If you’re looking for the best seafood restaurants in Rome, you’ve come to the right place. This brand new list for 2023 combines some of the best old and new fish restaurants in Rome. Whether you’re looking for the finest tartares and oysters, you love spaghetti with clams, or prefer oven-baked whole fish, there’s something for everyone here.
Ricci Pescheria con Cucina – Vigna Clara
If you like Michelin-star ideas and trattoria prices, you’ll love Ricci Pescheria con Cucina, the latest project from chef Daniele Usai (see the foot of this guide for further restaurants from Usai).
Considered one of Rome’s masters of seafood and fish, this urban project takes the form of a smart fishmonger, with bright and modern dishes inspired by the catch of the day. With Usai’s sous chef, Alessio Albanesi, in the kitchens, you are guaranteed a thoughtful journey through fresh, high quality fish dishes, with plenty of stylish touches.
I loved the take on tuna n’duja, as well as a cold Thai curry with a creamy gazpacho and nuggets of fresh fish. As well as extremely high quality seafood salads, tartares and ceviches, you can also order whole fish from the counter to be cooked in the simplest of ways.
This is fresh fish without the fuss and it’s a tantalising proposition. The only downside is making the trip to the Vigna Clara neighbourhood in north Rome!
Ricci Pescheria con Cucina Piazza Filippo Carli, 16, Rome Tel 06 4554 4980
Pesciolino near the Spanish Steps
Pesciolino is an upmarket yet youthful spot with a dozen tables under a duck-egg blue ceiling, printed with darting fish.
This bijoux seafood restaurant in the heart of old Rome serves fresh and raw fish with a modern, Mediterranean twist.
Pesciolino sources its raw fish with care from the French coast, including some of the best oysters you’ll find in the city. Look out too for fresh cuttlefish and raw prawns, plus delightful pasta dishes.
On my visit, I treid delicious cappelletti pasta shapes, filled with cream of scampi, smoked ricotta and hazelnuts.
This dish combined deep aromas of the sea with tart and fresh flavours, matching smoked anchovy with spaghetti and olive powder, onion, capers, garlic, lemon and parsley.
Ambitious second course dishes featuring whole fish make this worth your while. Full review here.
Pesciolino Restaurant Via Belsiana 30, Rome Tel 0039 06 6979 7843
I Massari – Puglia restaurant in Prati
I Massari, one of the latest additions to the Prati neighbourhood, some 5 minutes from the Vatican, brings the best of the Puglia region’s cuisine to Rome.
The cuisine of Puglia – Italy’s heel – includes tonnes of fresh seafood. In this case, it is fished in the morning in Manfredonia and served fresh in Rome at night. Don’t miss the dazzling dishes of raw shellfish, raw red prawns, and strips of cuttlefish for a seafood starter at i Massari.
Pasta dishes combine mussels with signature orecchiette, and you’ll also find delicate prawns, octopus and game on this varied menu from Apulian chef Carmine Nozzolino.
Serving food from the early hours of the day, I Massari is a great place to stop in for breakfast, with warm pasticciotti, plum cake, doughnuts and Lecce-style cold coffee with a dash of almond milk.
Come back for the lunch and dinner and you’ll almost feel as if you made a trip to the beautiful south. There are even a few jars for sale with preserved vegetables and jams, perfect souvenirs!
I Massari Piazza dei Martiri di Belfiore, Rome Tel 06 89413466
Rinaldi al Quirinale – Rome centre
This glamourous restaurant with one of the best wine cellars in Rome attracts VIPs from all over the globe.
Showy tiered trays of raw fish starters aside, this is an excellent restaurant serving some of the best seafood in Rome.
On entering this elegant restaurant, the first thing that catches your eye is the fresh fish counter, crammed with the catch of the day from the Lazio coastlines. Purchased daily at auctions from Gaeta in the south to porto Santo Stefano in the North, this selection inspires the kitchens and varying menu with a mesmerising taste of the sea.
