100/10 best pesto pasta in my life. My favorite is my moms and this beats it. It has a fresh depth to it that is unforgettable. They were super accommodating and even separated the ravioli and sauce for my picky eater niece. read more

La Cicala e La Formica - Pesto pasta - Mediterranean Near Me - Rome, RM

The food was delicious. Excellent wine and the service as well! I'd definitely return to try more of the menu! read more

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This is a small friendly operator owned neighborhood restaurant with expertly prepared homemade entrees and salads. The service was prompt and efficient. There is indoor and outdoor seating usually with no wait. Located on a quiet courtyard to allow people watching going about their business. The drink menu is varied and reasonably priced. read more

Great spot - we split several dishes -shared them all - carbonara was a standout! The ambience was intimate but family friendly.

We came two times and the owner is really nice and sweet, really not pushy and eager for new clients. The food is excellente and the drinks are always cold. The staff is nice! read more

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Nice, cozy, restaurant to enjoy an evening meal. Staff was good, with an older gentleman as our waiter, who was super friendly and a little funny. They understood our English way better than our rubbish attempt at speaking Italian. Food was great! Both of us had a pasta dish, shared a salad and an appetizer. House wine (by the glass) was pretty good too. Very relaxed atmosphere inside; street side dining could be a bit loud day or night with the amount of traffic through the area. read more

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This place was recommended by a friend living in Italy. My husband and I are both Itlaian but from a different area. The food was excellent and the host great. He recommended a taste of a Amatriciana and a pasta with butter and Alici. Both were great. The Amatriciana among the best we've eaten, with a delicate but defined taste of guanciale, cooked a bit on the crunchy side as I like it. We also tried a gateu and a Parmigiana. Gaetano explained all the dishes and the local.ingredients he sources and that he was so proud of. read more

La Cicala e La Formica - Amatriciana - Mediterranean Near Me - Rome, RM

We were staying at the Grand Hotel Palatino on a tour, and left on our own for dinner one night we checked out nearby restaurants. This place is only one block behind the hotel. The ambiance was fantastic. Don't know if they do it every night, but tonight they played jazz from the 30s, 40s, and 50s. Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, etc. Interesting artwork and wine displays on the walls. We had the Caprese salad, Bruschetta with anchovies, Spinach Ravioli, and Rigatoni Carbonara. Each was very good, the Carbonara especially stood out since it was so much better than a penne Carbonara we'd had the night before at a restaurant close to the Colosseum. For dessert, we had a tiramisu and a pistachio ice cream. Both were outstanding. Service was good, we had no problems communicating even though we speak only English. If we had any more time in Rome we would definitely eat here again. If we can ever return I'd be delighted to visit it again. read more

La Cicala e La Formica - Entrance to the restaurant - Mediterranean Near Me - Rome, RM

If you want a combination of great ombiance and food, this is your type of restaurant. The menu is full of classic Italian dishes with a long list of great red wines. read more

Absolutely the best spaghetti I've ever had - no exaggeration. The waiter (owner?) was so good with my wife and I and even let me practice my Italian. I had spaghetti with anchovies and a gin and tonic; my wife had a basil pesto pasta with some sweet cherry wine. We had tiramisu for dessert. Main dishes were served in the pan they were cooked in and the drinks were healthy pours. He also did not charge my wife for the wine since it was the end of the bottle. Very mom and pop feel - loved the whole experience and am planning to go again. read more

Food was great, service was as expected and everyone very friendly. We ate a 4 star place less than a block from here prior and good here was much better!! Go, you'll enjoy! The Ameritriciana was great! read more

Food was amazing. We had the caprese, the ravioli and the special gnocchi with blue cheese. Service was friendly and attentive.

