Where to eat on the Roman coast: Fiumicino, Ostia, Fregene, Santa Marinella and Anzio
The sun shines on the Roman cobblestones: it’s time to leave the city behind and head towards the salty breeze of the coast.
Fiumicino, Ostia, Fregene, Anzio, and Santa Marinella await you, your short sleeves and your sunglasses. The time for spaghetti a vongole and orata in crosta is here. Here you have a list of the best restaurants on the Roman coast where to get your boost of iodine and more.
Where to eat in Anzio
Da Alceste
Piazzale Sant’Antonio, 6
06.9846744
Da Alceste is a historical fish restaurant, a point of reference for seafood cuisine and the portodanzese tradition. Alceste and Giuseppe’s children, Gino and Maria Elena Regolanti, keep the family tradition alive with historical dishes with a modern touch. Among the first courses, you’ll find big classics like spaghetti a vongole or with anchovies and percorino as well as main courses with a vintage taste like pesce all’acqua pazza, al forno with potatoes, fried, and guazzetti. The beautiful terrace is worth a mention.
Da Romolo al porto
Via Porto Innocenziano, 19
06.9844079
Among the most well-known restaurants in Anzio, Walter Regolanti’s Romolo al Porto certainly deserves a shoutout. With about 100 seats between the indoor room and the porch, Walter offers a daily cuisine that bets everything on the local produce: fish, crustaceans, shellfish in an infinite variety of hours d’oeuvres, culminating in a pasta dish that feels like dessert. Their winery is also excellent, full of bubbles, not to be underestimated.
Pierino
Piazza C. Battisti, 3
06.9845683
Alessandro Catarinozzi’s Pierino is a historical name. The seafood you eat here is in its most authentic and classical form. There are crudités, fresh pasta, risotto alla pescatora, ands simple main dishes accompanies by seasonal side dishes, like the orata al forno with porcini mushrooms. Foie gras is also available. The canteen is wide and the service informal but well-prepared and knowledgeable.
INSPIRATION
Best Beaches Near Rome
Where to eat in Fregene
La Scialuppa da Salvatore
Via Silvi Marina, 69
06.66560002
La Scialuppa di Salvatore (Salvatore’s lifeboat) is a place made of history and contemporaneity, and it’s been a beach resort and restaurant for over sixty years. Almost 200 seats placed between the indoor room, the porch and the beach: you will literally eat with your feet in the sand. If the ambiance is somewhat vintage, the young chef Fabio Di Vilio methodically experiments with cleverness on the daily catch and the vegetables from family’s garden. Not to be missed are the classic dishes like bruschetta alle vongole and the strozzapreti alla pescatora as well as the innovative smoked barracuda Ceviche with guacamole and vegetable and fruit brunoise; or the fried surmullet in aubergine cream, roasted tomatoes, octopus mayonnaise and dehydrated orange. The home-made desserts are also delicious and the wine selection boasts over 200 choices.
La Baia di Fregene
Via Silvi Marina, 1
06 66561647
Benny Gili’s La Baia is considered a real household name, not only in Fregene, but the entire Lazio coast. Despite the massive space, it’s impossible to find a table unless you book many days in advance. The reason of this success is the authentic cuisine, local but well-curated, that will dazzle with the simple non-banality of its selection, especially for the dishes of the day. Among the most famous dishes, is pasta with limpets or clams, sea carbonara, and obviously, the fish crudités. Another icon is the bruschetta with smoked sardines and red onions. The winery is also very well-furnished.
HandMade
Viale della Pineta di Fregene, 52 (ang. via Sirolo)
06 66562063
As you can guess, everything is hand-made at Hand Made in Fregene, a place that is becoming more and more popular among Romans. Far — but not too much — from the beach, Davide and Giulia offer daring dishes that go beyond seafood, from Finalina snails, primo fiore capers, sweet percorino and crispy chicken with fried veal animelle, Roman artichoke and mint. The sea is present with roasted mackerel, bufala e pomodoro verdone marinato, and with fish ravioli, sea foam, clams and saffron. The desserts are also delicious, like “Viterbo solo andata” (Viterbo one-way only) with hazelnut tart, gianduia cream, terra al cacao e nocciole sabbiate. The service is young and welcoming.
