Prati is full of delicious restaurants to suit all tastes and price tags but I have a soft side for affordable, local cuisine. My go-to Roman osteria near the Vatican is Osteria dell’Angelo, a very typical, no-frills kind of restaurant. The prices for each course are listed on your paper placemat: first courses € 8, second courses € 10, side dishes € 4. The menu is written in “Romanesco” (Roman slang), so you will see plenty of R’s interjected on the menu. For instance, if you want wine you will need to order “er vino mio” which translates to “my wine” – house wine only available by the bottle (€ 10). It’s the kind of place where the waiters tell you the daily menu orally and by course, a habit that is slowly dying out in the city.
At lunch you will see men in suits who work at nearby offices (yes, many Italians still take leisurely lunch breaks) and at night the restaurant is buzzing. At dinner the fixed price is € 25 and includes each course so you are sure to leave full and happy. You will finish your meal with vin santo (sweet wine) and the best ciambelline al vino (cookies made of wine) I’ve ever tasted!
