Eat near Vatican

Look for places at least 3-4 blocks from the vatican. These are the areas where you'll find nice, less touristy restaurants. Try to avoid anything close the vatican. If you're walking there, look for something along the way.

Donna

Try Hosteria Mozzicone at Borgo Pio, 180. Short walk from Vatican. We stayed in an apartment in the courtyard behind this restaurant for 1 week and ate here most of the time. Excellent food, locals eat here. Not so touristy as the restaurants with seating in the street. Try the grilled veal chop (WOW)or the Involtini (meat rolls). Pizza is very good too. I don't know when it opens--that might be a problem with your 1pm tour.

We just got a quick bite from a street vender and ate it on the way to the line.

Good place is "Vito e Dina's" at Via degli Scipioni, #50, very close to the Vatican. The USO Rome is near there and they recommend it to everyone. We ended up eating there twice as we liked it. The owner, Vito is quite a character. Good food, decent prices, which is not always easy to find in Rome.

Is there anywhere INSIDE the Vatican to grab a quick bite?
We are on a pretty tight schedule (finish the Museum/Sistine Chapel tour at 12:30pm, and then our Scavi tour begins at 1:45pm) and were hoping to just grab a quick sandwich or salad in between tours?

Yes, there's a little snack bar/restaurant inside the Vatican Museum. There's also plenty of little snack bar places outside the Vatican selling panini (sandwiches) and stuff like that. Plenty of pizza-by-the-slice places too.

Eat several blocks (or further) away from the Vatican, and be sure to look at the menu (prices) before you have a seat or order. There can be some real tourist traps and rip-offs if you don't watch out.

We also went to "Vito e Dina" in 2009. Everyone enjoyed it. Dino is a character and the food was very good. I am not sure about getting a bite prior to 1pm at this place. I am not sure when they open for lunch....

we went there after our morning tour of the Vatican museum. Spent an enjoyable leisurly lunch there.

Robert

The area around the Vatican, as it sounds like you know, is a complete culinary wasteland. Write this lunch off as a quickie, spend your time sightseeing, and indulge in a nice dinner instead. Right at Piazza Risorgimento, there are 2 places I usually recommend (and eat at often): Insalata Ricca (huge menu of many kinds of salad, plus pastas - the pesto is pretty good), and Duecento Gradi (lots of yummy panini, to go or to eat in). They're chains, but in this area, that also means they won't screw you over. Plus, the food is good and the prices are low. And as has been repeated before, DON'T get taken in by any menu-wielding host trying to get you to come inside.

Hope that helps!

Mandy

www.revealedrome.com

Unless that menu wielding host trying to get you to come in happens to be Vito from Vito e Dina's, then I would heartily recommend going in (or even better, eat outside).

Go south across the Tiber plus a couple of blocks as there are lots of places down the alleys in addition to restaurants right on Corso Vittorio Emmanule.

Jennifer, There ARE PLENTY of great places to eat in this area if you know where to look - and far cheaper (and less touristy) than those "across the river." Any of these are great:

La Rustichella, Via Angelo Emo,1

Dal Toscana, Via Germanico 58/60

Il Matriciano, Via Dei Gracchi, 55

Taverna Angelica, Piazza A. Capponi, 6

La Pancia Felice, Via di Porta Castello, 11/12

Hostario Dino & Tony, Via Leone IV, 60,

Siciliainbocca, Via E. Faa di Bruno 26

Osteria dell'Angelo, Via Bettolo, 24

Ristochicco Restaurant, Borgo Pio, 186

Piacere Molise, Via Candia 60,

Ru Yi, Via Valadier, 14

Antica Griglia Toscana, Via dei Gracchi 86

These are certainly far better than the cafteria in the Musuem. Some of these are a few blocks away... but well worth the walk! Again, around every "tourist" site you'll find poor restaurants open ALL DAY catering to the tourist. But you will find there are many GREAT restaurants in the Prati Area - we've eaten out in this area three to four times a week!

We found a great little restraunt which we thought was advertising a "buffet". The best place to eat when traveling with a 16 year old male. Sorry, I don't remember the name, but after you walked down the hill, turn right and on the left side of the street, on corner. You got to pick 2 or 3 things off the menu and drinks. Wonderful food and service. Very affordable. It was like an Italian potluck dinner. There was outdoor seating and I remember the kitchen was in the front of the restraunt and you can see chefs cooking from front door.