R.G.Diamond taught me this - compare the basic pasta prices. In Rome, a well priced restaurant will have spaghetti al pomodoro for 6 Euro. An expensive restaurant will have it for over 10 Euro. This is a quick way to judge what the price of a meal at a restaurant will be.
Some begetarian pasta dishes in Rome:
- Spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino - pasta with garlic, oil and hot peppers. A good simple dish. Steve frequently orders this. It is not very hot. Served with cheese on the side, so good if you want to avoid dairy.
- Spaghetti cacio e pepe - pasta with grated cheese and pepper. This seems to be a classic Roman dish and is very good, but rich if you are not used to eating much cheese.
- Spaghetti al pomodoro - pasta with tomato sauce. The standard simple pasta dish. Served with cheese on the side, so good if you want to avoid dairy.
We always find zuppa di verdura (vegetable soup) on the menus. Sometimes there are several other vegetarian soups - chickpea soup, farro soup, etc.
We have not seen many vegetarian secondo (unless it is grilled cheese), but you can make a good meal with two primi.