This was a wonderful find! We had an excellent dinner here with the best bread in Italy! The service was warm and gracious and it felt very homey inside the restaurant. Enjoyed the food a lot. Amongst other delicious dishes, I had a zucchini and blue cheese risotto which was amazing, one of the best dishes I had on this trip, and I am now in a delicious carb coma. The tomato and mozzarella bruschetta was very tasty too. We shared the bucatini, the sauce was flavorful and delicious, the pasta was silky and tasty. Wine was great and reasonably priced and we used the Yelp coupon with no problem at all. Great dinner right next to the hotel, just what we needed after a long day of sight seeing. read more

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Absolutely the worst meal we have had in Rome and all of Europe for that matter. Steak was inedible and my daughter commented that the pasta tasted like cheap ramen noodles at best. We tried to choke down the bread which was dry and tasteless. Asked for oil and vinegar and had to wait for another table to finish with it. (Guess there is only one set?). Even that didn't help. One server for the entire restaurant. She was pleasant and tried her best to handle all tables inside and out by herself while the owner entertained his business associate and then later a friend. Don't waste your time or money. There are MUCH better restaurants out there. I agree with a previous reviewer that Rick Steves needs to remove this one from his book! read more

The lasagna della casa was one of the best dishes I had during our trip to Italy. We were left free limoncello shots at the end of our meal, which was very nice. It wasn't busy when we showed up, but the waitress was attentive and understood english. I'm glad we simply walked by & inside because some of the other reviews might have turned us off (I tend to put too much weight on them). I definitely would come again if ever in Rome! read more

May not look like much from the outside, but trust me, the staff care about your dining experience and the food is wonderful. First, FORGET your American expectation for service ...... there is ONE chef in the kitchen and EVERYTHING is cooked to order; AKA, made fresh. I know this because I took advantage of a pasta making class (which is AWESOME). The DOWN TIME is meant for YOU to connect with one another. If you are in a rush/hurry, it might help if you simply inform the wait staff ASAP. This place is usually very busy, therefore, staff may be a bit overwhelmed. I've been eating here since 2006 and make a serious effort on EVERY Rome trip to eat here multiple times. GREAT value for the money. (I'm the female in the solid black top on the back row) read more

La Cicala e La Formica - Mediterranean Near Me - Rome, RM

We loved that this place was a small place locally owned by a woman. It was very friendly and cozy as soon as we stepped in. Small menu options but we enjoyed the main courses. Table wine was not so great but got the job done :). Please support local, small business women wherever you go in the world. read more

This place was definitely a surprise for us. So, after coming back to the hotel (palantino) we were hungry. They had a really cheap lunch menu, we saw someone was eating some extra think spaghetti, and we were like "yes! let's do it." When we actually stepped in, the restaurant we realized thry didn't actually make their own spaghetti, so instead we went with the homemade ravioli and home made Tuscany pasta. As we expected excellente, ravioli was really good, it had mushroom in the sauce, and the Tuscany pasta was more like pancakes, drenched in pesto, which meant the fluffy flour just soaked everything right up. A little salty for my palate but I think that's just italian cuisine. We also saw our next table neighbor get tomato and mozzarella, so we decided, why not? It was again, really good. Anyhow, the hotel we were at did not recommend this, but it was a lovely find, and I hope yall who come have as good of an experience as me! The servers were wonderful as well, one of them has, I quote from the other server, "exceptional english". Haha, so if you don't know italian this is a good place to be. read more

I had dinner at this restaurant on my first night in Rome. A month and a half later, I ordered the same meal (pork steak with potato chips). Be sure to get the red house wine! It's the best red wine I've ever had! read more

La Cicala e La Formica - Mediterranean Near Me - Rome, RM

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This was the second restaurant Rick Steves recommended that was awful. First: we were actually warned against it by some locals, which we thought was odd. Second: they were serving a lot of RAW BEEF AND RAW FISH which stunk up the place, though there was also a strong sewer smell coming from near their restroom. Third: though one of our dishes tasted OK they BURNED one of our pasta dishes. The manager looked right at it black/brown on our plate and didn't bat an eye. It was inedible. No offer to take it off the bill or bring something else. Fourth: my family got very sick 2 hours after eating here. read more

We came here based on the recommendation of a local here and although we were satisfied with what we had, we weren't totally impressed. The restaurant is a little hard to find, it's next door to a crepe place. There are limited amount of outdoors seating and when we went on a week night, there was no where to sit outside so we opted for a table inside. We can tell this place is popular among locals, but I guess our taste buds are just a little different. We had two different pasta dishes, appetizers and some wine. The price is average for typical restaurant in the area and the portions were just right. I just wished we enjoyed it more. The food was lacking in taste for us and it didn't really wow us. The staff was very nice and friendly. By the time we left, the place was completely packed. read more

