La Tavernaccia da Bruno
One wood-fired oven roasts the maialino and fires the Roman pizza off the same floor.
Why go
Bruno was Umbrian and opened here in 1968, and the kitchen has cooked Roman and Lazio food to the old recipes ever since (the restaurant's own account). Sarah Cicolini's reason for sending people is the oven: it takes the meats and the pizzas together, so the maialino al forno and the pizza alla romana come out of the same heat. The restaurant's own page calls this Testaccio. The street is across the river in Portuense, a short walk from Trastevere station.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the maialino al forno, slow-roasted suckling pig, which is Cicolini's own pick. Then a pizza alla romana off the same oven if there are enough of you to justify both. On a Sunday take the lasagna instead. The Infatuation:
their five-layered lasagna with its crisp edges
is the plate to get that day.1 - Avoid: coming for the pizza alone. The oven is the point and the roast meats are what it was built for.
What locals & experts say
- Katie Parla:
for super honest, affordable, delicious Roman/Umbrian specialties served with a smile
this is the room, andThey are the nicest people.
She sells paid walking tours in Rome.2 - Sarah Cicolini, chef-owner of Santo Palato (The Relisher, 2025):
What makes this place special is its large wood-fired oven, where they cook everything from meats to pizzas. They make an amazing pizza alla Romana (Roman pizza)—a thin, crispy-crusted pizza—as well as great pasta dishes, but I usually go for their maialino al forno, a slow-roasted suckling pig.
5 - The same piece, on the meat:
I don't eat meat often, but when I do, this is one of the best restaurants in Rome to have it.
5
Good to know
- Timing: lunch and dinner, with Wednesday and Thursday closed per the restaurant's own page. Cicolini goes for dinner.
- Booking: recommended, by phone.
- Where: Via Giovanni da Castel Bolognese 63, Portuense, a short walk from Stazione Trastevere.
Verdict
should-visit — One wood oven does the suckling pig and the thin Roman pizza, which is why a chef who says she rarely eats meat sends people here for the maialino. Katie Parla calls the cooking honest, affordable and Roman-Umbrian and the people the nicest. The Infatuation adds the Sunday lasagna, five layers with crisp edges. The room opened in 1968 and has not changed its argument. I have not found a scored review of a plate here, only recommendations.