Landi is a wine bar with an emphasis on Lazio wines and offering an elegant seafood menu. Mas excels at inventive cocktails, with a menu...
Side by side in Ostia, Landi and Mas are two beautiful spots to watch a long afternoon turn into night. “Both top quality, but different styles,” says Di Lecce. Landi is a wine bar with an emphasis on Lazio wines and offering an elegant seafood menu. Mas excels at inventive cocktails, with a menu to match (think marinated anchovies, or a tuna and egg club sandwich) — full of vegetables, which, according to Di Lecce and Serramondi, are bought from local farmers in the nearby countryside. Start at Mas and move over to Landi, or vice versa.
Il Goccetto
A lively enoteca
In off-hours, Il Goccetto (which is perhaps better known by the words above its door, VINO and OLIO) looks like a classical enoteca, serving a wide range of wines by the glass and bottle, alongside cured meats, cheeses, and carefully sourced plates of bruschetta and salad. But come happy hour,...
In off-hours, Il Goccetto (which is perhaps better known by the words above its door, VINO and OLIO) looks like a classical enoteca, serving a wide range of wines by the glass and bottle, alongside cured meats, cheeses, and carefully sourced plates of bruschetta and salad. But come happy hour, the bar transforms into a kind of block party, as elegant Romans and in-the-know tourists spill out onto one of the historical center’s most beautiful streets, glasses in hand and voices raised.
RetroVino
An intimate and sophisticated wine bar
On the other end of the spectrum from Il Goccetto is RetroVino, a slim, sophisticated wine bar in Rome’s center that makes up one third of the quietly revolutionary RetroBottega group. Sitting at the single long table surrounded by bottles feels like something between a private tasting and a...
On the other end of the spectrum from Il Goccetto is RetroVino, a slim, sophisticated wine bar in Rome’s center that makes up one third of the quietly revolutionary RetroBottega group. Sitting at the single long table surrounded by bottles feels like something between a private tasting and a casual glass in a friend’s apartment — an impression enhanced by the friendly and knowledgeable staff, who are more than willing to talk you through the vast menu, which features some 93 pages of wine.
Pizzicàrola
An elevated small grocer with wine and snacks
As in many parts of the world, in Rome, the pandemic has revived the status of the small grocery. At Pizzicàrola in the Monteverde Vecchio neighborhood, you can enjoy wines by the glass and snacks made from Rome’s best produce and foodstuffs — bread from Triticum and RetroPane, fresh pastas,...
As in many parts of the world, in Rome, the pandemic has revived the status of the small grocery. At Pizzicàrola in the Monteverde Vecchio neighborhood, you can enjoy wines by the glass and snacks made from Rome’s best produce and foodstuffs — bread from Triticum and RetroPane, fresh pastas, pickled and marinated vegetables, conserves, cured meats, and cheeses, all sold in the small industrial-chic store. Di Lecce says, “The great thing is how it has resurrected the classic shop, where you can find quality that is not served, as in a restaurant, but offered on the shelf or at the counter.”
Dinner
Il Pagliaccio
A boundary-pushing, Michelin-starred restaurant
This is Rome’s only 2-Michelin-starred restaurant, and among the most celebrated of the city’s fine dining. In a stark and elegant setting, across the street from Il Goccetto, you’ll find a choice of four tasting menus, which playfully narrate the life of the chef, Anthony Genovese, as he...
This is Rome’s only 2-Michelin-starred restaurant, and among the most celebrated of the city’s fine dining. In a stark and elegant setting, across the street from Il Goccetto, you’ll find a choice of four tasting menus, which playfully narrate the life of the chef, Anthony Genovese, as he traveled through France, Japan, and Malaysia, finally landing in Italy. Foie gras with amberjack and lacquered duck with plum are two of the signature dishes. The restaurant is one of Rome’s most boundary-pushing institutions.
