Al Moro
Trattoria Al Moro, a short walk from the Trevi Fountain, still fries brains with quartered artichokes, one of the dishes Katie Parla says have virtually vanished from Roman menus.
Why go
Al Moro made its name with the actors of the nearby Teatro Quirino, in the hands of four generations of the Romagnoli family (Katie Parla, 2024). Federico Fellini cast Mario Romagnoli, head of the family, as Trimalchio in Satyricon in 1969 (Katie Parla, 2024; Puntarella Rossa, 2011). Nick Lander, writing on Jancis Robinson's site, found the house proud of its 1929 opening: The date is all over the menu cover and moro1929 is their Wi-Fi password
(Jancis Robinson, 2024). The actors have given way to politicians, journalists and businessmen, Parla writes, and to well-heeled local families open to paying €18 for a bowl of soup or up to €40 for a plate of pasta.
Daria Reina, co-founder of the Rome boutique Chez Dede, counts Moro among the eight restaurants she is a regular at (The Relisher, 2024).
Parla's other vanished dishes are lumache alla romana, snails cooked in a sauce spiked with anchovies, chile, and mint,
served around the Feast of Saint John the Baptist in late June. She also orders fegato di vitella, tender pan-fried liver,
and tagliatelle con le rigaje, fresh pasta in a tomato sauce enriched with chicken innards (Katie Parla, 2024). In autumn she comes back for sliced Caesar's mushroom, fettuccine with porcini and the Montblanc, sliced table-side if you're lucky.
Lander had spaghetti con la bottarga (cured mullet roe) and trippa alla romana (tripe in tomato) at lunch in 2024: The pasta was al dente and the bottarga quotient was extremely generous; the tripe was delicious even if the sauce was a little one-dimensional in that it was so tomato-based
(Jancis Robinson).
The house carbonara, spaghetti alla Moro, uses pancetta in place of guanciale (cured pork cheek) and red pepper flakes in place of black pepper. Parla eats it year-round. Elena Clavarino of Air Mail told readers to have it: It's delicious
(Air Mail, 2021). Annie Replogle of the Infatuation called the swap a grave Italian sin
and found the dish painfully short on salt, pepper, and that essential fatty pork cheek flavor.
The one dish that delivered for her, the tagliolini al tartufo, appears only in truffle season (The Infatuation, 2025).
Parla prefers the window-paned door on Vicolo delle Bollette to the patio on Via delle Muratte, one of the most hideously tourist-packed streets in town
(Katie Parla, 2024). The walls of the three dining rooms are covered in posters and paintings gifted by generations of patrons.
Parla warns that regulars receive special pampering from the notoriously aloof owners,
and her advice is to show up with a reservation and dress smartly
(Katie Parla, 2024). Replogle met a curt host
with the warmth of a TSA agent
(The Infatuation, 2025). Parla describes a ristorante now, with pressed linens, formal service and prices to match
(Katie Parla, 2024). Lander's bill for the bottarga, the tripe, a half-bottle of 2021 Montefalco from Arnaldo Caprai, a coffee and two antipasti for his companion came to 106 euros in 2024. This lunch was an excellent introduction to Rome,
he wrote (Jancis Robinson, 2024).
Order this / avoid
- Order: cervelli e carciofi fritti (battered brains and artichokes), one of Katie Parla's reasons to visit (2024).1
- Order: lumache alla romana around the Feast of Saint John in June, for Parla (2024).1
- Order: spaghetti con la bottarga, for Nick Lander (2024).4
- Order: trippa alla romana, delicious for Lander (2024).4
- Order: tagliolini al tartufo in truffle season, the Infatuation's one good dish (Annie Replogle, 2025).2
What locals & experts say
- Annie Replogle, The Infatuation (2025):
Trattoria Al Moro makes underwhelming food that's served with a generous side of pretentiousness.
3 - Lorenza Offeddu, Puntarella Rossa (2011):
Among the desserts the zabaione with melted chocolate, at 10 euros, is the high point of pleasure, pure joy for lovers of custards.
6 - Holly Hughes, Frommer's (2009): "It's worth enduring the gruff patrone and exclusive regulars to sample such authentic specialties as the crispy roast baby goat flavored with fresh rosemary."8
Good to know
- Closed: Sunday. Lunch and dinner Monday to Saturday.
- Booking: book on the restaurant's site or call 06 678 3495.
- Price: on the September 2026 menu, spaghetti alla Moro is 25 euros and the fried brains and artichokes 28. The menu adds no service charge.9
- Where: Vicolo delle Bollette 13, in the Trevi rione, with a summer patio on Via delle Muratte.
Verdict
should-visit — Go for the Roman dishes most trattorias have dropped, the fried brains with artichokes and the June snails, and for Nick Lander's generous bottarga. Katie Parla and Air Mail liked the house carbonara, and the Infatuation did not. Book, dress up and expect ristorante prices.