Armando al Pantheon down the street from the Pantheon is terrific and popular (reserve), and you might walk away from Campo de'Fiori (very touristy) in the direction of the Portico d'Ottavia and the Teatro di Marcello and take your pick of quite a few places that serve locals with good casual food.
Generally speaking, Rome is a quite informal town for eating, and the places that are higher-end or "special occasion" restaurants are quite obvious to the eye. Menus are posted outside of almost every eatery so you can double check prices before entering. Don't be excessively afraid of a menu that is in more than one language. It is common in Rome, which gets so many tourists and pilgrims. For casual places, you may find that "casual" sometimes translates into "imperfect" -- meaning that not everything you see on the menu is being offered that night, you might get a some terrific dishes and some so-so ones, you might need to remind your waiter you ordered red instead of white wine, dessert might be from the supermarket, etc etc. If you want "perfect", guidebooks tend to select safe choices with slightly higher prices to match. It is usually exemplary food, but if you stick to other people's recommendations, you might miss out on the conviviality of Rome's everyday neighborhood eateries and developing favorites of your own.
Do familiarize yourself ahead of time with the typical Roman menu. In fact, Armando al Pantheon has its online:
Trattoria Polese in not in the the Campo de'Fiori, but about a 15-minute walk from it, in the direction of the Vatican. (It's also about a 15-minutes walk from the piazza Navona):
Navona Notte. Smack dab in the area you're looking for. Of the 5 dinners I had my first time in Rome, 2 of them were there. Get a street-side table if possible.
I hope I didn't sound nitpicky, but I was concerned that if somebody went to the Campo to look for Trattoria Polese, they'd really have no hope of finding it.
(The last time I was in Rome I arrived with a badly injured foot, so my estimate of the walk was doubled in my memory.)
No biggy, Mushroom; you made a good clarification of my post. The apartment we stayed in, just minutes from the Trattoria, is listed in the Campo de'Fiori area/neighborhood, even though it was a 5 minute walk to the Campo itself.
Thank you all so much. I wrote everything down. In the area of the Pantheon, is there some restaurant that really knows how to cook cacio d pepe, did I say that correctly, you makes it outstanding. Thanks
Thank you all so much. I wrote everything down. In the area of the Pantheon, is there some restaurant that really knows how to cook cacio d pepe, did I say that correctly, you makes it outstanding. Thanks Posted by angela21
Here's blog that talks about caio e pepe in Rome. The writer recommends Roma Sparita., however, it's in Trastevere.
