Restaurant in Rome, Italy
Traditional Lazio meat cooking, worth the trip
A Michelin Plate-recognised trattoria in Tivoli with a focused case for Lazio's meat and offal tradition. At the €€ price point, it is one of the more honest-value options in the Rome orbit, with two consecutive Michelin Plates and a 4.5 Google rating. Worth the short journey from Rome, especially for a long lunch paired with Tivoli's historic sites.
If you are making the short trip from Rome to Tivoli and want one good reason to sit down for a proper meal, Li Somari is it. Positioned at the entrance to Tivoli's historic centre, this is the restaurant you book when you want Lazio's meat-based tradition cooked with genuine skill rather than tourist-facing approximation. The Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025 confirms the kitchen is operating at a level worth the detour. At the €€ price point, it is also one of the more honest-value propositions in the wider Rome dining orbit. Book it, especially if offal is your thing.
Coming here for the first time, the single most important thing to know is what this restaurant is and is not. Li Somari is a focused, traditional trattoria-register restaurant rooted in Lazio's meat and offal traditions, with occasional fish dishes and nods to neighbouring regional cooking. It is not a modernist tasting-menu destination. The physical setting at Piazza Rivarola 21 places it literally at the gateway to the old town, which means you can pair a meal here with time in Tivoli's historic core, Villa Adriana, or Villa d'Este without any logistical complexity. The room itself keeps things grounded: this is a space that prioritises comfort and function over theatrical design. Do not arrive expecting a grand dining room. Expect instead a setting that lets the food carry the weight, which at Li Somari, it does.
The guest experience is shaped by chef Adriano Baldassarre's cooking, and specifically by his handling of offal. The Michelin recognition singles out this dimension explicitly: the classic pan of chicken giblets and grilled marrow paired with beef tartare and truffled potatoes are cited as standout expressions of a kitchen that takes these cuts seriously. If you have eaten offal at restaurants across Rome and found it competent but unremarkable, the case being made here is that Li Somari operates at a more complete level. For those who are new to Lazio's offal tradition, this is a reasonable introduction because the cooking is described as generous and well-executed rather than austere or challenging.
At the €€ price point, Li Somari sits in territory where the lunch versus dinner question has real practical weight. Lunch here is the stronger case for most first-timers. Tivoli's historic sites, including Villa Adriana and Villa d'Este, draw visitors during daylight hours, and a midday meal at Li Somari slots naturally into that rhythm. A long lunch of traditional Lazio meat dishes in a room that is not competing with evening-crowd energy gives you the food at its most comfortable context. You leave with time to walk the old town before the late afternoon.
Dinner is a different proposition. The restaurant's position at the entrance to the historic centre means it draws a more local evening clientele, and the atmosphere shifts accordingly. If your priority is a quieter, more focused experience with the food as the main event, dinner works well. If you are visiting Tivoli as a day trip from Rome, however, lunch is simply more practical: you avoid the return journey in the middle of the night and you still get the full measure of what the kitchen is doing. Either way, with a Google rating of 4.5 across 263 reviews, consistency across services appears strong.
One note on value calibration: at €€, Li Somari is considerably more accessible than the Michelin-starred Rome options. Compared to the €€€€ tier represented by Il Pagliaccio or Idylio by Apreda in Rome, you are not getting the same formal service architecture or tasting menu ambition, but you are getting genuine regional cooking with credible Michelin recognition at a fraction of the price. For Lazio cuisine specifically, that is a compelling trade-off.
The Michelin-documented highlights give you a clear ordering framework. Offal dishes are the kitchen's strength: the pan of chicken giblets and grilled marrow with beef tartare and truffled potatoes are the items most clearly cited as exceptional. Beyond those, the broader menu covers Lazio meat-based cooking with occasional fish dishes and some crossover into neighbouring regional traditions. If you are not an offal enthusiast, the menu still offers substantial options, but the restaurant's identity is built around these cuts. Arriving without trying at least one offal dish means missing the point of the kitchen.
Li Somari is in Tivoli, approximately 30 kilometres east of central Rome. Tivoli is served by direct train from Roma Tiburtina, making this reachable without a car. Booking difficulty is assessed as easy, which reflects the restaurant's position outside the Rome city centre reservation pressure. You do not need to plan weeks ahead, but calling or emailing in advance is still sensible for weekend visits or larger groups. Hours and booking contact details are not currently listed, so confirm directly before travelling.
Within the Lazio cuisine category, Li Somari sits alongside Degli Angeli in Magliano Sabina and Mingone in Carnello as part of a network of serious regional cooking outside the Rome centre. For Rome-based Lazio-style options, L'Osteria della Trippa and Trattoria Pennestri cover similar territory without requiring the Tivoli journey. Sora Maria e Arcangelo is another reference point for traditional Roman-Lazio cooking. The differentiating factor at Li Somari is the Michelin Plate recognition at the €€ tier combined with a specific offal focus that few Rome-area restaurants match at this price. Cacciani covers the Castelli Romani angle if you want another day-trip option from Rome with regional cooking credentials.
