Eating out in the center of Rome can be fraught with risks. Will you be lucky enough to stumble upon a good meal? Or will your lackluster dinner be punctuated with the din of a microwaved plate and hidden charges?
But reliable restaurants do exist even in the more trafficked areas and I am always on the look out for more.
Enter Osteria dei Cappellari – a cozy eatery near Campo de’ Fiori.
The Osteria takes its name from the street on which it sits – Via dei Cappellari. Many of the streets around Campo are named after the tradesmen who would have once been found there (see Arco degli acetari). In this case, the street was once filled with the workshops of hat makers.
Having fun with this history, one of the first things you notice as you walk in the door is the whimsical top hats and bowlers hanging from the ceiling.
Osteria dei Cappellari specializes in Roman cuisine, so we wasted no time in starting with filleti di baccala – fried cod. Usually served in pizzerias, I love the crunch of the light batter.
For me, it had to be cacio e pepe – a creamy cheese pasta topped with fresh black pepper.
Jimmy opted for the straccetti con fungi porcini – thin strips of beef with a mushroom sauce.
We lingered over drinks and dessert to enjoy the warm ambiance a bit more.
The mix is split between locals (always a good sign) and visitors. The service was so friendly that we stopped in again a few nights later when we were showing family around the city center.
Via Dei Cappellari 66
Rome, Italy (Centro Storico)
+39 06 9436 6598
Open: Every day except Wednesday, from 12:30 pm to 3 pm and 7 pm to 11 pm.
Is this where il Lucifero used to be?