Trieste Pizza — Restaurant Review | Condé Nast Traveler

"Tell us about your first impressions when you arrived. The tiny place is white and well-lit, with pizza displayed in cast iron pans opposite the entrance. Place your order and stand up to eat, resting your tray on one of the ledges. What was the crowd like? Trieste attracts young Romans on a budget, especially students from the conservatory down the street and residents from the Monti neighborhood. What should we be drinking? All the usual suspects of pizza takeaways: water, ordinary wine, and industrial beer. Main event: the food. Give us the lowdown—especially what not to miss. Monti has become a sea of mediocre cafes, aperitivo bars, and restaurants that might look good on the surface but peddle sub-par snacks, drinks, and meals. Trieste, meanwhile, both looks cute and serves very solid food. The shop is part of a small chain that started as a beach kiosk in Pescara in the 1950s and has grown to five locations since. The quick service and attention to quality means Trieste delivers consistently tasty pizza at a price everyone can afford. And how did the front-of-house folks treat you? There's no need to tip for counter service, which can be slow and overwhelmed but remains friendly enough. Staff can help navigate the menu, but it's pretty straightforward since the pizzas are all displayed in plain sight. What’s the real-real on why we’re coming here? Trieste isn't worth going out of the way for, but it's a fine place to stop for a snack before or after a trip to the Forum or Colosseum or while strolling through the Monti neighborhood." - Katie Parla