Trattoria der Pallaro, Rome

Paola has become well-known and even Rich Steves recommends her - and deservedly so! Line up here and experience great Italian lunch or dinner! Worth the wait and so close to Campo di Fiori! Your appetizers will arrive before you have organized your jacket, purse, etc.
Visited recently with VT'rs Joanne & Jerry (qvarizona) and again with Jo (Jo 104) - had another great dinner that "wowed" everyone! This is the most unique restaurant I have found in all of Rome! Not only is the food just great - but these people have fun serving you. Be seated and before you can even arrange your belongings, the antipasto of the day arrives along with the day's wine - a steady stream of courses follow. All the while, they might be poking fun at customers - sitting down at your table - telling people they have no choices but they'll eat when they have time to serve them. First-time customers here may look shocked - the regular Roman clientele will be laughing. You will receive the specialites of the day - each one typical Roman cusine - home cooked flavor - and all delicious.

You'll find the inscription: 'Qua se magna quello che passa casa' in Roman slang 'Here you eat what we give you" - always home made and of the best quality. You will feel as in the kitchen of a family. A five course meal of typically Roman food, including wine, coffee.

Ask Paola to go down to the wine cellar and have a quick look to the ancient Roman ruins of a theatre that are under your feet !!

We paid 25 Euro each.

Now open every day - tutti giorno!

Favorite Dish: Whatever they are serving that day! You will immediately receive a pitcher of wine (your choice red or white) appetizers will arrive shortly, then pasta, followed by your main course of meat & vegetables, salad, desert, coffee and limoncello!! This is the typical service.

We went there because our favorite guide book writer - Rick Steve - recommended it in his latest Italy 2010 book. He is usually very good with his suggestions, but he was not with Trattoria Der Pallaro.

You pay 25 euro per person and get a five course Roman dinner: wine, appetizers, pasta, meat dish, desert and tangerine juice.
Excited we came and sat, surrounded by only american tourists. No locals ever came, and very soon we found out why.

First of all, the wine was not good. We`ve eaten at a few places around Rome, ranging from cheap to moderate, and our wine experience was always good, except on that day at Trattoria.
Appetizers were OK, nothing special or too tasty.
Pasta dish was so! small. Just 10 penne pieces or so.
Meat dish came with.. chips, not even real potatoes!
Desert was a dry and mediocre cake.
Tangerine juice was good, but it came in a small shot glass, just enough for 2 sips.

We then were rushed out by the turban lady-owner and I vouched to write about this sh*t hole everywhere for people to avoid.
Sorry, Rick Steve. I believe the place was good, when you came, but the owner must of gotten greedy and changed the menu or something.. She should be taken out of the guide book!

We went there because our favorite guide book writer - Rick Steve - recommended it in his latest Italy 2010 book. He is usually very good with his suggestions, but he was not with Trattoria Der Pallaro.

You pay 25 euro per person and get a five course Roman dinner: wine, appetizers, pasta, meat dish, desert and tangerine juice.
Excited we came and sat, surrounded by only american tourists. No locals ever came, and very soon we found out why.

First of all, the wine was not good. We`ve eaten at a few places around Rome, ranging from cheap to moderate, and our wine experience was always good, except on that day at Trattoria.
Appetizers were OK, nothing special or too tasty.
Pasta dish was so! small. Just 10 penne pieces or so.
Meat dish came with.. chips, not even real potatoes!
Desert was a dry and mediocre cake.
Tangerine juice was good, but it came in a small shot glass, just enough for 2 sips.

We then were rushed out by the turban lady-owner and I vouched to write about this sh*t hole everywhere for people to avoid.
Sorry, Rick Steve. I believe the place was good, when you came, but the owner must of gotten greedy and changed the menu or something.. She should be taken out of the guide book!

A unique experience as this restaurant has no menu. You will be served whatever is currently being cooked and you have no choice in the matter (except in the colour of wine, i.e. rosso o bianco?). The cuisine is typically Roman and everything I've had has been delicious with a home cooking feel to it. You will pay a fixed price (~20 EUR). But don't expect this to be a fancy restaurant.

Favorite Dish: Hard to tell... there is no set menu!

