Restaurants and shopping near the Vatican

Hi,

I would suggest the "Borgo" neighborhood. https://www.romeing.it/borgo-district-rome/
Borgo is the 14th historic district (Rione) of Rome.

Borgo Pio, and Borgo Angelico, and Borgo Vittorio are the three main streets (via)

Walking around to the rear of St. Peter's Basilica, you will come upon restaurants, small cafes, gift shops.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187791-d592403-Reviews-Borgo-Rome_Lazio.html

I would walk as far as you are able to find a decent restaurant. We didn't have long between the Papal Audience and a 1:00 tour, so we chose to eat very close, which was our worst meal on the trip.

A 15 minute walk from Piazza San Pietro is Osteria delle Commari where we have eaten several times with good results. Making a reservation would be a good idea just to be certain you get a table. There is an email address under “Contatti.” This gets you away from the horribly over-priced and poor quality places near the Vatican.

Several weeks ago, we stayed in an apartment to the south of the Vatican near the Roma S. Pietro terminal, and the owner of the apartment recommended I San Pietrini Ristorante to us. It is a neighborhood restaurant with reasonable prices. The food and service was good and reasonably priced. We enjoyed the pizza, pasta, and salads. It is 4-6 blocks from the Vatican and off the tourist beaten path. You might want to check it out on Google Maps. Also, I don’t know how crowded it may be at lunch, we ate there two times in the evening. A reservation might be helpful if your time is short.

To get there from the Vatican exit Piazza San Pietra to the south (same side as tourist office and Fontana del Berniti) onto Piazza del Sant’uffizio and use the underground tunnel under Via di Porta Cavalleggeri onto Via delle Fornaci. Restorante I San Pietrini is about 2 blocks to the south at Via delle Foraci 89.

Several block away is a very good bakery (Panificio Fornaci on Via Paolo II, 12) with very good pizza on focaccia bread. The bread and pastries are also good. It is small with no tables and a takeout place.
For good gelato and frozen yogurt try Capitan Cono on Via di Porta Cavelleggeri.