Tonnarello, Trastevere, Rome: 2024 Restaurant Review & Tips - A Backpacker's World (2024)

During a trip to Rome, you want to have the most delicious and authentic Italian food possible, right?

You might have heard that Trastevere is the best part of Rome for food. Considering heading to Tonnarello for a meal?

You’re in the right place as during my trip to Rome, I had dinner in this highly-rated restaurant. But does it live up to the hype?

I have provided a full and honest review of my experience as well as helpful information you might want to know before going for your meal.

Tonnarello: Review

If you don’t have time to read the whole review, I’ll summarise it in one sentence: Tonnarello is without a doubt one of the best restaurants in Rome, the food is absolutely delicious but also incredibly affordable.

So yes, as you can tell, I had a great time during my meal at Tonnarello. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say that during my 4 days in Rome, the best pasta and the best meal of my entire trip was served at Tonnarello.

I had a meal at Tonnarello with a friend of mine I had made while staying in my hostel, and it’s worth saying that there was a short queue. Only about 5 minutes, not too bad at all.

It’s also worth pointing out that I was in Rome in December, I imagine the wait might be longer in the summer. But other reviews assure me that the queue does still move fast.

There are also Italians and Rome locals that queue for Tonarello. In my opinion, the best restaurants are those which the locals use. It means it serves delicious authentic food, and it’s not a tourist trap which is too expensive. “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”, right?

When we got a table, I couldn’t believe how many options there were on the menu. The first time you open a menu in Rome, you may be a bit overwhelmed as the Italian cuisine has up to 8 courses!

Anyway, I opted for a “Pasta Amatriciana” which is pasta with tomato sauce, bacon, cheese and pepper. Have a look below, how tasty does that look?!

As my grandmother said when I showed her the pictures “It just looks tasty” and that’s exactly how I would sum it up. It looks delicious, and guess what? It tasted delicious too. There’s a reason that Tonarello is rated 4.7/5 from nearly 50,000 Google reviews!

Aside from the taste, one of the best parts about this pasta was that it only cost €8.50. That’s so cheap and affordable, which was definitely appreciated as I was visiting Rome on a budget. The price doesn’t reflect the quality. Tonnarello could definitely up their prices, but I’m not complaining!

It was so good that my mouth is watering now just by writing about it. If I was in Rome any longer, I definitely would have come back.

The service at Tonnarello was also top quality. It took around 15 minutes from sitting down and ordering to receiving our food, which in my opinion is pretty good, especially for one of the most popular restaurants in Rome.

There’s also a nice atmosphere throughout the restaurant. I will say though that there are a lot of tables, and you can end up quite close to the table next to you, particularly as a table for two. But this is quite common throughout all of Rome as it’s such a popular tourist city.

Being in Trastevere – the best place for Rome food tours – you just know that the restaurant is going to be incredible.

Somehow I haven’t yet mentioned the portion sizes. You can’t really tell from that picture but the portion was huge! Definitely more than anywhere else I tried. There was too much for me and I wasn’t able to finish my meal.

Thankfully, Tonnarello allows you to take your leftovers in a take-out box, which is an added bonus to visiting this restaurant. We simply asked our waiter and he was more than happy to help. By the way, it’s not expected to tip in Rome but we felt our waiter had gone above and beyond.

And with that, my experience at Tonnarello came to a close. It was amazing and I can’t recommend it enough. If you only try one restaurant in Rome, make it Tonnarello.

You will get the most delicious and authentic Italian food at an affordable price along with incredible service.

Tonnarello: Menu Options

As it’s rated as one of the best restaurants in Trastevere, the menu options at Tonnarello exceed expectations.

There’s a really wide variety of options at Tonnarello. Of course, it offers standard Italian options like pizza and pasta but within these categories, there are so many options to choose from.

Obviously, it’s impossible to show the full menu but here are some insights into what there is on offer at Tonnarello. There really is something for everyone.

As you can see, the menu is very good at showing exactly what is in each meal, making it convenient for people with allergies. As someone with a nut allergy, I can appreciate a restaurant having transparency like this.

