I Buoni Amici

When you are out seeing the sights in a new city, sometimes you stop in the first place you can find to grab a bite and recharge. Fortunately, a stop in I Buoni Amici provided the best dining experience I encountered in Rome.
The restaurant is very small and located off a side street in the Manzoni area. My group of three arrived one hour before the close of their lunch. Even with multiple people waiting, we were worked in fairly quickly. The restaurant was absolutely packed and the staff was increasingly harried. We started things off right with a bottle of montepulciano and green salads. My wife ordered an antipasti platter that was reportedly delicious. For my main I ordered the classic Roman dish of Cacio e Pepe. The preparation varies from restaurant and family, but generally includes al dente spaghetti (or similar noodle), and pecorino cheese with cracked pepper. It’s very simple as a dish, and absolutely outstanding if done correctly, which I can attest to here. The version at I Buoni Amici includes grated cheese on top of the pasta instead of cooked with the pasta.
For dessert, our table sampled a number of items, including a phyllo and custard dessert and affogato. The desserts were excellent in all respects, the phyllo dish especially. The service throughout was courteous but occasionally rushed. The restaurant was filled to the max completely with locals, so it’s probably a good idea to arrive early to ensure a table. Our total bill came out to € 65, not bad for a meal and dessert for three with a superb bottle of wine. Stop in for a family style meal and you’ll find it to be one of the best decisions you make while in Rome.

Stayed with friends near I Buoni Amici for several weeks and ate here a lot. And it’s everything a neighborhood restaurant should be. Cozy atmosphere, fast & cheerful service, and oh yeah, the food. In three weeks we ate most of the menu and it was all good, especially the seafood. Highly recommend.

We were here for dinner last night at around 9:00pm. The restaurant was all full and about 3 groups in front of us. We were able to sit down in 15 minutes as we had only two in our party. We order 1 dish of veggies, a large plate of grill seafood, one seafood pasta, 1 bottle of white wine and a bottle of water. The total cost was € 58. Very good price and good service from owner and servers although they were under extreme pressure to serve a restaurant full of customers. Will definitely come back in the future.

Authentic Italian food. Beware that past is cooked al dante. Excellent service and good food.

Took my family here, or should I say coerced them to come along because I wasn’t going to leave Rome without at least one seafood centric meal and I had a weakness for fried baby octopus. They have that as an appetizer but forget the Italian name but the waiter should be able to help. It was just as delicious as I thought it would be though my uncle wished it came with a cocktail sauce but, when in Rome… just add lemon and salt.
I had the spaghetti past with large clams, and it was okay — instead, I would recommend the grilled shellfish. I forget what they are called sort of remind me of lobster — they come split in half and grilled and drizzled with herbs and either olive oil or butter. Another member of my party ordered the Italian vegetable soup and felt it was a bit bland.
I also ordered a bottle of the house red and while not bad it was horribly woody — not bad but not great.
Overall, enjoyed it because of the fried octopus that was other than the rings fried in olive oil like at many places and the grilled shellfish make for some great pictures — but not sure I would go back a second time.

Phenomenal!!! Thank you Unilocal… Would have never seen or known about this place without looking up. Was out visiting the Archbasilica and got hungry. Took advice from Unilocal and went in. Was crowded but got seated within 5 minutes. Food was fantastic and fairly priced… Under priced for Rome. It was clear that all locals were frequent patrons which gives you confidence. Would love to go back! Just added pictures.

I had found this place online as a good Roman restaurant, somewhat near the room my wife and I were staying at on the first part of our honeymoon in Italy. We had a 15−20m wait and there was no list, basically just the honour system for those lined up around the entrance. It’s pretty quaint inside, with random pictures, plates and articles on the walls, and just the feeling of being an old, neighbourhood joint. It was an all-​male group of servers as seems to be de rigeur in Italy, and customers were a mix of both tourists and locals.
Given the good reviews, I wanted to try some of the local fare instead of your typical pizza and pasta dishes. I went with something fresh for my wife and I to start with — insalata di pomodori (tomato salad). For myself I ordered the stracciatella alla romana (egg drop soup) and scaloppine a piacere (sliced veal). We also got a bottle of reasonably price Chianti Classico to drink.
The wine came immediately, just grabbed off a nearby shelf. The wine glasses were simple, nothing more than a table glass with a tiny neck. I have the feeling no wine snobs complain about that here, unlike know-​it-​alls back in Canada. Our tomato salad came soon after — a bowl of halved cherry tomatoes with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. The tomatoes were very fresh and the olive oil added some depth but still kept the dish fairly simple, in a good way.
I really enjoyed the soup; there was a light chicken flavour to broth and lots of floating whisps of egg with flecks of fresh basil. The eggs were super light, and I feel like they were just cooked in the hot broth. I very much appreciated the bowl of serve-​your-​own parmesan, which should be at every restaurant no matter the style of cooking.
The veal dish consisted of three thin slices that were between deli meat and fryer steak in thickness. The sauce seemed like a simple pan sauce finished with lemon juice for a bright acidic pop. While the veal wasn’t quite as tender as it could have been, the lack of steak knives in this place (and the handful of restaurants we’d been to thus far) didn’t help the experience.
Service was spot on — not quite up to North American standards, but the best we had so far in Rome, and the best food up to that point as well.
If you’re staying in the central historic district, and a little bit to the east of the Colosseum, you have to try out I Buoni Amici for a true taste of Rome.