Albos Club Fregene
Lungomare di Levante, 52
06 66560539
At Rosario Malapena’s Albos Club, you’ll eat the best spaghetti a vongole. A former fisherman became a thoughtful patron, and Rosario created a well-respected establishment with excellent cuisine. In the romantic terrace facing the sea, you’ll eat the local catch, cooked with knowledge and care as well as creative flair. Oysters, sea urchins, and fantastic fish crudités enrich the more than satisfying selection. There are also alici panate e fritte, squid with green beans, mustard and grapefruit, as well as more particular dishes you’ll find in the two tasting menus.
Casa Carmen
Lungomare di Ponente 103
06.69341945
The recent opening by Lorenzo Biancolella, Roberto Tomasini e Annalisa Polo, Casa Carmen, has a Spanish flair. A young and sparkling environment, chef Emanuele Bruni offers a Mediterranean cuisine of fish crudités and red shrimps battute, spaghetti con vongole e bottarga, Fregene limpets, paranza, but also fresh ceviche, octopus alla gallega, and astute alla Formenterese. The real treat is the outdoor grill, where the daily catch is cooked. The bar selection is also great, with gin, sangria and rum.
Controvento
Via Silvi Marina,37A
06.66563327
You’ll enjoy your meal with your feet in the sand at the restaurant of the beach resort Controvento. Kissed by the spring sun and a breeze of wind, with a glass of wine in hand, you will be able to taste crostini con alici del Cantbrico e burrata, fried musky octopus, tuna and salmon and bass tartare, or mixed crudités of prawns, red Mazara shrimps, oysters and bass carpaccio. Among the first courses, gnocchetti cacio e pepe wcon gambero rosso e zeste di limone is the most tasty, while the most delicate is grilled calamari with potato cream, mustard and honey sauce, herb Greek yogurt.
Puntarossa Da Renatone (Maccarese)
Viale dei Monti dell’Ara, 425
06.6672300
Puntarossa da Renatone is the meeting spot for tv personalities and foodies. Under the porch you will enjoy amazing food prepared daily by Renato Salvatori, who goes by Renatone. His first courses of the day are unparalleled, usually fresh pasta, sometimes stuffed. The crudités are delicious, and so are the bruschette and the fritti. The most popular choices are tonnarelli cacio e pepe con le cozze (mussels), tagliatelle alla gricia di spigola, and octopus salad and potatoes with red onion confiture. The service is welcoming and knowledgeable, just like the wine selection, curated personally by Maurizio.
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Day Trips from Rome
Where to eat in Santa Severa
Albergo Pino al mare
Via Cneo Domizio, 32
07.66570027
Simple and genuine cuisine based on the local catch and the greens from the surrounding countryside. This is the foundation of the philosophy of the restaurant Pino al Mare. Whether you eat in the indoor part of the hotel, in the porch, or on the beach, you will eat amazing fritture, crudités and first dishes. If in season, you simply must have the tiramisu di cachi.
L’isola del pescatore
Via Cartagine, 1
0766 570145
Only a few feet away from the Santa Severa Castle is the Isola del Pescatore. Here, clients are welcomed by Fabio Quartieri in a relaxed atmosphere where you can taste the amazing produce, whether indoors or outdoors.
INSPIRATION
Visit the Castle and the Medieval Village of Santa Severa
Where to eat in Fiumicino
Pascucci al Porticciolo
Viale Traiano, 85
06.65029204
A Michelin star and much more for Pascucci al Porticciolo by Gianfranco Pascucci e Vanessa Melis. He’s in the kitchen, she’s with the guests, a work and life couple who knows how to keep their clients entertained and relaxed. In an ethereal atmosphere, elegant and marine, with tables covered by long white tablecloth reaching the floor, you will taste a groundbreaking cuisine. The local catch is king, featuring Fiumicino brackish herbs and inspiration taken from wild game and the Middle East. The menu changes continuously and it can be enjoyed in various tasting menus. The food-wine combination is not to be missed.