If raw crustaceans and fish tartare is your thing, don’t miss the fabulous mixed plates including raw tuna, sea-bass, langoustine and red prawn. And did I mention the truly incomparable wine cellar?
While the pasta dishes include some classics from Roman cuisine, you should really try the fish pasta courses – unusual and exquisite. I recommend the fresh egg tagliolini were served with aromatic sea urchins and sea anemone. Full review of one of the best seafood restaurants in Rome here.
Rinaldi Al Quirinale Via Parma 11A, Rome Tel +390647825171
Peppo al Cosimato: Trastevere & Cinecitta
Peppo al Cosimato is a rare combination of pizzeria and downhome seafood eatery.
This Trastevere and now Cinecitta institution digs deep into local traditions to serve a range of affordable fish dishes, as well as firing up a pizza oven to provide excellent, deep-crust Neapolitan-style pizzas, home-baked bread and fried goodies.
The antipasti or starter menu at Peppo al Cosimato has lots of fun fish options at good prices. Order a selection of fritti – including fried rice balls and potato croquettes – for around €5.
Try the bruschette topped with marinated anchovies, curly lettuce and stracciatella. Seafood and tomato sauce versions, plus mackerel with red onion and tomatoes are also really tasty!
Don’t miss the fisherman’s sandwich, seafood lasagne, or pasta with butter and anchovies. One of the most affordable seafood restaurants in Rome Full review here.
Peppo al Cosimato Via Natale del Grande 9, Rome Tel 0039 06 581 2048
Salicornia in Pigneto
Salicornia is a restaurant and bistrot serving fish in Pigneto, east Rome. Dont miss the wonderful plates of raw fish, including amberjack, violet prawns and langoustines. The prices start small, at around €10 or €12 for raw prawns, or a tuna or salmon tartare.
The fried goodies are excellent – including moreish baccala balls coated in squid ink and corn, served with a chickpea and lime sauce Check out the fish tacos and fish spring rolls too.
When it comes to the pasta, you can choose between classic dishes such as spaghetti alle vongole, as well as a lovely squid pasta dish. The main courses are tasty and ambitious. I tried the grilled amberjack with celeriac, as well as king prawns with Vietnamese sauce and samphire. Full review here.
Salicornia Ristorante & Bistrot Via del Pigneto 25, Rome Tel 0039 351 055 3120
Barra Pescheria – Parioli
Barra Pescheria restaurant and high-end fishmonger is in one of Rome’s more refined residential areas, so it’s not an easy hike from the centre.
However, if your hotel’s in Parioli or you’re based in north Rome, it should definitely be on your radar.
Expect great raw fish and tartares, a fantastic selection of salads, fish sandwiches, pasta and risotto dishes, and freshly caught fish prepared very simply. The fish is sourced in Formia, Gaeta and the Pontine islands so it doesn’t get much fresher than this. Full review here.
QuarantunoDodici, Fiumicino
QuarantunoDodici (4112), in Isola Sacra, Fiumicino, is a great, high-end fish restaurant on the way to Fiumicino Airport.
It’s located in the same building as sister restaurant Il Tino, a Michelin-starred dining project which excels in serving the freshest fish. Chef Daniele Usai, along with his business partners Stefano Loreti and the Stillitano family are the names behind this high quality project.
Like Il Tino, fish is at the heart of the menu at QuarantunoDodici, although this is a slightly more relaxed ‘pop’ dining experience. So it’s perfect if you’re looking for a pleasant lunch near Rome Airport on your way into town, or a good way to spend those last euros at the end of your Roman holiday. Full review here.
Il Tino, Fiumicino
This fish-focused Michelin-starred restaurant in Fiumicino is a must for seafood enthusiasts. Il Tino is heralded as one of the best seafood restaurants in Rome.
Chef Daniele Usai presents romantic and picturesque dishes which explore the underwater magic of the coastline near Rome.
If you want to try the best of contemporary Italian dining, don’t miss Il Tino when in Rome. This is truly an extraordinary restaurant and unforgettable experience. Full review here.