We came here for dinner and while the place is small, we were fortunate in not having to wait too long for party of 10.
Waiters were great, especially loved the vongole but all their pasta dishes were the best except for when we ate on the cliffside in Sorrento.
Everyone enjoyed their meals, the place had a nice cozy atmosphere and our group came back to eat here 3 more times before we left Rome!!! That’s how good this place is. We’d eat lunch in the more pricey touristy places and be underwhelmed because of here.
They have this wonderful basalmic vinegar glaze! It doesn’t run or spill everywhere. Treat yourself or buy as a gift for friends as I couldn’t find anywhere else. Trust me, everyone who receives this gift will rave about it!

Probably the best place i have eaten in Italy. Small and cozy. Will go back before we leave and order whatever the locals ordered.
And inexpensive to boost !!!

Best meal in Rome! Found this little restaurant thanks to Unilocal and loved it so much we went back the next night! The first night we were a bit tired of pasta so went for the chicken de la casa & chicken lemone with vegetable soup as an appetizer. It was delisioso!!! The soup was so fresh & tasty, it could have been a meal all by itself. And the chicken de la casa was perfecto! It had a light cream sauce with mushrooms. For desert we shared the tiramisu & a shot of lemoncello. And of course espresso to end the night. We left feeling satisfied and not stuffed.
I had seen a yummy salad with shrimp & lobster, so decided to try that the second night. I ordered the seafood salad but got a plate of octopus. I probably should have pointed on the menu. I had never eaten it before but decided to try it and I LOVED it. My husband ordered the chicken de la casa again (which was even better the second night) and I tried the linguini with lobster sauce. Both excellent! I noticed a lot of people ordering the clams and wished I had tried them. Maybe we’ll go back again tonight!
$$ Price was very reasonable… 2 chicken dishes, soup, bottled water, bottle of wine, lemoncello, dessert & espresso for $ 45 €!!!

First night in Rome and I stumbled into this fine establishment. Everything was superb. The waitstaff, the décor, the menu. Everything was spot on. I ate several dishes, including the clams y spaghetti, prosciutto and cheese sampler, grilled lamb chops, and grilled prawns. The clams y spaghetti was a assault on my palette. It was the greatest clam dish I’ve ever had. The herbs, the fresh lil clams the al dente pasta; it was devine! Highly recommended. The lamb chops was very flavorful and had great texture. The grilled prawns is visually appealing and exceeds in taste and flavor.5 stars on presentation. The prosciutto and various cheese plate was a very nice seguay into the main courses. I capped the night off with a delightful cup of cappucino. The service was incredible. I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone. The ambiance was lively, plenty of patrons. If your looking authentic Italian food, here is spot-on.When I received my check I was pleased with my overall tab.

This place is decent. I guess we were spoiled by Italian pasta and food in Venice but this place has good service and good prices. The best part was that it was close to our Airbnb place, but I probably wouldn’t come back. Maybe their seafood is better than their regular pasta

My quest for understanding traditional Roman cuisine was bolstered by this neighborhood joint. On a late friday night this place was packed. I showed up at 10.45pm and had to wait for a table. I had walked all day in the heat and was famished. I just have looked like a savage tourist since slow food was what i was having but i was consuming it like an animal. Stracciatella egg soup, saltimbocca, and scampi alla griglia was a solid meal. The server made sure i was hungry after the first two before moving onto the third. I wanted to get the langoustine pasta but i guess it was too late even for them. The space is larger than the outside indicates with years of stuff all over the walls and wine stacked everywhere. Service is pretty friendly but wary at first. Once they saw i liked the food, i was in. 4.25 stars

My friend and I had one of the best meals here during our Rome trip. The food was so amazing we couldn’t stop eating!
We ordered the seafood risotto and the spaghetti with clams and large seafood and crab combination platter along with mussels. Everything came out hot and steamy and in very generous portions. Everything we ate there was delicious! We finished the night off with panna cotta that was so simple yet so delicious.
The restaurant was fairly busy and there were not many people who spoke English there– that’s how you know the food will be good.
I can’t wait to go crack to Rome again and eat here again!

