Restaurant in Rome, Italy
Reliable, recognised, above the Trastevere crowd.
Antico Arco is a modern Italian restaurant on Rome's Gianicolo hill with three consecutive Opinionated About Dining Casual Europe rankings and a 4.6 Google rating across 1,318 reviews. It's the right call over generic Trastevere options for anyone who wants serious cooking without a fine-dining price tag. Easy to book, open noon to midnight Wednesday through Monday.
If you're choosing between Antico Arco and the Trastevere trattorias closer to the river, book Antico Arco. It sits just above the neighbourhood on the Gianicolo hill, and that slight remove from the tourist circuit is part of what makes it work. This is modern Italian cooking with enough restraint to feel Roman and enough ambition to have earned consecutive rankings on Opinionated About Dining's Casual Europe list — #289 in 2024, rising to #319 in 2025, and Highly Recommended before that. For a casual-category restaurant in a city where the competition includes serious neighbourhood institutions, that kind of sustained recognition is worth paying attention to.
Antico Arco occupies a spot where the energy is warm but not loud — at least early in the evening. The room has the feel of a place that locals have quietly claimed over years, not somewhere that announces itself. Come before 8 PM if you want to actually talk across the table; later sittings get livelier as the room fills. The atmosphere sits closer to an unhurried neighbourhood osteria than to a formal dining room, which makes it a better fit for an extended dinner than a quick pre-theatre meal.
Chef Fundim Gjepali runs a kitchen focused on modern Italian cooking , the kind that doesn't perform its creativity but lets technique do the work. Without confirmed dish details on hand, the OAD recognition is the clearest signal of consistent quality: getting onto that list once is achievable, staying on it across three consecutive years is not. A 4.6 average across 1,318 Google reviews confirms the kitchen is delivering reliably at volume, not just on good nights.
The bar and counter seating at Antico Arco is worth specifically requesting if you're dining solo or as a pair. Sitting at the bar here gives you a better read on how the kitchen operates , you're closer to the action, the service tends to be more conversational, and it's easier to ask about the menu in the moment. For a return visit, the counter is the upgrade that doesn't cost more. If you went before and sat at a standard table, try the bar next time.
Tuesday is the one day to avoid , the restaurant is closed. Wednesday through Monday it runs noon to midnight, which gives you genuine flexibility. Lunch is the less obvious choice at a place like this, but if you're spending time on the Gianicolo or visiting the nearby Villa Pamphilj, a midday sitting makes logistical sense and tends to be quieter than dinner. For a special occasion or a longer meal with wine, an early dinner sitting (7–7:30 PM) on a Thursday or Sunday gives you the room before it fills.
Reservations: Easy to book , no significant wait reported, though weekends and Friday evenings are worth booking ahead. Closed: Tuesday. Hours: Wednesday–Monday, 12 PM–midnight. Address: Piazzale Aurelio, 7, Rome. Dress: No formal dress code; smart-casual fits the room. Solo dining: Well-suited , request bar or counter seating. Groups: Manageable for small groups; contact the venue directly for larger parties.
See the full comparison below for how Antico Arco sits against its closest peers in Rome.
For modern Italian at a similar casual register, Zia is the closest peer , innovative cooking at €€€ pricing, easier to get into, and increasingly talked about. If you want to move up a tier, Il Pagliaccio is the fine-dining version of the same ambition but at €€€€ and significantly harder to book. Marzapane is another solid Rome option if Antico Arco doesn't have availability on your date.
Dinner is the stronger choice for a full experience , the room has more energy and the meal feels less rushed. That said, lunch works well if you're in the Gianicolo area and want a proper sit-down without the evening crowd. The kitchen runs noon to midnight Wednesday through Monday, so you have real flexibility. Early dinner (7–7:30 PM) is the sweet spot: better atmosphere than lunch, quieter than a 9 PM sitting.