There are also icons and symbols showing if there is meat included in the dish, making it easy for vegetarians and vegans to choose an option without any meat included. It even goes as far as showing what type of meat it is.

My friend, as a Muslim, also appreciated this gesture as it made it really easy for her to pick a meal without any ham or bacon.

You can be assured that you can visit Tonnarello and find something that you like and want to have. There are soo many options. Almost too many!

Tonnarello: Tips For Your Visit

Before visiting anywhere, it’s good to know some top tips for visiting and Tonnarello is no different. So here are 6 top tips you should know before visiting the restaurant.

• Just turn up! There are so many tables at Tonnarello, you can’t book a table but you don’t need to. Simply turn up, join the queue and you’ll have a table before you know it.
• If you are drinking water, ask for tap water. Depending on which server you have, you may get charged for fancy water, but asking for tap water means it will be free. And tap water in Rome is completely safe and tastes good too.
• You can only tip by cash. In Rome, tipping is not a mandatory expectation. But if you choose to tip, you tip in cash, not by card.
• Eat earlier than the locals. Italians tend to eat very late in the day. So by eating earlier than them, you are going to have less of a wait to get a table.
• The portions are huge! Just bear in mind that you don’t need to order more than one dish each. One is more than enough.
• Ask the staff questions. The staff of Tonnarello are known for their helpfulness, and they are more than happy to answer your questions and provide tips about Rome.

Is Tonnarello Expensive?

In my opinion, Tonnarello is not expensive at all. I had a delicious pasta dish for only €8.50 which is pretty standard across Rome.

Even if you take Google’s rating of €10-20 per person, I would consider this a good value for how good the food is.

There are definitely more expensive places in Rome that serve worse food, so Tonnarello definitely isn’t a rip-off.

I would say that Google’s €10-20 per person is probably pretty accurate once you add in drinks etc. I don’t know about you but for a meal in Rome, I wouldn’t classify this as expensive.

Is Tonnarello Vegetarian Friendly?

Yes, Tonnarello is vegetarian-friendly. There are many options for you to choose from.

The menus include exactly what is in each meal, and for those meals with meat, there is a symbol beside the name of the meal.

The symbol shows what type of meat (cow silhouette, chicken, etc.) and if there is no symbol, there is no meat in the meal.

Rome as a whole is pretty good for veggies on the whole, as you can, at absolute least, have a Magherrita pizza anywhere in the city.

But yes, Tonnarello is very courteous and will be sure to help you find something that is suitable for you to have.

Is Tonnarello Vegan Friendly?

Tonnarello is also very vegan-friendly. In fact, the restaurant actually advertises that they have vegan options.

But don’t just take my word for it, there are many reviews of Tonarello which mention how accommodating the restaurant was for vegan diners. Take a look!

It’s great that Tonarello allows anyone to enjoy their delicious food. Some restaurants in Rome which are highly rated do not provide vegetarian or vegan options which is really disappointing. Thankfully, Tonarello is not one of these restaurants.

Is Tonnarello Good With Allergies?

Once again, the answer is yes, Tonnarello is very good with allergies. As I have said throughout this post, the ingredients for each dish are included under the title name, so you can see exactly what is included in each meal.

I will say though that they aren’t able to take ingredients out of the pasta dishes, so if you have an allergy you may need to opt for a pizza or choose pasta that doesn’t have your allergen in it. Presumably, they make the pasta altogether and then dish it up.

Again, don’t just take my opinion, here is a review mentioning their experience with allergies.

All in all, Tonnarello is a very modern restaurant which accommodates all types of diners and encourages anyone to visit the restaurant. And you should- it’s delicious!

Tonnarello: FAQ

Below are a number of questions related to Tonnarello, along with my answers.

Tonnarello: Conclusion

And there you have it, a complete and honest review of Tonnarello.

In my opinion, it’s definitely one of the best restaurants in Rome and I would recommend it to anyone.

You can’t go wrong with their mouth-wateringly good food, 5-star service and affordable prices. What more can you ask for?

I hope you have an amazing trip to Rome and a delicious visit to Tonnarello.