For the full Rome dining picture, see our full Rome restaurants guide. If you are building a broader Tivoli or Lazio trip, our Rome hotels guide, bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide provide useful context. Italy's broader fine dining circuit, from Osteria Francescana in Modena to Uliassi in Senigallia and Reale in Castel di Sangro, sits at a different level of ambition and price, but Li Somari demonstrates that serious regional cooking does not require that kind of budget or that kind of formality.
Booking difficulty is easy by Rome-region standards. You do not need to plan weeks in advance, but for weekend lunch or dinner, booking a few days ahead is sensible. The restaurant's location in Tivoli rather than central Rome keeps reservation pressure lower than comparable Michelin-recognised options in the city itself.
Lead with the offal. The Michelin Plate recognition specifically calls out the pan of chicken giblets and grilled marrow with beef tartare and truffled potatoes as the kitchen's most complete expressions. Beyond those, the menu covers Lazio meat-based cooking with occasional fish dishes. If you skip the offal, you are missing the point of what makes this restaurant worth the trip.
Bar seating details are not confirmed in available data. Given the restaurant's trattoria register and Tivoli location, this is less likely to be a bar-dining destination than a table-service room. Contact the restaurant directly to confirm seating options before arriving with that expectation.
No tasting menu is confirmed in available data. Li Somari operates in the trattoria tradition at the €€ price point, which typically means à la carte ordering rather than a set tasting format. If a tasting menu is your priority, the €€€€ options in Rome such as Idylio by Apreda or Il Pagliaccio are built around that format. Li Somari's value is in the à la carte depth of its regional cooking.
At €€ with two consecutive Michelin Plates and a 4.5 Google rating across 263 reviews, yes. You are getting credentialled regional cooking at a price point well below what comparable Michelin-recognised restaurants in central Rome charge. The trade-off is the Tivoli journey, which adds time but also gives you a day-trip context that makes the meal feel part of a larger itinerary rather than a standalone expense.
The €€ price point and trattoria format make solo dining practical from a cost perspective. The room's focus on food over scene means you are not walking into a space designed around group energy. For solo diners interested in offal and traditional Lazio cooking, this is a comfortable choice. Confirm seating arrangements when booking if counter or bar seating matters to you.
Three things: first, this is a Tivoli restaurant, not a Rome one, so factor in travel time from central Rome. Second, the kitchen's identity is built around Lazio meat and offal cooking, specifically at the level the Michelin Plate recognises. Third, lunch is the most practical visit for day-trippers, pairing naturally with Tivoli's historic sites. Come with an appetite for traditional regional cooking and order the offal.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Li Somari | Cuisine from Lazio | €€ | 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 |
What to weigh when choosing between Li Somari and alternatives.
Book at least a week in advance if you're planning a weekend visit, more if you're coordinating a Tivoli day trip around Villa d'Este or Hadrian's Villa. Li Somari sits at the entrance to Tivoli's historic center, which means it catches both local regulars and tourists on the same service. Midweek lunch gives you the most flexibility, but don't rely on walk-in availability without calling ahead — and phone details are not publicly listed, so contact via the Piazza Rivarola address or check local booking platforms.
Go straight to the offal section — this is where the kitchen earns its Michelin Plate recognition. The pan of chicken giblets and grilled marrow with beef tartare and truffled potatoes are the documented standouts from Adriano Baldassarre's menu. If offal is not your format, the wider meat-based Lazio cuisine still holds up, and there are occasional fish dishes available, but offal is the reason to make this trip specifically.
Bar seating is not documented in the available venue information for Li Somari. This is a traditional trattoria-style operation focused on seated dining, so plan for a proper sit-down meal rather than a quick counter visit. If a bar option matters to you, confirm directly when booking.
A formal tasting menu is not documented in Li Somari's venue record. At the €€ price point, the format here leans toward à la carte Lazio classics rather than a set tasting progression. If a structured tasting format is what you want, Idylio by Apreda in Rome operates at a higher price tier but offers that experience — Li Somari is the better call if you want to eat well and spend less.
At €€, yes — this is a straightforward value case. Two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024 and 2025) at a mid-range price point in a non-tourist-inflated Tivoli setting means you are getting credentialed regional cooking without a central Rome premium. The offal dishes in particular represent serious kitchen craft at a price that would be hard to match in the city.
Workable, but not the most natural fit. Traditional Lazio trattorie are built around sharing plates and communal eating, and Li Somari's meat-focused menu rewards ordering across multiple dishes. Solo diners can eat well here — the offal dishes are portioned individually — but you will get more from the kitchen as a pair or small group.
This is a meat and offal restaurant first — if that is not your format, look elsewhere. The Michelin Plate signals consistent technique, not fine-dining ceremony, so expect a traditional room and direct service rather than a curated tasting experience. It sits at the entrance to Tivoli's historic center, which makes it easy to combine with the town's main sites, and the €€ pricing means you can eat properly without treating it as a special-occasion spend.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
