Ai Spaghettari

Came with a group of students on a study abroad trip, and they were very accommodating for our large welcome dinner. We had many appetizers, and two types of pasta as our main course.
Did not feel touristy on the inside, and be sure to order the house wine.

This is the perfect neighborhood place in Trastevere. So good we are there twice in 4 nights. We stumbled upon it late one Wednesday night after a late arrival by train — it was packed with a lively crowd of Romans and a few internationals, all sitting at the sidewalk tables. We ordered the carbonara and cacio e pepe, as well as a mushroom bruschetta. It was all amazing. When we returned, we got the mushroom bruschetta again and this time I got the vuongole and my partner got the fettuccine with porcini mushrooms. Again, terrific. Added bonus: this place is right in the thick of things by far away from most of the most touristy places in central Trastevere. Prices are very reasonable, too. If I lived here this would be my neighborhood spot.

Delicious, nicely priced, and tucked away from the crowds.

This is the best restaurant I went to in Rome. Nice ambiance, great food and great service. I was very disappointed with not only the food but the quality of food and service in Rome. Everywhere we went was terrible and expensive. Being from San Francisco, I know I have a sophisticated palate, but I was so disappointed with the food scene in Rome. The food was so underwhelming, expensive, even more expensive the SF, the most expensive city in the US, and the service is atrocious.
This place was great. We had several appetizers, the caccio e pepe and dessert. The best tiramisu I had in Rome was here.
Our server was so nice and accommodating. I had the flu and wasn’t feeling well, so I couldn’t finish my dish, I could barely eat it, but it was delicious (fish with eggplant-​excellent dish) He was the ONLY waiter to ask me «Is everything ok? should I send it back? Do you want something else? » They even gave us proceso after the meal because it was my birthday. The area is very cute (It’s a tourist friendly and hip spot, stay away from the ghetto and dangerous alley in San Giovanni!!)
if you’re in Rome, have dinner here. The food and service is great, high quality food, and the prices are affordable. Free wifi too!

Amazing local spot. My husband had the rissotto with scampi and it was excelllent!!! This is the kind of flavor you expect in Italy and the price was so affordable! Fine cuisine at local prices. Not to be missed.

My family and I give this place a 5 star rating! We had dinner there as a friend recommended it to us, she said it was one of her favourite places in Rome. We were not disappointed! Service was rush but great and polite, food was amazing! The pizza of the house was my favourite pizza in Rome and the pasta with seafood was truly incredible!!! Highly recommend!

wow, this place is terrible and expensive. i should’ve known better with a sign that big and bright. first some borderline inedible bread (5 slices) was placed on the table; the hungriest one in my party quickly gobbled it up anyway. the red wine was nearly frozen. i had some seafood pasta dish; of the *20* mussel and clam shells on the plate, *zero* contained food, and *4* mussels and *zero* clams were found hiding in the pasta. there was, however, a sickening abundance of microscopic and severly overcooked shrimp littered throughout. to boot, each bite featured a small piece of smashed shell, giving quite a jolt to the teeth. i got the impression that my meal was unlovingly ladeled from an abused vat of the same, which was very likely stewing for some days before i arrived in rome… at least it was salty. the others got dessert (i had learned my lesson and requested nothing further); one-​layer tiramisu with surface area equivalent to that of an index card, 5 euros of disappointment. but the best part of course was when the bill came, and it turned out that the bread that came first – which we of course did not order – cost… 1 euro *per slice*! steer clear of this most embarrassing excuse for a restaurant.

What a disappointment. We asked for a simple margherita and something came that resembled a pizza, was as hard as a shoes, and tasted like … Nothing. As far as I can remember, it was the only time I couldn’t finish a pizza in one sitting. There are plenty of much better, much cheaper places in Trastevere that offer a much friendlier and cozier ambience.

This place isn’t good at all. The service awful, the food is barely good, and it’s definitely over priced. We sat outside which is just okay due to all the cars and motorbikes that come along. The waitress got my order wrong! I asked her which of two different dishes is better and she said they are both good so then she described both dishes I went ahead with the non tomato sauce. When another girl came to give me my food it was the tomato sauce which I said I didn’t order that dish. She went to our waitress and the waitress said I ordered it! I know I told her I ordered the other one. She kept saying no that even when she repeated what we ordered she said it was this dish. I told her that I only heard her say the appetizer and his pizza. She didn’t know what to do which we told her that we wanted the dish I originally ordered! She said she would have to pay for this dish that I ordered and didn’t want! When we got the bill both dishes were on there and we had to pay for it! We just wanted to get out of the terrible place! The dish I ordered wasn’t even good for being 4 stars! I would never go there again and would definitely tell people to stay away! It was the worst experience I’ve had in a restaurant anywhere in the world!

