Il Gabriello

Our favorite meal in Rome! Great food, great service, great all around.
My family had dinner here on our last night in Rome. We didn’t know what to expect — our meals in Rome had ranged from horrible to pretty good, and another highly recommended restaurant on Tripadvisor had been one of the worst meals of my life. We were so happy to leave Rome on such a high/​delicious note. Sure it’s packed with tourists, but there’s a reason why. **Reservations a must**
Highlights: Seafood risotto, lamb.
Skip: Tomato-​based vegetarian pasta.

My husband and I tried coming here for dinner on a weeknight and were turned away because we didn’t have reservations. We decided that must mean something good so we made reservations for the following night. I’m so glad we were able to eat here because it was definitely a memorable meal! We tried:
Shrimp & zucchini risotto, 14 euros — amazing! We got this as an «app» to share and it came out split in two bowls. Portion was generous considering I only ate half the entrée, and it was the perfect amount! Risotto, no matter how good, has its limits on how much can be consumed — it’s just a heavy food. The risotto was cooked just right and the flavors and ingredients of this dish couldn’t have been better. Fresh zucchini and shrimp, and a good amount too — I want to say we each got at least ten shrimp! It was so good I’m salivating just thinking about it now.
Lamb chops, 15 euros — very good! I think I got six pieces and they were really meaty and tender! If I had to choose though, this was my least favorite of the three dishes we tried. Just not was wow-​ing as the others. The lamb was seasoned well though, but it just didn’t compare to the beef we also got.
Grilled beef fillet with green pepper sauce, 21 euros — the BEST! The meat was unbelievably tender — think, melt in your mouth. My husband and I were thinking it might be the best steak we’ve ever had. It was THAT good. Just a note though — the pepper sauce is actually black pepper, so it wasn’t as expected, but it didn’t matter. it was delicious and we definitely had a sad moment when the last piece of beef was consumed.
Overall, loved our dinner. Food and service were great. The only kicker — they give you new/​more bread after each course. but be careful because you actually end up getting charged for each one separately! Thankfully we only got two, but wouldn’t want to spend more than 4 euros on just bread. Just don’t eat it all and they won’t «give» you more.
When in Rome, go to Il Gabriello and get generously portioned, amazing, fine dining food at reasonable prices. But don’t forget to make reservations first!

This was my favorite dining experience in Italy, by far.
The wine cellar setting is enchanting, and the ambience is welcoming.
The food was amazing: I started with the classic prosciutto & melon, enjoyed the shrimp risotto and finished with the caramel panna cotta. Everything was delicious, and the house wine was quite nice.
But best of all was the top-​notch service. I arrived without a reservation and they graciously accommodated me. They didn’t have to, but they went out of their way. The staff was polite and attentive, and food service was paced well. I can’t speak highly enough about the entire experience.

Our best meal in Rome. Amazing service, great atmosphere, fresh beautiful food! Had the crudo, seafood pasta, veal in orange sauce… And then profiteroles!!! Everything was delicious and very reasonably priced. Will likely go back again this week for our last dinner.

Terrific meal, intimate underground ‘wine cellar’ atmosphere. The house wine was the best we’d had on our entire trip.

This was the best restaurant experience my husband and I had in Rome!
We went based on Rick Steve’s recommendation.
1. The service is amazing! Our waitress was super friendly and helpful.
2. We had the buffalo mozzarella caprese salad for appetizer. It was delicious.
3. We also had the artichoke appetizer. Get one for each person because you’ll be fighting each other for more! It’s super delicious!
4. I had the pesto pasta which was excellent.
5. My husband had the steak with green pepper sauce. He was craving meat after eating pasta for the past week and it hit the spot.
6. The house red wine was excellent, and so cheap.
7. For dessert we had fruits stuffed with ice cream. It was interesting and tasty but I would try something else for next time.
8. The ambience is really nice and relaxed.
Tip: I would definitely make a reservation because it’s a pretty popular place.
Overall, considering the service, food quality, and price — this place is definitely worth coming.

What a disappointment. Our pasta was cold and hard (not al dente– like chicken wire) and the garlic sauce was missing the garlic (whoops). The star is for the amazing location– ROME! Need I say more…

This was our last night in Rome and had seen write ups in Unilocal and in Rick Steve so we figured, lets go have some fun. Was thrilled that there were more locals there than tourists it appeared. It is located in a very romantic downstairs area with hip pictures lining the old roman walls.
For food we had a great cold shrimp and potato appetizer that was wonderful. For mail course we had sliced fillet mignon and turbo cod… both exceptional and cooked perfectly. Finally for desert we had strawberries and lemon ice-cream…all this with a good bottle of wine was a perfect night.

Simply amazing! The ravioli with chicory and walnuts in shrimp sauce was out of this world!

