S.Lorenzo & Pigneto Rome – All our local tips

Fabiola runs it. She is one of the most adorable people in this old Roman neighborhood.

Why not buy an Italian book to take back home as a cultural souvenir?

At the bar counter, the list of wines by the glass is not much of a great variety I must admit, but they are good at least. The food is homemade: cous cous, vegetable quiches and pies, tarts and little pizzas, sandwiches mostly vegetarian and many other snacks including cakes at times.

People who hang out here are mostly intellectual-radical type of individuals. The furniture is totally random, although I believe it has been chosen with a method that looks like not being one. It is vintage like the neighborhood. Post World War II kind of design, just like most of the buildings that have been either rebuilt or restored after the neighborhood was completely shelled by US aircrafts during the harshest conflict. Now, it is considered one of the trendy-bohemian areas in town.

If you want to do as the Romans do, this is one of the real Roman places to pick.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Bar-à-book | Bars, Shopping, Snacks | Drink including buffet food € 10.00
via dei Piceni 23 | S.Lorenzo & Pigneto | +390696043014
Tue – Sun 16:00 – 01:30 | Oct – May: Brunch on Sun 12:00 – 16:00

The pizzeria is located in San Lorenzo and is always full. One of its features is the informal service. Once you enter you will be welcomed by a wooden table, tablecloths with the menu printed on them. in the end the bill is made up with characters almost Cyrillic on a piece of greased paper.

As for the menu, it offers 100 types of Roman pizza, bruschetta, salt cod fillets, apple pie and tiramisu of the house. Honestly, the pizza is nothing special but it’s the classic Roman, similar to the one you eat in the famous Baffetto, in the city center.

I think it’s great, because you can stroll to San Lorenzo easily, it’s cheap, you can eat well and is frequented by students who live in the area.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Formula 1 | Restaurants (Roman) | Pizza € 15.00
Via degli Equi 13 | S.Lorenzo & Pigneto | +39064453866
Mon – Sat 19:00 – 00:00

After that you got in and you filled in a form with your personal information because of the place is a cultural association, welcome to the house of happiness!

The pub is very small and you’ll feel at home for the nice environment and for the good choice of music. When you get a table, after a while you’ll start to talk with the unknown people next to you. This is due to the little space between the tables, but probably also to the alcohol that makes you more friendly and easygoing!

It’s simply impossible to avoid to drink: in fact the cheap price of shots (many of them with funny names) is a wonderful temptation that you can’t escape, and also the nice and fast barmen help you to drink more than usual. Remember that in this place you get in sober and you go out drunk!

Last thing for the girls: if you are not shy, you can get one drink for free showing your tits to the barman!!!

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Hera Hora | Bars | Shot from € 1.50
Via degli Aurunci 30 | S.Lorenzo & Pigneto | +393395264754
22:00 – 02:00 daily

Great cereal soups and pastas with chickpeas and other legumes. But the typical dish of this informal restaurant is food cooked and served on a hot stone brought to you directly from the kitchen stove, either vegetables, fish or meat, a healthy and ancient way to cook. Watch it, you could burn yourself severely.

Whatever you pick on the menu will be tasty. The chef calls it “creative” cuisine. What I like of this place is the environment, extremely friendly and cozy yet very professional. You will feel as if you were in a home.

Indoors and outdoors is pleasant, there is also a smoking area, a room totally isolated from the rest of the restaurant. If you sit outdoors you will expect to be interrupted continuously by street vendors, mainly Senegalese or Bangladeshi, selling all sorts of items, but you may find it picturesque and you could enjoy bargaining while waiting for your meal.

The neighborhood is bohemian, home of many artisans and artists.

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Il Pulcino Ballerino | Restaurants (Mediterranean) | Meal (incl. wine) € 20.00
Via degli Equi 66/68 | S.Lorenzo & Pigneto | +39064941255
20:00 – 00:00 daily

This is a great big place if you like the underground scene; it has 2 rooms for live music or concerts, a disco room and a pub.

The music is varies from electronic, hip-hop, and rock and house, and often they also have performances based on contemporary art.

Inside there is also a corner shop to buy CD’s, t-shirts and magazine and they also offer dinner. The corner shop is situated near the stage and it is a place to listen, buy and discuss music, but you can also buy tickets for future shows, such as concerts, theatre or sporting events.

This is also a good venue if you like live music, and hang-out with your friends for an alternative evening to the usual bars and clubs.

A good spot if you are in a group that have all different taste, it will be a good compromise for everyone.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
l circolo degli artisti | Bars, Music | Entrance € 6.00
Via Casilina Vecchia 42 | S.Lorenzo & Pigneto | +390697250663
19:30 – 04:00 daily

Le Terre di AT is Angela Torcivia’s pottery boutique where I have bought charms and necklaces, vases and cups and I am sure you can find the object that you might be looking for. I like stopping here also just to have a chat with Angela, who is a very pleasant artist.

Her art is modern yet combining ancient shapes. Objects of different colors, for every kind of taste. Ceramic jewels, teapots, dishes, bowls and many different original items, including sculptures and pieces to hang on your wall or to beautifully decorate your home.