Il Tino
Via Monte Cadria, 127
06 5622778
On the upper floor of Nautilus Marina you’ll find Tino, a Michelin-starred restaurant by Lele Usai. A single room, very few seats, round tables and romantic atmosphere, maritime but elegant. In the see-through kitchen, the chef and his team prepares the local catch, heightening its taste with contemporary techniques and combinations. Il Giardino iodato, Testa e Cuore, Bottoncini ai gamberi rosa e zafferano – homage to Antonio Carluccio – are just some of Tino’s explosive creations. There are two tasting menus, from 7 to 9 dishes, to choose from. A la carte menu is always available, as is the wine pairing.
QuarantunoDodici
Via Monte Cadria, 127
06.6581179
Lele Usai maneuvers between Michelin stars and trattorias: on the ground floor of his Nautilus Marina, there is his bistrot QuarantunoDodici. In a wide and well-lit space extending outdoors, you will taste a direct sea cuisine that changes every day. The menu includes crudités and spaghetti con telline, but also more fusion choices like Thai clams sauté and smoked mackerel with misticanza, boiled egg and mayonnaise. Another great dish is the pink shrimp cream risotto and the fried paranza “when the sea allows.” The wine selection is also quite good. The service is informal and fast.
L’Osteria dell’Orologio
Via della Torre Clementina, 114
06.6505251
Osteria dell’Orologio is small but rich with things to say and try. In the kitchen, chef Marco Claroni runs wild with the local catch that he even ages and serves like curet meats. Tuna salted heart matured for 12 months, ventresca speck, bresaola and bottarga, centrofolo lard and swordfish pancetta. In addition to the aged dishes you can order a la carte or in two tasting menus, there are also various crudités and cooked fish, complex pastas and daily main dishes. Deserving a mention are the marmora Ceviche with coconut, chickpeas, celery and the Thai-gliolino, cuori di mare e spillo. The menu culminates in the fantastic desserts. The room is meticulously curated by Marco’s wife Gerarda, who is also a passionate sommelier.
Where to eat in Ostia
Royalbeef
Via Rutilio Namaziano, 16/18
06.51844763
If you’re looking for meat, Royalbeef is for you. The young and passionate entrepreneur Giuseppe Domenico Larosa has created a new small reality that makes meat a religion in a small beach town. Here you can find meat from all over the world, in various cuts, grilled and cut directly at your table. The seasonal side dishes are also fantastic, and the first courses — one of the best carbonaras in Lazio — as well as the hors d’oeuvres with a marked American taste. The local beer and wine selection is also good.
Molo 17
Via dei Lucilii, 17
06.5624278
Not directly on the beach but hidden in the alleys of Ostia, you’ll find Molo17, the little sea jewel by Simone Curti e Fabrizio Moscara. The former in the kitchen and the latter in the hall, they lovingly lead with the philosophy of the genuine and simple. Both are former fishermen and lovers of great food so they created a restaurant that is good and accessible price-wise. The menu varies by season with some evergreen dishes like octopus and smoked potatoes or linguine with red shrimps, lime and vanilla. They also have two tasting menus.
Il Capanno
Piazzale Magellano, 41 – Lido di Ostia
329 4361896
Il Capanno by Cristiano De Giacometti, one of Ostia’s most well-known beach establishments, is now hosting two of Rome’s most beloved restaurants: Molo17 and Ostia TAC. Thanks to Molo17, the little sea jewel by chef Simone Curti and Fabrizio Moscara, you can eat authentic Italian seafood cuisine, simple but elegant. The menu varies by season with some evergreen dishes like octopus and smoked potatoes or linguine with red shrimps, lime and vanilla. On the other hand, TAC (Thin and Crunchy) is the seaside spinoff of Rome’s Seu Pizza Illuminati by entrepreneurs Pier Daniele Seu and Valeria Zuppardo. Their Roman pizza is cooked in a wood-burning oven, round and crunchy with tasty and colorful toppings, that has in the past years characterized the famous pizza selection in Trastevere.
Where to eat in Santa Marinella
Molo21
Lungomare Guglielmo Marconi, 21
328.6692629
Molo21 in Santa Marinella is simple and relaxing, almost fit for meditation. It’s a restaurant facing the sea where you can enjoy light hors d’oeuvres like tuna tartare, trawl sashimi, shrimp mince, and then a traditional spaghetti alle vongole or linguine with pane, burro e alici. To start in great style, you can’t not order a selection of oysters.
