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During the day, the area around the Spanish Steps is a hotbed of tourists, shoppers, and office workers. It gets significantly quieter at night and, as a result, it's easy to fall into tourist traps and overpriced hotel dining. Stick to recommended restaurants.
This rustic-meets-glamorous bistro attracts locals for its flawless execution of Roman classics (many served photogenically in metal cooking pans) as well as original dishes. Its bar is known among amaro connoisseurs for having the largest selection in Rome, and the bitter liquors are the stars of the expertly crafted cocktail menu.
With orario continuato, or nonstop operating hours (12:30 pm--10 pm), this sleek spot in the Hotel d'Inghilterra caters to jet-setters and hotel guests. There are a few international staples on the menu (a burger and Caesar salad), but for the most part the menu focuses on local dishes and ingredients. The tempting outdoor tables are close together, but perhaps you won't mind eavesdropping on your luxurious neighbor. In the evenings, Cafè Romano transforms into a swanky lounge bar with live piano music.
At this traditionally Roman, family-owned restaurant with picturesque outdoor tables, you can dig into classic Italian fare like veal osso buco, rigatoni all'amatriciana, and tartufo. The cozy piazza, where the restaurant is located, is just a little ways off of Via del Corso.
Crowning the Sofitel Rome Villa Borghese hotel, this chic restaurant serves fancy takes on Rome's cucina povera (peasant cooking) in a chic space with graphic punches of color. The terrace offers fantastic views that stretch from Villa Borghese to the dome of St. Peter's, but the interior dining room, with its floor-to-ceiling windows and terrazzo-inspired floors, is lovely, too.