Bar and counter seating is available and worth requesting, particularly for solo diners or couples. It puts you closer to the kitchen's rhythm, the service is typically more engaged, and it's a better format for asking about the menu on the day. If you've visited before and sat at a standard table, the counter is the natural next step.
Specific dish details aren't confirmed in our data, so we won't speculate on individual plates. What the OAD recognition across three consecutive years does tell you is that the kitchen is consistent with modern Italian technique , this is not a place coasting on a single dish. Ask the staff what's good that week; at a restaurant with this track record, that question will get a useful answer.
Small groups of 4–6 should be manageable with advance booking. For larger parties, contact the venue directly , the address is Piazzale Aurelio, 7, Rome. A phone number isn't confirmed in our data, so email or booking platform outreach is the safer approach. Tuesday is closed, so plan around that.
Yes, with the right expectations. This is a casual-category restaurant by OAD's classification, which means the setting is warm rather than formal. It works well for a birthday dinner or a meaningful meal out , the quality is there, the service reputation is solid (4.6 across 1,318 reviews), and the Gianicolo location feels removed from the tourist circuit in a way that helps. If you need white-tablecloth formality, Il Pagliaccio or Enoteca La Torre are better fits.
One of the better choices in Rome for a solo meal. Request bar or counter seating when you book , it's a more natural format when eating alone, gives you something to watch, and tends to produce better interaction with the staff. The room is approachable rather than intimidating, and the 4.6 Google rating across a large review base suggests the experience is consistent regardless of group size.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antico Arco | Modern Italian | Easy | |
| Il Pagliaccio | Contemporary Italian, Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Enoteca La Torre | Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Idylio by Apreda | Modern Italian, Italian Contemporary | €€€€ | Unknown |
| La Palta | Country cooking | €€€ | Unknown |
| Zia | Modern Italian, Innovative | €€€ | Unknown |
A quick look at how Antico Arco measures up.
Zia is the sharpest alternative if you want something with more creative edge in a similar casual-fine-dining register. For a step up in formality and Michelin-level ambition, Il Pagliaccio or Idylio by Apreda are the obvious moves. Antico Arco holds its own against all three on OAD's Casual Europe list, where it ranked #319 in 2025, but it occupies a different mood — warmer, less chef-forward in its positioning.
Dinner is the stronger call if atmosphere matters — the room fills through the evening and the energy builds naturally. Lunch works well for a quieter, more deliberate meal; the kitchen runs noon to midnight Wednesday through Monday, so there's no abbreviated service to worry about. If you're visiting on a tight schedule, the long midday window gives you real flexibility without the weekend dinner rush.
Bar seating is not confirmed in the venue's available data, so it's worth calling ahead or checking at the door. What is clear is that the restaurant runs a long service — noon to midnight — which suggests the space is set up for extended guest flow rather than quick turnovers.
Specific menu items aren't documented in Pearl's current data for Antico Arco. The kitchen runs under chef Fundim Gjepali and operates in the modern Italian register — expect seasonal, produce-led cooking rather than traditional Roman trattoria staples. Ask the front-of-house for their current recommendations when you arrive.
Nothing in the current data confirms private dining or dedicated group spaces, so check the venue's official channels before booking a party larger than four. The venue's long service hours — noon to midnight — suggest operational capacity for larger sittings, but group-specific logistics aren't confirmed.
Yes, with the right expectations set. Antico Arco has held a place on OAD's Casual Europe list since at least 2023, which means it has consistent peer recognition without the full formality of a Michelin room. It's a better fit for a celebratory dinner where conversation and food both matter than for a purely occasion-driven, ceremony-first meal — that's what Il Pagliaccio or Idylio by Apreda are for.
Solo dining works here — the casual-fine format and neighbourhood setting make it less awkward than a tasting-menu counter where you're locked into two-plus hours. The long service window (noon to midnight, Tuesday excepted) means you can time your visit to avoid peak noise. Whether bar or counter seating is available for singles isn't confirmed, so mention it when you reserve.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
