Places to eat in Rome

There are lots of posts on this forum that deal with this. Try using the search function. Also, your definition of “reasonable” would help as what’s reasonable for one person might be a splurge for you. You’ll be eating pre-paid on your cruise so my suggestion would be to stretch a bit while in Rome-spend a little more, dine well. Your hotel is in a crummy neighborhood IMHO so don’t be wandering around there late at night looking to dine. Consider moving away from the train station. And, your post is in the wrong section so don’t expect many replies. This section is for reviews posted. You want to post your query in Q&A.

Most of Rome is a tourist area so avoid eating in Rome. Not realistic. Except for maybe a couple of hard core areas like the Spanish steps and the fountain, you are fine otherwise. The Target restaurant behind Hotel Aberdeen in nice. Don't remember the name but a nice restaurant on the north side of the square in front of the Opera house near the Sonya hotel. There are a many little restaurant in the Termini area where your hotel is. And the Steves' guidebook for Rome will have several recommendations in the Termini area.

PS Absolute nothing wrong with your area. We stay in that general area every time we are in Rome. It is very commercial and busy with lots of people coming and going from Termini and the buses in front of the station. Maybe extra worn with some trash and graffiti and some think it makes for a crummy neighborhood. I think it is more typical of Rome and it has an energy of a big city a lot of restaurants - big and small. We have walked around as late as midnight with no problems. In the process of looking at your hotel location I saw the restaurant I could not remember -- Ristorante del Giglio. Your will not go hungry.

We stayed our last night in Rome near Termini. Very convenient to the train station and not a bad location otherwise. We walked to Santa Maria Maggiore and the Liberation museum and tho we didn't use it, it was convenient to the metro. It was a busy area and we had no concerns about walking in the neighborhood, day or night. We stayed at Hotel Contila. Very reasonable. Directly across the street was a family owned restaurant that was very enjoyable.

Thanks for the restaurant recommendations. I've got them on my list to look for. It sounds like the neighborhood would be comparable to some of the New York/Boston neighborhoods I've stayed in during visits there. I'm glad to be near the metro. My next step is finding a good transportation map. I really enjoy taking the local transportation when I travel.

IMO, one good advantage or reason to stay in the Termini area, is big bus center at Termini. So, if you are somewhere deep in the city and bus goes by with Termini on front of the bus or xxxx via Termini you know that the bus is safe to get on because it is headed to Termini and you don't have to know the exact route since a high percentage of the bus route run through Termini.

Thanks for everyone's input.

Take metro, bus or even the cable car that runs through the area of Trastevere (one of R.Steves fave areas). We ate dinner twice @ same place (Listed in one of his old guide books). Place is called Trattoria Carlo Menta. Dinner was plentiful, great & CHEAP! Place is packed. Roasted chicken & salad was my fave. You can even walk if in vicinity of Forum but it’s a hike.

We had a couple of really great meals in Rome at the end of October. Bottega Tredici, which offers really inventive, delicious dishes, and Antico Arco which also features new twists on classic favorites. Service at both places was top notch, and while they weren't budget restaurants, we felt the value was excellent and the tab reasonable. For reference, though, we're not huge eaters and didn't have 3-course meals. At Tredici we each had a main dish (my duck was out-of-this-world, and my husband lamb was delicious), shared a great dessert, and had a bottle of wine. At Antico Arco, we each had a first course, then a pasta (my carbonara was great, but intense, and I was sorry not to have ordered the egg yolk ravioli) -- they gave us each a small sample of the other's past, very nice touch, and were too full for dessert but they brought us each a small sample of sorbet. We shared a bottle of wine, and the server didn't make us feel bad for going low end. Then, noticing that we were eyeing the bottles of next to our booth, the server wordlessly poured two small glasses for us to try his favorite, gratis.

Great info! I will definitely look for those two restaurants.

Consider buying Elizabeth Minichilli’s EAT ROME app for $4.99, her recommended Rome restaurants in a variety of neighborhoods. She has written numerous books on food and Italy.
Rome is highly walkable so the App will help you while you are out and about.
I am another traveler who does not stay near train stations.Rome has many interesting areas to stay.