San Lorenzo restaurant

San Lorenzo Restaurant: Another Side of Rome

Formula Uno is something of an institution in the neighbourhood. This San Lorenzo restaurant and pizzeria is always amazingly crowded and at the same time it is probably the scruffiest and cheapest eatery in central Rome, as well as one of the tastiest. Located at the bottom of lively via degli Equi, Formula Uno is always full, so whatever the day, prepare to queue outside at least for a quarter of an hour. Do not be put off by the simple interior of this San Lorenzo restaurant, the local atmosphere and quality of the pizza are worth a visit. The menu is printed on paper place mats, and comprises typical Roman fried starters such as "fiori" and "supplì", along with pizzas and sweets. Closed on Sundays. As already said, there is a huge variety of different kind of restaurants in San Lorenzo, so if you’re looking for something more sophisticated, you can try L’Arancia Blu, a vegetarian San Lorenzo restaurant, that not only has a varied menu and a great wine selection, but entertains its customers with live music on the first three Mondays of every month. If you’ll happen to go there on the fourth Monday, you’ll have the chance to do a very interesting guided wine tasting. This San Lorenzo restaurant, which takes its name from the planet earth, seen as a blue orange by the first explorers on the moon, is open every evening. Even if this is mainly a student district, you can  also bump into some very fine restaurants in San Lorenzo, such as Uno e Bino. Under the sign "Vini e Olii", in via degli Equi, you'll discover one of the best kept secrets in San Lorenzo. Behind what appears to be a closed entrance to a shop, a tiny restaurant is hidden. The best traditional Roman dishes are served here, along with a touch of nouvelle cuisine, all prepared with selected organic ingredients. In this peculiar San Lorenzo restaurant main courses include a special "variazioni di piccione" (variations on pigeon), and among desserts you cannot help but be stunned by a tobacco mousse on a rum-flavoured jelly with a coffee sauce and chocolate flakes, or a yogurt foam in a sablé basket on a citrus jelly and liquorice toffee. And don't forget the rich cheese tray. In the wine list there are about two hundred bottles, including several independent and rare Italian labels. This San Lorenzo restaurant has only 34 seats, so reservation is recommended. Another fairly peculiar place, among the many restaurants in San Lorenzo, is SAID, a former chocolate factory, now turned into one of the most stylish eateries of the neighbourhood. Set in a 1920s chocolate factory, where vintage machinery and designer armchairs glow in the candlelight, this atmospheric San Lorenzo restaurant and café is open all day long, during the day you can taste nine types of hot chocolate (try the cardamom variety), pralines, cakes and guilt-proof salads and quiches. Around 7pm here you can taste one of finest “aperitivo” in Rome, with an incredible buffet where chocolate features as the main character also in salty dishes, same happens in the dining menu, which is also accompanied by a very interesting wine list. The adjoining shop stocks Said's sublime cocoa concoctions, including Japanese pink-tea pralines. Prices here are not as student friendly as in the rest of the district, but if you’re looking for a more sophisticated San Lorenzo restaurant, this is the place for you.