5 of the best non-Italian restaurants in Rome

Alright, alright: we know how much Italian cuisine is loved worldwide, and of course that one of the main reason to visit Rome is to taste its delicious dishes, whether traditional from the city’s long history or exquisitely experimental.

Even us at From Home to Rome, though, need to change from time to time and enjoy eating specialities from other parts of the world. You may be feeling the same way, particularly if you’ve been staying in the Eternal City for quite a while!

Luckily, we’re in the right city: you may be surprised, in fact, to learn that Rome has quite a lively international restaurant scene!

Rome’s “surprising” ethnic eateries

Why do we keep saying that it’s surprising that Rome has ethnic eateries? Because the large majority of tourists in the city stay in its more central areas, where they won’t exactly get to experience any of them. That’s because real estate prices are too high by the most famous landmarks, so family-run restaurants (including the up and coming ones, or those from foreign restaurateurs) opt to open in the suburbs. When we say “suburbs” we don’t mean the literal edge of Rome either: take a walk or a subway ride 15 minutes in any direction to find surprising places, as well as some of the best rated hang-outs around.

Anyway, because most visitors are unaware of these details, they will be… surprised by the amount and level of said restaurants.

We picked some that we ourselves enjoy – to be clear, no one has paid to be listed in this post! At the time of writing, every restaurant in this small list is working and offers a delivery service, and we sincerely hope that they stay in business at the end of the Coronavirus crisis.

Feeling like eating Chinese food? Try here first!

Famed Chinese restaurateur Sonia Hang and her very own Hang Zhou tend to be featured on every blog about international cuisine in Rome, but we feel like other places deserve the attention now – she’s very established and they are not!

If you crave some great Chinese dishes and don’t mind spicy, try Sichuan in the Monti district (ironically is is in the same place for Sonia’s first restaurant location in the city). This is just a stone’s throw from our rental apartments on Via Mecenate or Via dei Capocci. The menu has lots of different choices, with a few options for vegetarians too. We recommend always checking out the “Specials of the Day” board right by the door.

Sichuan – Via di S. Martino Ai Monti, 33 (walking distance from Termini or the Cavour subway stations).
As an alternative: try Xiao Shenyang on Via di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, 91 C (Esquilino area)

When sushi is on your mind in Rome

Still in the neighborhood? Don’t stray too far from Marigold because actually, one of the best Japanese restaurants in Rome is just a couple of streets over. Sushi Sen blends traditional Japanese staples with local ingredients (including locally sourced fish and vegetables) which is refreshing – not just to the palate!

Sushi Sen – Via Giuseppe Giulietti, 21A (a short walk from the Piramide subway stop)
As an alternative: try Rokko on Passeggiata di Ripetta, 15 (right by our own accommodation!)

Giving some love to East-African food

There’s an abundance of Eritrean/Ethiopian restaurants in Rome, and they’re all equally good, but our choice goes to the oddly named Sahara, which has been in business for over 25 years and has won a myriad of prizes for their hearty dishes.

Sahara – Viale Ippocrate, 43 (minutes from the Policlinico subway stop, or seconds from the line 3/19 tram stop on Viale Regina Margherita/Policlinico)
As an alternative: try Mesob on Via Prenestina, 118 (Pigneto area)

For those who miss their dose of hygge

Marigold, right at the border between Testaccio and Ostiense, is not easily defined: here you can have breakfast (their cinnamon twirls are to die for), lunch and dinner, you can buy your bread or pastries and, finally, have fresh pasta or worldwide treats by way of baos, ramen, ajoblanco soup and whatever husband and wife Domenico Cortese and Sofie Wochner (he’s Italian, she’s Danish) feel like cooking: their menus are super-seasonal and inspiration can arise from anywhere. Which is something we LOVE.

Marigold – Via Giovanni da Empoli, 37 (a short walk from the Piramide subway stop)
As an alternative: try Blå Kongo on Via Ofanto, 6 (Piazza Fiume area)

How about some Lebanese tonight?

The Lebanese and Syrian traditions are also heavily featured in Rome. We are in love with the food at Beirut, over in the Pigneto district. The ultimate comfort food!

Beirut – Piazza dei Condottieri, 6
As an alternative: try Layalina on Piazza delle Crociate, 21 (Verano cemetery/Piazza Bologna area)

A note on non-featured international restaurants

There are so many different foreign communities in Rome, but we couldn’t have possibly mentioned them all. We didn’t list any Mexican, Thai, Indian, Greek, Korean places (and so many more), which doesn’t mean they are terrible restaurants – on the contrary, their quality is consistently high and they are quite easy to find.

One trick to locate good restaurants (apart from browsing TripAdvisor) is strolling through neighborhoods with a higher expat population: some include the area around the central station at Termini, or the Esquilino, Pigneto and Centocelle districts. You will find some true gems there!

Are you looking for something in particular? Email us!

When it comes to great food, we always love to share tips (if you stayed at one of From Home to Rome’s apartments, you’ll know this if you’ve ever browsed one of our books): so if you’re in need of recommendations, send us an email, and we’ll be glad share some addresses!