Let’s start with a tasty reassurance: the gastronomic offer of the Prati district will be able to delight your palate at any time of the day. Whether you like sweet or savory, whether you’re in the mood for a quick snack or a full meal to savor slowly, in this neighborhood you’re sure to find the place for you, from dawn to dusk, and beyond. Get your napkins ready: here we go!
Breakfast in Prati: a sweet gourmet awakening
Do you also believe that the day starts better with a good coffee? If the answer is yes, hurry up and try the one at Sciascia Caffè 1919, in Via Fabio Massimo 80/a. The fine blends of this historic café are the result of the skill of Adolfo Sciascia, who passionately dedicates himself to the creation of unique blends, the composition of which is still a secret. Open since 1919, Caffè Sciascia offers a wide selection of unique specialties, including dark chocolate coffee, gran cappuccino, crema caffè and several granitas prepared with exclusive ingredients such as late mandarins from Ciaculli. You can accompany your favorite drink with homemade cookies or croissants, for a perfect breakfast.
For a top-quality caffeine boost, from morning until late afternoon, at Pergamino Caffè, in Piazza Risorgimento 79, you’ll find the highest quality blends from all over the world. This coffee shop, which only offers “specialty coffee” (i.e. superior quality coffee, of traceable origin, roasted in the right way and extracted in such a way as to respect the organoleptic qualities of the various coffees) is a place for true connoisseurs. If you love coffee and desserts, ask for advice on the best combination of biscuits, doughnuts, pancakes and all the other homemade treats on offer: you won’t be disappointed.
If, on the other hand, you’d like to try a soft, sweet bread with cream (or a small sweet bread, so as not to go overboard with the calories!), go to Parenti, in Via Ottaviano 33, where the vintage atmosphere is as genuine as the exquisite creations on display. With over 60 years of activity behind it, this small pastry shop has been able to preserve its authenticity and its Tuscan origins, which can be found in some of the desserts on offer: ricciarelli (almond biscuits) and Florentine rice pudding. Also not to be missed are the meringues, bavarois and, only in the month of March, the very Roman Saint Joseph’s cream puffs, strictly deep-fried and overflowing with custard.
Even if it doesn’t offer cafeteria service, it’s worth mentioning the pastry shop La mimosa di Adelmo, at 12/a Via Alessandro Farnese, where you can buy delicious homemade desserts. Starting with the mimosa, the famous cake invented in 1962 by Adelmo Renzi, made with sponge cake and cream, and whose recipe is still a secret. Adelmo’s three daughters run this laboratory, where they also prepare and sell chocolate tarts, chiffon cake, tiramisu, millefeuille and the irresistible shortcrust pastry tartlets with custard and berries.
Do you prefer an international breakfast? Then let’s talk about pancakes! To enjoy them in their classic version, a good place to go is Cafè Mèmè International Bistrot, in Via degli Scipioni 109/111. In this cozy little place you’ll find American specialties such as bagels, waffles, eggs Benedict or scrambled eggs, as well as homemade cakes, French toast and avocado toast. Also ideal for a hearty breakfast, oops… for brunch!
For a more oriental version, go to Panfuwa, at Via Pompeo Magno 102, dedicated exclusively to Japanese pancakes, incredibly soft and light. On the menu you’ll find many sweet and savory versions of this Japanese specialty whose name, “fuwafuwa”, is an onomatopoeic word that evokes the impalpable softness that will envelop you at the first bite.
Lunch in Prati: a journey through the flavors of Italy and the world
Trattorias, restaurants, pizzerias, delicatessens: let your palate make a wish and it will be very easy to fulfill it in Prati, you just need to decide what to eat.
An annex of the almost homonymous restaurant in Testaccio, Velavevodetto ai Quiriti, in Piazza dei Quiriti 4, is a true temple of Roman cuisine, where the typical dishes of the Eternal City have the authentic flavor of the past. Carbonara, amatriciana, cacio e pepe: pasta is a serious matter here. As well as meatballs, with sauce or boiled meat, tripe, lamb, puntarelle and artichokes, the flowers most loved by Romans! Open for both lunch and dinner, this restaurant will welcome you in its two dining rooms and on the summer veranda, for a culinary experience that will leave you full and satisfied.
Roman cuisine is also the mainstay of Ragno d’oro, at Via Silla 26, a family-run osteria that has been serving genuine home-cooked dishes in a simple and welcoming environment since 1936. The menu is appetizing: delicious fried food among the appetizers, all the classic Roman dishes among the first courses, followed by oxtail stew and saltimbocca alla romana, as well as some fish dishes.
