Il Sorriso

3.49 since I can’t justify rounding it up. Nothing is bad by any means… Just nothing is REALLY good…
The place we wanted to go to was closed, so we took a look at the menu and just settled in here. It’s located across the street from Hotel Medici and lit with fun strings of Christmas lights.
Service is very nice.
Food:
— Prosciutto and melon– ⁴⁄₅ it’s 9 Euros for 3 slices of melon covered in prosciutto. While as good as this dish anywhere (two ingredients are hard to mess up, people…), I don’t think it’s worth 9 Euro!
— Spaghetti bolognese– ⁴⁄₅ pasta was cooked nicely and sauce had plenty of meat in it. Could classify as a full meal.
— Seafood spaghetti– 3.5÷5 was good, but the dish wasn’t quite a pleasure to eat. The shrimp are so little that it’s more of a seasoning than a caloric item, and the sauce is used quite sparingly. They don’t skimp on mussels though, but I’d rather have four big mussels than 20 shells with a bite the size of a dime.
— Mixed meat dish– ³⁄₅ steak cooked to well done and quite a poor cut.
Again, not bad. Just not a meal I will remember or want to repeat.

Disappointing!
Lousy service, unimpressive food, overpriced for what you get.
Nor did we or our teen children enjoyed…
You can get the same menu for much less at every simple pizzeria at any street corner in Rome.

We stayed close by and this place was worth the visit! Prices were reasonable and the service was excellent! The seafood was excellent and the pasta was delicious! Here they ask you if you would like bread (and charge a small fee for it, but they do ask prior to even bringing it out). I highly recommend having dinner here, we sat outside and it was very nice with the lights. Menu is in both Italian and English, and the servers will be glad to answer any questions you have. We had a pitcher of house wine and it was great!

The restaurants you stumble upon often end up being the best! This is definitely the case with Il Sorriso. The food was absolutely phenomenal and my favorite restaurant in Rome. Let me start by saying that if the weather is nice, you have to sit outside. They have a cute outdoor patio with lights hanging down… it’s funny how something as simple as hanging lights can really bring a nice ambiance to a restaurant.
Now onto the food– we started with the caprese salad which wasn’t how I imagined it, but ended up being even better. This one came with lettuce, olives, carrots, tomatoes and balls of mozzarella. The olives really made it tasty and it wasn’t drenched in dressing. My friend ordered the spinach, ricotta, and truffle ravioli. She doesn’t care for truffle so substituted for marinara (crazy right?!) but it was still tasty. I stole a bite and noticed that it was heavy on the spinach which I liked. I ordered a meat tortellini (I can’t remember the exact menu name) which came in a creamy sauce. It was the perfect portion and very well seasoned! Most of the food I ate in Italy was over salted but these dishes hit the spot. There’s nothing like eating fresh pasta in Italy!
Our waitress was very friendly and attentive and helped us pick out a great wine. She didn’t even look annoyed when we asked several questions about the menu items. Overall this place was delicious and reasonably priced!

We ordered the clam appetizer dish and that was amazing. Comes with a huge portion more than enoughnfor 2.
Then we ordered the seafood (clam and mussel) pasta dish. Also enough for 2 with sharing. It was just OK nothing special. Not sure if we had too many clams already. Didn’t expect the appetizer dish to be so huge. Pasta was subpar compared to the other amazing restaurants we been to.
Outdoor seating is nice and romantically lit.
Near hotel so maybe it was just too tourist like for us. Lots of nonlocal diners.

We were looking for Henry Cow, but couldn’t find it (probably doesn’t exist here anymore) and stumbled upon this literally golden joint. The fairy lights really made this place such a beautiful dinner joint.
We started our meal with a clams antipasti and a serenade. The portions were huge and so so good. We had the fetuccini al sorriso and vongole pasta. The former was rich in seafood goodness, the latter so simple but magical with olive-​oiled clams. For dessert we had the grandma’s cake which was really unique yet homely, and the amazing panna cotta with chocolate. The service was awesome as well!
This restaurant is a gem (and opposite the famed the Pinsere pizza joint) and a must-​go, especially if you’re in the near via Veneto/​Termini area!

I was in Rome with my wife on honeymoon, stumbled across this place. I’m not really a fan of pasta (I know, what am I doing in Italy???), but this place was fantastic. We got the spaghetti carbonara and ravioli with mushrooms and truffle oil and they were fantastic. There’s no pizza on the menu, but the food and atmosphere is fantastic. And they speak English!

4 ½ STARS
BEST PESTO SPAGHETTI
We cheerfully came here twice. They had by far the best pesto spaghetti we had during our short stay in Rome. It was nicely al dente with a strong pesto presence. To die for!
The Chianti, chicken fettucine and other dishes were excellent as well.
Worth the effort.
Service — 5 STARS
Ambiance — 4 STARS
Food — 5 STARS
Location — 4 STARS
Value — 4 stars