They have a set menu that changes, you sit down and you eat what you are given and you dont complain or ask for anything. It is brought to you! You eat what they feed you, and the food is heavenly. We were the only people speaking English when we were there, it was a bit hard to find but it was soooo worth the looking. The price for us was 35 Euro for the 8 course meal which included wine, water, and shear pleasure of trying local foods! Truely we were just thrilled to see the owners running in and out of the kitchen bring bowls of pasta they had just made to the tables and it was so perfect and local and you feel like you could be really living in rome!

Favorite Dish: The homemade orange juice is heaven. But everything was good! I would go back again in a heartbeat!!! You feel like you are roman for a night :)

Der Pallaro is a place that serves a fixed priced menu with wine and water for 23 euros per person. It’s whatever mama cooks that day, although based on reading other reviews of this restaurant mama repeats some of the dishes. The antipasti consisted of huge portions of thinly sliced prosciutto, cooked lentils, sliced fennel, olives, ham croquettes, cheese croquettes, and mozzarella balls. Next came the rigatoni pasta cooked in a light red sauce followed by slices of meat sautéed in olive oil and parsley along with potato chips (potato chips are not my kind of Roman food). Lemon torte for dessert. House red and white wine; bottled water. With the exception of the meat being slightly overcooked, everything was delicious. After all the various antipasti dishes, I was quite full by the time the meat dish arrived. This is not gourmet food but for a decent meal in Rome with a fun atmosphere, this is the place to go. Both the dining rooms inside and outside were filled to capacity.

There is no a la carte menu here,whatever the wonderful woman who greets you warmly from her kitchen as you enter is cooking is what you'll eat. For 20.00 Euro each we had a wonderful 4 course dinner with wine, water and tangerine juice (service included).
We were served a selection of delicious antipasto, then a pasta, next a meat dish with veg and finally a slice of cake. YUM!
The serves were huge and flavoursome. The atmosphere cosy and friendly. A true highlight of our culinary experience in Rome.
Reservations are advised.

Favorite Dish: The antipasto was the highlight for me.

Have been coming here for who knows how long. Really fun place, but you must go along with the shenanigans of the owners who are characters. The better half of the owner/chef will come and sit at your table, drink your wine, pour out her heart and lambaste whoever the current fashionable left-wing politician that might be dining in the restaurant that night.

Favorite Dish: You do not order, they just start bringin food. Very good Roman dishes. Not fancy at all, but the clientele can be - they are all masochists and like the treatment here.

There's no menu...you are greeted warmly and escorted to a table, and the courses begin...whatever you eat is whatever the owner/chef Paola Fazi is cooking that day. The food is scrumptious, and you get wine, antipasti, primo, secondo and dolci, along with pane e l'olio (bread and olive oil) as well. The cost is low and the atmostphere unforgettable. On the walls are photos of Paola's father who started the restaurant years ago. You aren't likely to see any tourists...mostly italians eat here and you will know why when you have tasted the food. It is off the main square, but worth the foray to find. It is usual that Paola makes an appearance from the kitchen, with a white napkin tied around her head to keep her cooler. She speaks zero english, but will flit to every table to make sure you are happy and well fed. If you don't speak italian, put your index finger to your cheek to indicate to her that it is mucho gusto (very tasty)...Buon appetito!

Favorite Dish: I loved the bread, the entire meal actually...it was delicious. A wonderful oasis on a hot afternoon in Rome...

Hidden away, this small family-owned and run restaurant is a true gem. The owners are a typical Italian mamma and pappa - just like you'd imagine. Pappa seats the guests and takes care of their needs, while Mamma makes sure all is well in the kitchen. It's a set menu with five/six courses, each is incredible. My friends and I found this place by accident, and by the end of our trip, had been three times! The hospitality made it worth it. Pappa recognized us after our first time and treated us even better that second visit.

Favorite Dish: No choices here, folks. It's a set menu - but don't worry. This six-course meal will not leave you hungry!
Sample menu: Fresh tomatos, fava beans, prosciutto, deep fried veal nuggets (sounds odd - isn't), rigatoni with tomato sauce, a meat dish, green vegetables, fried potatos (like chips), an apple pastry, tangerine juice (try dipping the pasty crust into the juice - wonderful!), and all the wine you can drink - all for about L30,000 (sorry - was there before the damn Euro)

Signor Lino has only one menu for a fixed price (20 Euros). including Water and Wine.

The dishes are old but the food is fantastic. The menu is a five-course dinner.

You will enjoy it!