6 Best Restaurants in Esquilino and Environs, Rome

Pigneto is full of hip restaurants and bars now, but Necci is the neighborhood's original hangout, the haunt of famed director Pier Paolo Pasolini, who grew up in Pigneto when it was still a rough-and-tumble working-class area. There's a full menu of pastas and other Italian fare, but the servers won't bat an eye if you just want drinks or a small bite; it also hosts wine tastings in its recently discovered, 1st-century-BC hypogeum. Inside, a white-and-orange color scheme gives off a mod 1960s vibe; outside, a street-art-style portrait of Pasolini overlooks a large patio where people eat and drink from morning till night. 

Set in what was once an industrial space, this cavernous all-day restaurant and bar—replete with soaring ceilings, Chesterfield sofas, and open shelves filled with wine bottles—is popular for coworking, aperitivo, and apericena (light evening meal with small plates). The menu eschews pasta and focuses instead on pinsa (Roman-style oval pizzas) as well as fritti (fried foods), burgers and steaks, and some salads and other light fare.

At this welcoming osteria run by three young owners, wood-paneled walls, terrazzo floors, and green pendant lamps evoke 1970s nostalgia. The menu features homestyle dishes like tortellini in brodo, fried meatballs with salsa verde, and puntarelle (bitter greens dressed with anchovy sauce). The restaurant is connected to the pizzeria next door, whose pizzaiolo bakes the bread in his wood-fired oven.

In this circa-1804 farmhouse you can dine beside the fireplace in cool weather or in the garden under age-old vines in summer. Specialties include risotto with robiola cheese, beets, and hazelnuts, rack of lamb with Jerusalem artichoke, and fresh seafood. The atmosphere is friendly and intimate, but the vast property can also accommodate large parties.

Reservations are a good idea (especially if you'd like to sit outside) at this popular spot, where the changing menu of Roman dishes reflects the use of seasonal produce. Start with one of the many foccacie, such as goat cheese, grilled zucchini, and thyme, and then move on to a primo—perhaps a hearty ragù in cooler months or a more-delicate vegetarian pasta dish in the summer. Main courses include fillets of salted cod or an excellent trippa alla romana (Roman-style tripe).

Originally opened as a wine shop, this bistro has floor-to-ceiling shelves stacked with some 2,000 bottles from renowned wineries like Antinori and Frescobaldi. Ask for a recommendation to accompany dishes that range from tried-and-true favorites, including tagliatelle al ragù and eggplant parmigiana to a burger or black cod. Save room for the molten chocolate cake or tiramisù served in a moka pot.