Ok... I'm gonna just post some pictures so that you can see what the review photos looked like and what we actually got.... now... we did ask for veggies instead but that wasn't the problem... read more

La Cicala e La Formica - This is what we got.... - Mediterranean Near Me - Rome, RM

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Great experience La Cicala e La Formica. The restaurant is tucked away and a little hard to find--the map view in Yelp is a bit off. We used the photo in google maps to help locate the place. Got there when they opened at 6:30 pm and had a nice outdoor table. Got crowded by the time we left. Food was excellent and the price was very reasonable. My wife had the spaghetti with bacon (can't remember the actual menu name), and I had the salmon ravioli. Very tasty. The ravioli had a bolder fish flavor than I anticipated, and I enjoyed it. But here's the part that left a very positive impression: when we paid with 20 Euro bills, the waiter asked if we had any smaller bills, which we didn't. So he gave us back one of the 20 Euro bills and said we're good. And this is after we used a 20% off yelp coupon! Don't know how they can turn a profit like that. After we left, we bought a Gelato next door, got change back from the 20, and went back to the restaurant and gave them the amount we really still owed. Also gave them a good tip. Good food, good people. read more

La Cicala e La Formica - Mediterranean Near Me - Rome, RM

The food did not match the pictures. Red wine was good but pasta with swordfish and pasta with pesto was meh at the best.

Our first night in Rome, we found this place around the corner and had some amazing pesto pasta. Six weeks later we've come back for our last night and really enjoyed especially the chef's special: pasta with blue cheese and zucchini. All the flavors are always excellent, the ambiance is lovely, and the wait staff is friendly and efficient. Highly recommended! One of our favorite restaurants in Monti! read more

La Cicala e La Formica - Mediterranean Near Me - Rome, RM

Back in Rome , one year on from last. I enjoy checking the reviews on Yelp as it gets you to the heart of the matter when on holiday Good food and ambiance. I had an early evening visit. Staying one stop away from Termini , near Cavour metro, I checked Yelp and here I am. Must be a new menu as no sign of some of the items described previously. To be honest , prima of pasta with swordfish was a little underwhelming. Perfectly fine, but not sparkling. For second, lamb ribs were finger licking good, so nice recovery. It must be a weakness in me, but when I heard the waiter make a recommendation of the Tiramisu I really had no further choice on the sweet. When I arrived it was early evening, now at 8.30 the place is full. Enough said. Nothing fancy on decor, but worth a visit if your in the area. Nice buzz around outside is another plus. Enjoy. read more

They were amazing in that they let us dine on a busy Saturday night without reservations! We had stopped at no less than 5 different restaurants before we got to La Cicala, and no one had openings before 10pm. It was our last night in Rome so we were looking for a good meal, but had to be up really early the next morning for our flight home! We went to La Cicala, and they indicated that they didn't have any openings within the restaurant. My husband then asked if the outside was open, to which the server was like - yes, if you'd like to eat outside you definitely can! It was a bit of a chilly Spring night, and yet I really loved how they accommodated us and set us up outside (the only people eating outside on a chilly night)! My husband had his heart set on the steak with green sauce that was mentioned in a prior review, but they were sadly out of it. We started with bruschetta with tomatoes and mozzarella - it was served on super thin crispy bread, very much like the Sardinian bread we had several nights before. I have no idea how the tomatoes in Rome are as good as they are, but they were awesome. I had the Carbonara as my pasta course, and spring lamb for my 2nd. My husband opted for the pork chops which came out slightly overcooked. My carbonara was done well, except I wish it was just slightly less salted - the creaminess was perfection, but I drank half a bottle of my water with it since it was so salty! My lamb was cooked beautifully and even though I was bursting, I managed to finish every bite. We will always be fans for how they went above and beyond for us - many diners were sent away due to their full bookings, but a couple of outside tables were occupied by the time we left! read more

