Any recommendations would be very much appreciated even if just for an aperitivo. We are there for only 3 nights. Armondo is one of or restaurant pics and Emma per Katie Parla.
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Milan Italy
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Giangilberto from Milan here — and for once I get to hand over a personal favorite instead of a map. For your aperitivo, book Terrazza Borromini, the rooftop right above Piazza Navona: you sit with your drink literally face-to-face with Borromini's dome of Sant'Agnese, the piazza and the rooftops of Rome below. I've been more than once and it still gets me every time. Two rules: reserve ahead — the sunset slots go first, aim to be up there about an hour before sundown — and treat it as a splurge-with-a-view rather than a cheap spritz: you're paying for one of the best terraces in the city, and once in three nights it's absolutely worth it.
Your dinner instincts are solid. Small spelling note: it's Armando al Pantheon — a tiny institution, and tiny is the operative word: book weeks ahead, not days; if dinner is gone, try lunch — same kitchen, easier table. Emma is a good Katie Parla pick, proper Roman thin-and-crispy pizza near Campo de' Fiori — reserve that one too for normal dinner hours.
One cultural note so the aperitivo lands right: Rome doesn't do Milan's big buffet ritual — it's a well-made drink, a few snacks, and a beautiful place to sit. If one evening you want the opposite of the rooftop: squeeze into one of the old standing-room enoteche in the lanes around Campo de' Fiori — wine by the glass, locals, zero view, all atmosphere. Do both and you've had the two faces of Rome.