My husband & I came here on the last night in Rome after a recommendation from our concierge. The place itself is small, so you definitely should make a reservation. Despite being so close to the spanish steps/​all of the commotion, it’s nice to be able to walk down the stairs of the restaurant into a cozy, romantic space with the exposed brick/​arches making for a relaxing dining experience. From the moment we walked in, everyone that worked in the restaurant was so nice– hands down, the best customer service we received in Italy.
We started with the prosciutto di parma, buffalo mozzarella and bruschetta– all were incredibly fresh and delicious (consistent with what you’d expect from most restaurants in the area). For mains, I ordered the spaghetti all’amatriciana– it was good, the sauce had a great flavor with the bacon– I wouldn’t say it was the best pasta dish I’d ever had, but it was good. My husband had the saltimbocca– the veal was so flavorful– a well-​executed classic dish. For dessert, we had cappuccinos and went with the black truffle tartufo– it was good, I wasn’t able to appreciate the black truffle flavor, but it was good nonetheless. We also went with the chocolate cake which was very rich and decadent (I would choose this over the tartufo– however, together, they went very well!). The night ended with our choice of on-​the-​house sweet wine or limoncello– we went with the limoncello which was the perfect end to our evening.
Another post had mentioned that they have rapid-​fire service in order to flip tables fast, we hadn’t experienced this at all. I will admit, in comparison to other restaurants in Italy, it was surprising that in the beginning portion of our meals, they were so on the ball seeing what we wanted to order, then if we wanted dessert etc. However, once we received our limoncello, they left us to enjoy each other’s company, not once making us feel as though they wanted us to leave. The meal itself was paced very well– all-​in-​all, we spent almost 3 hours dining. The prices weren’t horrible either– for our entire meal, including a bottle of wine– it totaled to: 128 euro.
Overall, it wasn’t the most amazing food we ate, however, given the atmosphere/​customer service, it was an enjoyable meal.

Il Gabrielo is dependable, flavorful and colorful. The setting is very charming, located in a basement featuring arches from the 14^th century as it’s ceiling. We went with a group of 8 friends for a birthday celebration and I was able to see and try 8 distinct dishes. They were all very well displayed, served in a friendly, quick manor with lots of flair, and followed up on quickly. Complimentary drinks after lunch were a plus. Loved the veal, lamb, branzino and several pasta dishes. Definitely going again.

My girlfriend and I had a wonderful experience at il Gabriello! Despite the mixed reviews on Unilocal we decided to give it a shot (it gets great reviews on a competing travel review website which shall remain nameless).
The space is lovely – upscale but not pretentious. It’s quiet and romantic – a nice change from the many touristy restaurants nearby (no noisy scooters motoring by or rose sellers interrupting your meal). I definitely recommend getting reservations or showing up right when they open.
We started with the bresaola, which came with an arugula salad. It was light and a wonderful starter. We shared a couple of pasta dishes for our first course. The spaghetti all’amatriciana was delicious – a savory tomato sauce with bacon. The sedani carbonara (a tube-​shaped pasta like rigatoni) was peppery and savory – yet not too heavy, despite the egg and cream in the sauce. For our second course we split the saltimbocca, which was phenomenal.
We split a lovely bottle of rosso di montalcino and for dessert shared a delicious bowl of lemon sorbet and strawberries. Of course we washed dessert down with a couple glasses of limoncello. Our entire meal was just under 90 euros – which we thought was quite a good value. I don’t know about the other reviewers’ mixed experiences, but everyone else in the restaurant seemed happy and pleased. We never felt rushed and the servers were very friendly and helpful. Il Gabriello is a great spot for both locals and tourists.

A great go to restaurant near the Spanish Steps. The seafood linguine is delicious. Great food, friendly and attentive service.

Unilocal has just started opening up pages for restaurant reviews in Italy. I have to disagree with the other post by an American about this restaurant. Il Gabriello is a fabulous escape from the usual pasta/​secondi places in Rome. There is true creativity here, not just more bland offerings of the classics of Roman cuisine. The flank steak was an extreme pleasure; the waiter warned us it would be rare – and it was glorious. I had the Saltimbocca alla Romana – veal scallops cooked with white wine, sage and prosciutto. It melted in my mouth. The presentation was creative and the ambiance here is magnificent – you are in a classic cellar with warm brick walls and soft jazz. Be sure to make reservations. This meal will be one of the best you have in Rome.

Il Gabriello is actually a hard restaurant to review because it has good and bad qualities which means its inconsistent and you might avoid the bad and be near 5 stars. Executive brief — its a good looking place with inconsistent food, rapid fire service (for Rome) that focuses on flipping tables fast.
The good is a great ambiance and design, its upscale, romantic, classy but without being stuffy and pretentious. The prices are good for the type of restaurant (minus the hidden bread tax of course).
The inconsistent — the food is definitely up and down. For example we had 2 caprese salads — one was made with obviously unripe tomatoes that any good restaurant would have easily rejected (this demonstrates their overall of speed over quality) while the other was very good.
Baked seabass excellent — prawns not but overall the food is 3 ½ stars.
The service is part of their rapid fire plan — not a lot of pleasantries (but not rude). This dishes are served very fast. Roman dinners are normally a very drawn out experience but not the case here.
The bad — they charge for bread per basket and keep refilling it without asking and charging per bread refill. I have never heard of such chicanery and knock them a star for that bs.