Went to this restaurant on our last night of being in Rome, and a disappointing way to end the holiday.
We started off with the fried zucchini which were nice, but battered way too heavily, not like the traditional Roman recipe. I then had a seafood spaghetti, which, lacking in taste was floating in olive oil to the point of being almost inedible. Others I was with had pizza and the lasagna, and commented that it was nothing special.
Overall a mediocre meal, there are definitely better places to eat in the Trastavere.

Draußen sitzen und leckere Antipasti, Nudeln, Fisch, Fleisch, Pizza und Wein genießen. Pasta wirklich al dente und nicht mit Soße zugeklatscht. Lamm mit grünen Spargel perfekt gegrillt und abgeschmeckt. Tipp: Unbedingt Pizza bestellen — super dünner knuspriger Teig mit phantasievollem Belag, z.B. Zucchiniblüten oder mit Salsiccia und trockenen Pilzen. Sitze gerade gemütlich im Restaurant, glücklich und satt nach einer ausgedehnten Citytour in Rom und poste dies gerade, weil sie haben auch noch free WiFi :)

How relaxing and wonderful it was to eat on the sidewalk café and just watch the world go by after walking around Rome and Trastevere all day.
I had something called the Ai spaghettari salad which was tuna fish in olive oil, some buffalo mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, arugala with a light olive oil vinagarette dressing. Very good and something I can make back in Phoenix at home.
I drank wine – no sulfates so I didn’t get sick on it like in the US – and just sat there. And, of course, you get the usual bums begging for money then which adds to the interest.
Rome is, yes, an experience, but staying in Trastevere is really like you are a part of the city and living there permanently. Best decision I made was to stay around Trastevere. Do some homework and see if it’s for you, too, but for me I plan to always stay around Trastevere with all it’s restaurants, shops and nightlife if you are interested in that.

This is our local go-​to. We have been many times for lunch and dinner and sampled most of their typical roman pasta dishes as well as their pizzas– both options are consistently delicious. We bring our out of town guests here too.
My favorite dishes here include the carbonara, the pizza «ai spaghettari» (with an egg on top– a must!) and the lamb is exceptional.
We often come here with our toddler and he is warmly welcomed. The evening staff is especially sweet to him.
I wouldn’t call this a touristy place although they do accommodate them. I have observed a mix of patrons including many locals.

Excellent place for Fetuccine!!! Thanks!!!
Nice area for walikng. So everything you can eat you’ll burn it for sure.
Good place for family!!!

Recommended to us, popular with locals, almost no tourists. Great place to eat authentic Roman food. Pasta, fish, pizza, desert all very tasty. Nice restaurant and location to sit outside, but also inside. On top very good value for money.

Ate at a very touristy place for lunch so by comps this was a great meal… couple pastas, a tuna salad and a pizza hit the spots for the three of us… tiramisu was yumbo… waited a bit for the pay deal but street was lively by then so did not mind so much… Trastevere was hopping so… walked to Tiber and that’s where we’ll be tomorrow.

Ai Spaghettari was our very first food stop in Roma so we were giddy with excitement to see what they have to offer. The language barrier is difficult, but the servers persevered in helping us (slowing down helps and if you speak Spanish, they catch bits and pieces from listening to that). This is a very sweet and cozy restaurant tucked away in la Piazza di San Cosimato (there’s a LOT to do in this area, btw).
We ordered an eggplant pizza, risotto and a shrimp pasta. All 3 were all right, but not amazing, and the prices were very affordable.
There were quite a few flies that flew around our food and then we decided we were really finished once one of these flies dove straight into our wine and then proceeded to swim around in it.

Based on my Italian fellow Unilocalers this place is a 3? For me it was an absolute stunner! After visiting Vatican City meeting with some representatives I was starving and a buddy of mine who gives tours at the Vatican Museum suggested any place in Trastevere would provide ‘the best authentic Italian food’ which was about 7 to 10 minute taxi ride away during rush hour from the Vatican.
My hired car dropped me and my colleagues in a courtyard area in Trastevere and the neon lights of Ai Spaghettari called us in.
There is a beautiful front patio area with heaters but it was such a slow night they didn’t have the patio area open. Inside wasn’t to shabby as it was a very inviting Italian atmosphere. The waiter kindly suggested that everybody in my group start with Buffalo Mozzarella Cheese and Bruschette along with prosciutto and melon which is the staple starter. I ended up ordering the house Pizza the ‘Ai Spaghettari’ and so far this was ‘THE BEST PIZZA IVE EVER EATEN.’ What impressed me so much was that the service was great, the food was VERY AFFORDABLE, and everything was hand made upon ordering. I actually watched the chef kneed the dough and toss it through the air and into an oven of historic goodness. Molto buona, Il cibo è fantastico!
This area was truly authentic Italian atmosphere at it’s finest from the service to the ambiance.
Make it a point to try this place and go out of your way from the main stream tourist traps. You will be happy you did.
La vita buona e buona cucina!