RetroBottega
An inspired restaurant with vegetarian options
The flagship of the RetroBottega group is its fine-dining restaurant, that has a mania for foraging in nearby Abruzzo. The colorful tasting menu has two options, vegetarian and not, which announces its offerings in confident capitals: GREEN SPAGHETTI! SMOKED BEEF! Di Lecce says, “In Rome, there...
The flagship of the RetroBottega group is its fine-dining restaurant, that has a mania for foraging in nearby Abruzzo. The colorful tasting menu has two options, vegetarian and not, which announces its offerings in confident capitals: GREEN SPAGHETTI! SMOKED BEEF! Di Lecce says, “In Rome, there is no identity like theirs. It’s almost mad. Every week they go to harvest, or better, first they study, they understand what they can harvest, they select wild herbs. Perhaps it is one of the most innovative formats in Rome, but with an elegance and a knowledge behind it that is truly inspiring.”
Zia Restaurant
An understated Michelin-starred restaurant
Chef Antonio Ziantoni was trained at Il Pagliaccio and opened Zia with his partner, Ida Proietti, in 2018 to a near-immediate Michelin star. But where Il Pagliaccio is splashy and inventive, Zia is understated and ingredient-focused — a reflection, perhaps, of how fine dining has changed over the...
Chef Antonio Ziantoni was trained at Il Pagliaccio and opened Zia with his partner, Ida Proietti, in 2018 to a near-immediate Michelin star. But where Il Pagliaccio is splashy and inventive, Zia is understated and ingredient-focused — a reflection, perhaps, of how fine dining has changed over the past 20 years. In an elegant dining room in the quiet, southern part of Trastevere, you’ll be served a seasonal menu, such as veal sweetbreads with three kinds of milk and tomato; risotto with buffalo mozzarella, lemon, and gentian; and guinea fowl with roots and grape leaf. According to Di Lecce, Serramondi, and countless others, Ziantoni is one of the most talented chefs in Rome today.
Carnal Morso Sabroso
A bright restaurant with Colombian roots
Prati, the well-heeled neighborhood outside of Vatican City, is not known for its culinary inventiveness, with the exception of Carnal, Michelin-starred chef Roy Caceres’ fourth restaurant and the first to celebrate his Colombian roots. It’s a bright and lively space with a casual vibe that...
Prati, the well-heeled neighborhood outside of Vatican City, is not known for its culinary inventiveness, with the exception of Carnal, Michelin-starred chef Roy Caceres’ fourth restaurant and the first to celebrate his Colombian roots. It’s a bright and lively space with a casual vibe that serves ceviches, tostadas, empanadas, arepas, grilled fish, and baked rice, alongside cocktails and beer. Unlike Italian food, there’s no preset order to the meal, so “you can go a little wild,” says Di Lecce. “He (Caceres) poured his culture into the restaurant,” says Serramondi. “And it feels like walking into South America.”
Il Tino
Michelin-starred seafood overlooking the marina
Serramondi and Di Lecce met while working at Il Tino, a Michelin-starred restaurant overlooking Fiumicino’s marina (the restaurant was formerly in Ostia). You’ll find seafood prepared and presented at the highest level, with panache, invention, and passion. A pale and luminous tuna crudo is...
Serramondi and Di Lecce met while working at Il Tino, a Michelin-starred restaurant overlooking Fiumicino’s marina (the restaurant was formerly in Ostia). You’ll find seafood prepared and presented at the highest level, with panache, invention, and passion. A pale and luminous tuna crudo is showered in grains of quinoa; golden cappelletti bathe in a red shrimp broth; a swirl of tagliolini is served with sea urchin and smoked butter. It’s worth the trip from central Rome.
Our Contributors
Madeline Gressel Writer
Madeline Gressel is a writer and bookseller currently living in Rome. Her work has been published in The Virginia Quarterly Review, Travel & Leisure, The South China Morning Post, The Wall Street Journal, and Nautilus Magazine, among others. She is currently in the process of opening a bookstore in Rome.
