The Esquiline Hill for Gastronomic Travelers

Great post. We lived in the neighborhood for a year and a half on Via Merulana (recently relocating to Paris), and spent quite a bit of time in most of the places you mentioned.

I actually never tried the beer at Da Danilo…they have a very good wine list (and Danilo and the waiter Mario are very knowledgeable). In addition to their Carbonara and Cacio e Pepe (which are very good), I’d highly recommend the stozzapretti (with the sauce changing with the season). And if the puntarelle is in season, they do a great version.

A couple other places in the neighborhood I’d suggest:

** La Cuccuma (Via Merulana 221) has good pizza al taglio, and their pizze tonde (obviously available only at night) I think rivals some of the best in Rome.

** Da Nino across the street does the cucina Romana classics quite well, particularly cacio e pepe and amatriciana.

** Hostaria del Buongustaio around the corner on Via Buonarroti is an interesting case. The place is never full and doesn’t have a lot of apparent charm, though the owner is very friendly (I believe he was a chef somewhere else in his younger days). Some of the dishes are underwhelming. Others, though, are really very good. His cacio e pepe (which he’s very proud of) is terrific. And, I can’t pass up his cozze (mussels) if he has them, in a tomato broth with ample red pepper. His roasted potatoes are really good (a seemingly simple thing that many restaurants get wrong).