If you want something made specifically for an occasion or any particular article, such as tiles or pavements, or even a little bijoux, just ask. It will take a while, of course, because everything is handmade, with love and passion.

You can also find many creative artistic pieces made with the Raku technique, very Zen and Japanese, asymmetric and irregular, unpredictable and random, hence just like the neighborhood where her art studio-gallery is located. Now and then, she organizes courses:raku and do-in days.

Her mobile telephone number is +3906491748.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Le Terre di AT | Art & culture, Shopping | teapot+cup € 30.00
via degli Ausoni 13 | S.Lorenzo & Pigneto | +393406916969
Mon – Sat 16:00 – 20:00

If you would like to heed Fat Clemenza’s advice even while in Rome, you should definitely stop at Mizzica.

There, you will find a bit of Sicily in Rome and you will be able to try the whole gamut of snacks Sicily is known for:
1) Cannoli. Mizzica offers two varieties: the traditional one with white ricotta cheese filling and the green ones made with the addition of pistachio and almond flavor. A problem with cannoli is that the pastry shell may get soggy after a while upon contact with the ricotta filling. For an optimal experience, kindly ask the waiting staff to fill your cannoli on the spot.

2) Arancine. These ‘little oranges’ can be reductively described as deep-fried balls of rice with different fillings. A Roman supplì, which you may have tried as an antipasto to your pizza, pales in comparison to a Sicilian arancina. At Mizzica, try the traditional one ‘al ragù’ with peas, carrots and meat ragù, the ones with ham and mozzarella, and the ones with eggplant or spinach filling.

3) Gelati and granite. Even for what concerns ice cream and water-ice, the Sicilian versions are simply superior to their Roman counterparts. You may want to try the lemon, coffee, pistachio, or gelsi flavored granite. Additionally, Sicilians like to eat both with a brioche (a sweet bun) and that too is a sign of cultural superiority!

There are two locations. The other one is at: Via Lucrezio Caro, 14/22.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Mizzica | Snacks | Cannolo € 2.00
Via Catanzaro 30/36 | S.Lorenzo & Pigneto | +390644236024
07:00 – 22:00 daily

Momart is the coolest place to have aperitivo around Piazza Bologna area and because it is close to university “La Sapienza” there is always full of people, particularly guys aged 18-25 years old.

The restaurant has 3 rooms inside and a covered garden which is heated during the winter, and because of there are often photographic exhibitions, the inside furniture is really nice and also the bathroom is very special!

The restaurant is open from early morning till 02:00 to cover every meal-time of the day (from September 2008), from breakfast till dinner. I think the best time to visit it is during “aperitivo time”, from 17:30 till 21:00.

Once inside you give your name to the girl at the entrance and she calls you and assigns a table. You choose your drink and go to fill your plate with as much food as you want: I really recommend pizza wooden oven cooked and “supplì” because they are cooked uninterruptedly, so they are always hot, but also pasta and little sandwiches are very good!

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Momart | Bars, Snacks, Restaurants (Lunch) | Lunch buffet € 10.00
Viale XXI Aprile 19 | S.Lorenzo & Pigneto | +390686391656
07:00 – 02:00 daily

TIP: every month, on the 4° Sunday, the Pigneto area boast its vintage market, a real must. Make sure you match it with a pit-stop at Primo!

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Sandwiched between via Casilina and via Prenestina, not far from the city center, the Pigneto is Rome’s new buzz-district. With its narrow streets and characteristic, low-rise houses it is laid-back but rough-edged.

” Primo” is the new Pigneto’s star, at least for me, as I happily come from another area to experience it!

Open from breakfast till late evening, Primo will feed you throughout the day.
Style and substance are perfectly blended here: the flair is warehouse-chic but relaxed, whilst the food – creative, respectful and delicious! – is served by a young crowd of waiters/waitresses in jeans and shirt. Ask their help to choose your wine: the list is arranged in alphabetical order and if you’re not an expert may get lost into it.
They’ll be also happy to inform you about any specialty out of the menu!

Make sure you’ll leave some space for the dessert: if you are crazy about them (I am!), Primo won’t disappoint you (semifreddo alla vaniglia being my favourite, but the menu is updated quite often).

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Primo | Restaurants (Creative) | Meal € 35.00
Via del Pigneto 46 | S.Lorenzo & Pigneto | +39067013827
Tue – Sun from breakfast till late evening

When I crave fried sardines I go to this typical Roman trattoria. This is a quite ancient one right in front of the city’s main train track, that’s where it takes its name from.

All my friends actors love eating here, it’s well-known among the Roman jetset. It’s in the so-called students neighborhood, but very few of them come here. It’s a family-run restaurant. The furniture matches its name: you’ll be sitting on tram seats. The place is certainly very original.

Nothing like it in the entire city of Rome.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Tram Tram | Restaurants (Roman) | Meal from € 30.00
Via dei Reti 44/46 | S.Lorenzo & Pigneto
Tue – Sun lunch from 12:30 & dinner from 22:30