Grano
Price guide: Mid-range
Piazza Rondanini 53, Rome, 00186
Loading map...
#18 of 40
expert-rated restaurants in Rome- Recommended for:
- Couples, First-time travellers, Mature travellers, Singles, Relaxation
Best for Outdoor dining - Expert review of Grano
Location is the trump card of this contemporary pasta restaurant.
Piazza Rondanini is simply ravishing: it’s the kind of picturesque centro storico piazza that you (probably) came to Rome for. On a corner, with tables outside in the square, stands this relaxed contemporary restaurant-trattoria, which as the name suggests, focuses on pasta (‘grano’ is grain, or wheat).
Food and drink:
The owners are both from southern Italy, and the cuisine reflects their origins. Pasta dishes like paccheri with squid and turnip tops take a starring role, but it’s not all carbs: they do a full range of starters, many quite light, and some meaty seconds like ossobuco, plus a few fishy options like rombo (turbot) baked with potatoes. Not everything is perfect – the cooking is competent rather than spectacular. But there are nice little touches like the homemade bread (last time I was here they served three types: with olives, with onions, and – my favourite - with walnuts and sultanas). And the wines on the decent list are great value for money: for example, a white La Segreta, from Sicilian producer Planeta, sells here for 13 euros; in a wine shop, you’d pay around €8 (in central Rome, markups on wine of less than 100 per cent are pretty rare).
Ambience:
Inside, the décor is of the updated trattoria variety, with soothing tones of white, grey green and beige, and shelves stocked with cookbooks (which you can buy). But in summer it’s the outside tables – on a raised terrace in the pretty piazza – that most people come for.
Service:
This is a real strong point: they’re extra simpatico in here, which makes a refreshing change in Rome.
Location:
It's halfway between the Pantheon and Piazza Navona, in the picturesque heart of the centro storico, on a pretty piazza.
Price advice:
Count on spending around 30-35 euros a head with wine for a starter, a pasta course and a shared contorno (side dish).
Tables to book:
In summer, request the ones outside in the square.
More information on Grano:
- Price guide:
- Type:
- Restaurant
- Food:
- Italian
- Address:
- Piazza Rondanini 53, Rome, 00186
- Telephone:
- 06 6819 2096
- Website:
- http://www.ristorantegrano.it
- Serves:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Opening times:
- Daily 12.30-3pm, 7.30pm-midnight.
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Reservations:
- Suggested
- Free tags / Keywords:
- Southern Italian, Al fresco
