Jim W.
Yelp
This was our first Italian meal in Italy (we had dinner our first night at an Indian restaurant). We had spent our first full morning in Rome touring the Colosseum and the Forum. We wrapped up at or just after noon (on a Monday). We checked some nearby places and set out on foot to look for lunch. This place was located about 2 blocks from the exit from the Forum (the one on Via dei Fori Imperiali). The entrance was actually via a small side street. We were offered the option of sitting inside our outside. It was a relatively nice day, so we opted for outside.
Their 'patio' was more like a dead-end section of a small alley from which you could see a larger street. This is not a complaint; it was clean and quiet, but the tables were set on the pavement and you were bounded by walls on 3 sides. The tables had umbrellas, but I think the area was mostly in shadow at that hour anyway. The temperature was fine. As a slight aside, a lot of the restaurants we ate at on our trip (which featured Italian food) looked somewhat the same inside. Not American franchise sameness, but more similar than I'd expect for unrelated businesses. If you opted to dine outside, there seemed to be a bit more variety in your surroundings, which was nice.
Our server was busy with multiple tables, but managed to stop by before long. I think we all opted for different varieties of pizza. We got 'still water' in a bottle, as there is no free water at restaurants here. When our pizzas arrived, I was initially skeptical tht we could each eat one - they appeared larger than what I'd term a 'personal pizza'. However, there was another difference - the pizza crust was fairly thin. Hence, you were not eating that much bread versus what was expected. We actually were able to finish the pies and we didn't feel bloated. A thin pizza like this is actually a decent lunch portion. I got a 3-ingredient variant, but the restaurant was partial to arugula so there was a LOT of it. I liked it, though I did pick off a bit of arugula. I don't recall what the other 2 people ordered, but everyone thought the food was good.
At one point, a street musician came up and was playing at the fringe of the dining area. No one was making requests but after he finished, he circulated to most tables and wanted the audience to contribute. I thought it was a bit more aggressive than the busking I was used to. He skipped our table and a couple others, luckily. This was the only time I observed this sort of thing. We dined inside mostly.
If you are at the Forum or in the general area, this place is a good meal option.