The kitchens of the many restaurants in the Prati neighborhood don’t only serve traditional Roman dishes. There’s also Apulian food, for example! The Orecchietteria Banfi, at 116 Via Giuseppe Gioachino Belli, is a perfect stop for those who love Apulia and the comedy of Lino Banfi. The restaurant, owned by the family of the famous actor, offers orecchiette, both made with semolina and burnt wheat, served with many different sauces, made with ingredients from the longest region in Italy. The names of the dishes are in the style of Lino Banfi and, if you have never tasted tiramisu prepared with burrata, here you will have the opportunity to do so.
Entering the Hostaria Da Cesare, at Via Crescenzio 13, a historic shop since 1921, you definitely go further north and end up in Tuscany, as indicated by the lily of Florence that stands out on the restaurant sign and on the menus. Run by the same family since the 1960s, this restaurant serves traditional Italian dishes in a decidedly classic setting. The restaurant’s specialties, which range from seafood to meat dishes, including soups, are Tuscan, but the extensive menu also includes Roman dishes and dishes from other Italian regions. The excellent pizza is only served at dinner.
Another address, other latitudes: let’s move from Italy to the Middle East, with a small detour to the east. At 30 Via Properzio, the Mezé Bistrot offers Mediterranean and Balkan recipes, some dishes from the Judeo-Roman and Sinhalese traditions, and some original creations by the chef. The word “mezè” indicates the small courses that precede the main meal and that, in a sort of ritual, are shared by all the diners. Hummus, tzatziki, falafel, couscous, shakshuka, maqluba: exotic names and spicy flavors for an out of the ordinary lunch (only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays) or dinner (from Tuesdays to Sundays).
Aperitivo in Prati: sipping excellence
To paraphrase a well-known aphorism, life is too short to drink poor quality wines or cocktails. This is why you should carefully select the places where you have your aperitif! Also because, very often, a drink in the late afternoon turns into dinner or replaces it completely. So here’s a small selection of places where you can spend a few pleasant hours, drinking and eating very well.
With its New York design and Parisian atmosphere, but above all with its excellent cocktails and a delicious menu to suit all tastes, La Zanzara, at 84 Via Crescenzio, is the perfect place to start (or end!) your evening. Classic aperitif drinks and exclusive blends accompany appetizing finger food or full-fledged dishes, such as traditional Roman pastas or elaborate meat dishes. The bartenders of this rather crowded bar know how to create exquisite and impeccable cocktails that confirm the slogan on the menu: “La Zanzara provoca piacere” (La Zanzara causes pleasure).
Also in Via Crescenzio, but at number 91/c, we find Emerald’s, an independent retro-style bar that the owners define as “an equatorial lounge”, where you can travel through Latin America through cocktails. In this cozy and charming place the liquors and aromas of exotic countries such as Brazil, Cuba and Mexico are combined with a gastronomic proposal made up of small dishes that wink at ethnic cuisine and current trends. Open from aperitif time until late at night, on Sundays you’ll also find live music.
The name promises to make all your problems vanish: Passaguai, at Via Pomponio Leto 1, is indeed a place where excellent wines and delicious platters of cold cuts and cheeses (a specialty not to be missed) help you forget, at least for the time you spend inside, any problem! Passaguai is a “vincaffè” (coffee and wine bar) closed on Sundays, but open for lunch from Monday to Friday, where the menu changes according to the season to guarantee the freshest products.
A block away, at 31 Via Properzio, you’ll find Sorpasso, a place that shares the same ownership and formula as Passaguai: top quality cheeses and cold cuts and selected wine labels. At Sorpasso, however, you’ll also find many cocktails on the menu, from the great classics to the latest creations.
At Beer Time on tap, in Piazza dei Quiriti 9, on the other hand, beer, especially craft beer, flows freely. Blonde, red, dark, raw and unfiltered beers regularly rotate in the kegs for lovers of these sparkling beverages, which can be accompanied by bruschetta and super-delicious sandwiches. The outdoor tables allow you to enjoy a refreshing pint during the summer months.
Dinner in Prati: fast food or a starred restaurant?
If this simple doubt is bothering you, we have some bad news: choosing a place to dine in Prati is much more than a dilemma, because the options are really numerous. To narrow down the field a little, we suggest some very different places: enjoy your reading and bon appétit!