Atmosphärisches Restaurant mit sehr nettem Service, hervorragenden Meeresfrüchte Antipasti, und gute Auswahl an Fisch und Meeresfrüchten. Gutes Preis-​Leistungsverhältnis. Alles in allem sehr empfehlenswert!

We stayed in Best Western Presidente near Manzzoni metro station on our stay in Rome. This restaurant is 5 blocks away. The service was great and the food even better. Pasta with clamp and the mix seafood grill is awesome. Make sure you save room for dessert. Try the pannecota and tiramisu. There was 4 of us and our bill was around 76 – 86 euro. That’s a bottle of wine 2 course meal, appetizer and 4 individual dessert.

NO WORDS! Delicious food and wine. Small family-​owned authentic restaurant. Very busy but they sat us quickly and we were not rushed. The plates of antipasto were endless and delicious. Spent about 40 euro for appetizers, two generous entrees and a full bottle of chianti.
The staff was very friendly and knew English well enough to help us interpret the menu! Escape the tourist traps and go here. You won’t regret it.

I’d definitely come back here. Service, food and price were all just simply excellent.
DRINKS:
I ordered a house wine but it came in a regular bottle. Really generous amount. I was afraid they were going to charge me for an entire bottle I didn’t order but they didn’t. It seems like they put house wine in regular 750ml bottle?
SERVICE:
This looked like a family run place. Very friendly and recommended dishes in English.
DECOR:
Homey atmosphere. Very much like going to a place where everyone knows your name.
FOOD/​PRICE:
Reasonable and great portion.
Antipasti we had were — cured fish and cured meat. Both great with wine.
We then had grilled fish and prawns, seafood risotto, vongole spaghetti.
All Just amazing, esp seafood risotto with tomatoes. Al dente and plenty of sea flavor.

Great service, great italian dishes, and great prices! I had the spaghetti with large clams and my husband had the ravioli to start. I ate everything on my plate. My hubby mopped his sauce up with crusty bread.
For our entrees my husband got the veal cutlets with butter and lemon sauce. He actually closed his eyes with the first bite. Weirdo. I liked my Typical Roman dish but was so full from devouring my spaghetti and wanted room for dessert.
My husband loved my tiramisu so I traded him for his lemon cake. Both fluffy, creamy, and vibrant flavors.
So 2 first dishes, 2 entrees, 2 desserts, a bottle of water, and a bottle of chianti. The bill was $ 54 euro. One of the best meals we’ve had so far on our Europe trip and by far the best value.
Everyone was very friendly. A must in my opinion.

This place is LEGIT! Old school Italian, people speaking Italian all around you, platters bigger than your face and a few mama mia here and there and you have it.
Staff doesn’t speak much English and it’s okay, super nice and welcoming. We ordered the tagliatelle bolognese, clearly fresh aldente pasta, delish, and the ossobucco, omg holy bone marrow. I almost licked my plate, sucked my fingers and ordered another round.
Tables surrounding us ordered bunch of antipasto and we should have done that too because they aren’t more that € 10 and you can feed the entire building :)
Highly recommend this restaurant, it’s not a touristy place, it seems like an institution in this part of Rome and I loved out meal and experience! Ciao!

As an American with little knowledge of Rome, Unilocal reviews are the only reliable source for me when choosing restaurants here. Per everyone else’s recommendations and it’s close proximity to our B&B, my family (rather I) decided to head here for dinner. It did not disappoint.
Despite the packed state, we were lucky enough to get seated quickly. Our waiter did not speak English very well, but we were able to communicate with the helpful menu translations. We ordered several plates of the seafood risotto, mussels, prawns and lambchops and meat for appetizers (prosciutto, pepperoni and some other delicious goodness. Also ordered a bottle of the house pinot grigio, which I mistakenly thought was a red wine — could have something to do with the wine bottle I guzzled just before.
The food was all amazing, especially the seafood dishes. Although it was my first real Italian seafood dining experience, it must’ve been good given the many Italian patrons eating and drinking alongside us.
The panna cotta and other deserts were also great. With a total check cheaper than the overpriced and underwhelming lunch we had at the Vatican earlier, I will definitely try to come back here when I can.

Traditionelle Hostaria mit Schwerpunkt auf Fisch und Meeresfrüchten. Es gibt allerdings auch eine ordentliche Pasta! Sehr klein deswegen evtl Reservierung erforderlich. Sonst alles Prima wir hatten einen tollen Abend Fischcappacio war topp und Bucatini alla amatriciana waren gut.

Eine großartige Hostaria mit schönen Weinen und stets frischem Fisch.