Restaurant in Rome, Italy
Southern Rome Provenance Cooking
FA.SE Osteria Moderna in Rome's Appio-Latino quarter is a modern osteria with a local following and an easy booking window — a practical choice when the tasting-menu format doesn't suit your group. It handles group dinners more flexibly than Rome's formal fine-dining rooms. Book mid-week for the best experience; a week's lead time is usually enough.
FA.SE Osteria Moderna sits on Viale Amelia in the Appio-Latino quarter, a residential stretch of Rome that sees far fewer tourists than the centro storico. That address alone tells you something about the venue's positioning: this is a restaurant drawing a local and destination crowd rather than relying on foot traffic from the Colosseum. If you have been once and are deciding whether to return or bring a group, the answer leans toward yes — with a few conditions worth knowing before you book.
The name, FA.SE, abbreviates "Fatto a Senso" — made with sense , which signals the kitchen's intent clearly enough. The format is a modern osteria, meaning you can expect a grounding in Roman and Italian tradition with a contemporary sensory approach rather than a full tasting-menu format. That positions it differently from the Michelin-starred tasting rooms across the city: this is a place built for repeat visits and group dinners, not a single ceremonial evening. For a regular returning diner, the priority is working further into the menu rather than reordering safe choices. Rome's modern osteria category rewards that approach.
The Appio-Latino neighbourhood makes the timing decision simple. Weekday evenings are the move: the room draws a predominantly local crowd mid-week, which means better service rhythm and less noise pressure than weekend sittings. If you are visiting Rome specifically for this dinner, a Tuesday or Wednesday booking gives you the room at its most focused. Weekend evenings will be fuller and more animated , worth knowing if you are bringing a group that wants energy over conversation.
On the group-dining question, which is where the PEA-R-10 angle matters most: the Viale Amelia address and osteria format suggest a room that handles groups more comfortably than a counter-focused omakase or a formal tasting menu venue. An osteria format by design accommodates shared plates, flexible pacing, and table configurations that work for four to eight guests. If you are planning a private or semi-private gathering in Rome, this is a more practical option than booking a high-end tasting room where the format locks every diner into the same progression. For a comparison: Il Pagliaccio and Enoteca La Torre both offer more formal private dining infrastructure, but come with higher price points and less flexibility on group pacing.
Booking is easy relative to Rome's competitive dining tier. Unlike La Pergola or Acquolina, which require significant lead time, FA.SE sits in a booking window that is more forgiving , a week or two out should be sufficient for most party sizes outside of major holiday periods. Walk-in availability is plausible mid-week, but calling ahead is the smarter move for groups of four or more.
For context on where this sits in the broader Italian restaurant picture: Rome's modern osteria category is not the same as a destination fine-dining room like Reale in Castel di Sangro or Uliassi in Senigallia. FA.SE is built for a different occasion: the kind of dinner you return to, bring guests to, and order more broadly at rather than deferring to a chef's fixed progression. That is a genuine advantage if the tasting-menu format does not suit your group.
FA.SE Osteria Moderna is at Viale Amelia, 13b, 00181 Rome. Booking difficulty is rated easy, which makes this a reliable fallback if your first-choice Rome reservation does not come through. For the full picture of where to eat, drink, and stay around this part of the city, see Pearl's Rome restaurants guide, Rome hotels guide, and Rome bars guide. For wine-focused experiences nearby, the Rome wineries guide and Rome experiences guide are worth a look.
Against Rome's top tier, FA.SE Osteria Moderna occupies a different category than the formal tasting rooms. Enoteca La Torre and Il Pagliaccio are both Michelin-recognised creative restaurants at the €€€€ tier, with structured menus and service styles that suit a special occasion more than a flexible group dinner. If your priority is creative cooking with full tasting-menu ceremony, either of those is a stronger pick. FA.SE is the better call when you want a modern Italian room that can pace a group dinner without locking everyone into a single sequence.
Aroma and Idylio by Apreda both sit at €€€€ and lean into the special-occasion positioning more explicitly , Aroma in particular trades on its rooftop Colosseum view, which is a different kind of evening entirely. If the setting is the centrepiece of the night, Aroma delivers that more directly. FA.SE is the option when the food and group dynamic matter more than the backdrop.
At the €€€ tier, La Palta offers country-cooking depth at a lower price point, though its style and location are a different proposition from an urban Roman osteria. For Rome dining specifically, FA.SE sits in a practical middle ground: more considered than a trattoria, more accessible than a tasting-menu room, and genuinely manageable for group bookings.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| FA.SE Osteria Moderna | — | |
| Enoteca La Torre | €€€€ | — |
| Il Pagliaccio | €€€€ | — |
| Aroma | €€€€ | — |
| Idylio by Apreda | €€€€ | — |
| La Palta | €€€ | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
