Flavio Al Velavevodetto: Roman Osteria
Aside from being a mouthful, Flavio Al Velavevodetto is a fantastic restaurant serving up Roman classics in an interesting environment. If you reserve ahead of time at their Testaccio location, you can eat in their underground wine cellar. The food is made with high quality ingredients and sourced locally from the restaurant's own resources, while the wine collection is robust and affordable.
I'd heard so much about Flavio's (from Gillian's Lists, Elizabeth Minchilli, and Katie Parla) that this restaurant was at the top of my list. After reserving a table, I headed there with a friend visiting Rome, who wanted to try ALL the classics. We collectively shared a bottle of their decent house wine, a salad and giant mozzarella di bufala ball to start, followed by the Ravioli alla Velavevodetto for my friend and Amatriciana for me. Everything was delicious and the only complaint (from my friend) was that he found the ravioli a little too cheesy after the mozzarella. And that's a compliment in my book.
Their specialities include the four famous Roman pastas (Carbonara, Gricia, Amatriciana and Cacio e Pepe), oxtail (coda), tripe (trippa), artichokes (carciofi) and a fantastic tiramisu.
It's now become my go-to food spot in Testaccio, when I'm not grabbing a pizza from da Remo's. Flavio's does Roman classics very well and has a great story to back it up. If you're not set on dining under the terracotta hill of Testaccio, you can also check out their location in Prati (Piazza Quiriti).