You don’t have to be vegan to go to Flower Burger, at Via dei Gracchi 87: you just have to love good food, colors and nature. Founded in 2015 in Milan and now present in various Italian cities, Flower Burger brings the rainbow to your plate with its 100% vegan burgers, where color is the protagonist: the buns are yellow, pink, purple because they are prepared with natural ingredients such as turmeric, cherries, purple carrots. You can choose to accompany the burgers with paprika potatoes, edamame or patatas buenas.
Do you prefer a warm and elegant atmosphere? No problem! At 59 Via Giuseppe Gioachino Belli there’s an osteria with an intimate and sophisticated ambience, with liberty mirrors and marble tables. Arcangelo Dandini, chef and owner of Arcangelo Vino&Cucina, offers a refined reinterpretation of traditional Lazio cuisine, enhanced by the use of high quality ingredients. The toy cars on the tables give a unique touch to the restaurant, a reference point for Roman gourmets.
Delicacies from land and sea await you at MiVà, in Via Ezio 23. The menu offers tempting and creative dishes that are always original and beautifully presented. The location is pleasant, the staff friendly, the prices fair: what more could you want?
In recent years Prati has attracted many chefs who have opened sophisticated and very interesting restaurants in this neighborhood. One of these is Aqualunae, at Piazza dei Quiriti 19/20, Emanuele Paoloni’s bistro that delights the eyes and palate with its creative cuisine. Five tasting menus and the possibility to order à la carte to taste classic dishes and original creations of the chef, all revisited and reworked with imagination and technique. It is also possible to try the dishes of Aqualunae as an aperitif.
The cuisine of Pulejo, in Via dei Gracchi 31, is very refined. The restaurant of Davide Pulejo was awarded a Michelin star only a few months after opening. The restaurant is characterized by a sober elegance, and the service is attentive and refined. The culinary proposal is the result of extensive research and skillful experimentation that create surprising dishes and combinations. Meat and fish alternate on the menu, right up to the desserts, which include celeriac tarte tatin, served with fior di latte and vanilla ice cream, and a dessert made with an incredible quartet of ingredients: gianduja, hibiscus, black cherries and foie gras.
Delights out of the ordinary
By now your mouth must be watering… In any case, we’d like to recommend a few extra places where you can treat yourself to a break dedicated to taste.
Let’s start with Hiromi Cake, a Japanese pastry shop in the heart of Prati (Via Fabio Massimo, 31). In this oasis with an oriental flavor, each creation is a small sculpture, a masterpiece of flavor and beauty. The desserts you can taste here, rich in exotic aromas and characteristic consistencies, are those of traditional Japanese pastries, made with rice, and those of Western inspiration, reworked with ingredients typical of the Land of the Rising Sun such as azuki beans, matcha tea or yuzu, a citrus fruit with an explosive flavor. An invitation to try: Japanese desserts contain less sugar and fat than our local desserts!
Also for those with a sweet tooth, and in particular for those who love chestnuts and chocolate, Prati has a surprise full of sugar and cocoa in store: at 67/a Via Paolo Emilio, there’s Giuliani, a factory producing marron glacé and chocolates, active since 1949. Today, as in the past, Giuliani produces perfect and delicious marron glacés, both plain and chocolate-covered, using a long process that begins with choosing the best chestnuts, and continues with boiling, candying and baking. As a chestnut specialist, Giuliani also produces an excellent Mont Blanc: don’t miss it.
The last sweet address is Via dei Gracchi 272, home of the Gelateria dei Gracchi, a point of reference in Rome for lovers of cones and cups. The Gelateria dei Gracchi offers high quality homemade ice cream, prepared with natural ingredients and without the addition of preservatives, colorings or hydrogenated fats. Production varies according to the seasonality of the raw materials, guaranteeing freshness and authentic flavor. One of the most popular flavors is pistachio, made with Bronte pistachios.
We conclude our review with Gabrini, at Via Cola di Rienzo 200, a place with many souls, that changes its appearance according to the time of day. From breakfast to dinner, including lunch and aperitifs, Gabrini is a dynamic space that is a cafeteria, deli, butcher, rotisserie and tavern all in one. Here you can taste many different products, all of excellent quality, the result of a careful selection: bread, pizza, desserts, rice balls, but also ready-to-eat dishes, wines and beers. For dinner, chef Marco Moroni offers a simple and tasty cuisine and, once a month, he hosts colleagues from other restaurants for special evenings where you can taste particular dishes and paired wines.