We originally came down this street for another restaurant that was closed, so we "settled" for this place. We were happily surprised at how wonderful it was! Very decently priced and delicious. Our breakfast consisted of a pastry (one of the best we had in Rome), eggs, orange juice, and coffee. The server was very kind, the food great, and the patio on a cute nondescript street in Monti before any of the Colosseo madness. We'd totally go back! read more

Atmosphere was really nice. The staff were neither friendly or cold just average. We ordered from the menu of the day. The pasta was severely undercooked. I was so disappointed. The flavor was great, however. We also ordered roast beef with mashed potatoes. It was quite delicious! They had great tiramisu and with a 20% off offer, no one left upset! read more

This has been my favorite meal yet! The location is a little off on Yelp maps but we luckily went back down the street and found it. It seems to be a locals place and that's what we wanted. I'd rather stay away from the tourist spots. The tomato bruschetta was sooo good. We also ordered the meat n cheese platter. Next we finished with a pasta with tomato sauce and bacon. It was the perfect al dente and I'm still thinking about it this morning. I want to go back tonight and eat. I highly recommend this restaurant if you're in the area. read more

Really nice and small restaurant next to Via Cabour and the Coliseum. Gnocchis were excellent and service friendly and fast. 10/10 would recommend! read more

Undercooked pasta and the cheese and sauce had a weird smell, which I do not know if it was normal or not. My bf's roast beef was bland and very raw, served with a bit salad. It was so lame. It was also quite expensive compared to other restaurants with bigger and better portions. Wouldn't go here again. read more

I really enjoyed staying at this restaurant. I guess it is a family owned one, thus the waiters and waitresses were very kind and considerate. Food was excellent. I enjoyed an authentic Italian carbonara, which I was looking for many years in Germany. House wine was okay, would go for a different one the next time. Even though, 5/5 stars. read more

Slow for one simple course... took forever to get check after asking for it, pasta ok but unremarkable and relatively expensive. We went on a recommendation and were quite disappointed. read more

Have been in Rome for five days now. Certainly this place is as excellent as several other places at which we have dined. Pro tip: choosing selections from the Chef's menu or daily specials has always yielded excellent results, and this place was no exception. We had prosciutto with melon for antipasti, typical yes but with only two ingredients, it is crucial for both to be fantastic, and we were not disappointed. Pro tip: if you try to order antipasti, primi piatti, and secondi piatti for just yourself, you will explode. Hubs and I order one of each and share it all, if we are really hungry, we may order two primi or secondi. In this case, for primi, we had the orchiette with boar ragu, a spectacular dish with good flavor. For secondi, we got grilled shrimp and rice. Note, in Italy, shrimp has been served in its shell in every dish I've had here, so be prepared to peel or don't order it. I don't mind, and these were fresh and delicious. Prego! read more

La Cicala e La Formica - Mediterranean Near Me - Rome, RM

Absolutely AMAZING!! We ended up here because other places were reservation only. BUT WE ARE so happy we found it!!! Such a Gem!!! The ambiance is super cute, the food is DELICIOUS one of the best I've ever had in Rome and the staff is excellent too! Everyone is super friendly - this place is a great find! Have to admit we went twice for dinner! It's just that good! We had the Fettuccini & Lamb, Beef Roulade & Salad, and the Bucatini with spicy sauce and bacon (pictured above). Great place, excellent food!!! read more

La Cicala e La Formica - Mediterranean Near Me - Rome, RM

A typical and very tasty lunch outside on Via Leonina not far from Forum. Zappa with legumes was heavily drizzled with EVOO and followed by a crispy salty porchetta. read more

Average place. Not very friendly staff but food is ok. Little too touristy. Can't recommend this place

We had an excellent dinner here. For our appetizer, we had a delicious Italian version of tempura. Our pasta was cooked to perfection. The waiters were very friendly and accommodating. To top it off, the prices were very reasonable. One tip: the restaurant can be hard to find as it's tucked away in a corner. When we went, they had green chairs for the outside seating, if that helps you find it! read more

Ate here two nights in a row on our trip to Rome. Great food! The staff was very accommodating when I asked if they could combine gnocchi with a different sauce than what was offered on the menu. So happy we found this restaurant. read more