5 Best Restaurants in Repubblica and Quirinale, Rome

With a chic, modern design featuring leather-and-velvet seats and 1960s lamps designed by Gae Aulenti, creative tasting menus by chef Heros De Agostinis, and special touches like a roving cart with a variety of delicious bread made in-house, this elegant restaurant inside the Anantara Palazzo Naiadi is a true five-star experience. The staff here go out of their way to explain every dish, find the perfect wine pairings, and ensure that guests have a wonderful time.

This old-school Roman restaurant traces its roots back to 1870, when a woman from the town of Amatrice in northern Lazio arrived in Rome and started to cook her town's renowned bucatini all'amatriciana near Termini Station. Whether the story is true or a legend, this is indeed a great place to try the famous pasta and other Roman specialties in an elegant space with white tablecloths, plates emblazoned with the restaurant's name, and courteous and formally attired waiters.

At this old school restaurant favorited by politicians and other VIPs, jovial waiters in while jackets serve traditional seafood specialties, including raw platters, spaghetti with clams, and whole baked fish. It's one of the few places in town where you can still get risotto alla crema di scampi.

Just off Piazza Barberini, this upscale trattoria has been serving Tuscan classics since 1950. It specializes in high-quality meat dishes, including prime cuts of beef and veal. There are also a few key Roman dishes on the menu such as the artichoke starter. The wine list favors robust Tuscan reds and thick wallets. The decor is basic wood paneling and white linens, with the requisite older—and often grumpy—waiters.