The Best Seafood Near Bistrot, by the Record
-
Rank 1. La Trota
Freshwater Seafood
The Santa Susanna canal runs right outside the door, and on good days you eat on a wooden bridge above it, which is only appropriate given that trout, tench, pike, and freshwater crayfish are the whole point here. This one-Michelin-star country restaurant in the Lazio hills has been around forever, treating freshwater fish with the seriousness usually reserved for the sea. They send you home with wild herbs to steep.
-
Rank 2. San Lorenzo
Seafood
Black truffles turn up with genuine generosity here, which tells you something about how this family-run restaurant in Spoleto's historic center operates. It sits inside the Clitunno hotel, but the mood is its own: an intimate, recently refurbished dining room with seasonal meat and fish, and a terrace on the small square for warmer nights. Park outside the restricted zone and walk in; the stroll through the old town is half the point.
-
Rank 3. Per Me Giulio Terrinoni
Seafood
A Michelin-starred seafood restaurant tucked into a narrow lane just off Via Giulia, where the chef has spent years refining a style that trusts the fish rather than the flourish. The room is intimate and the cooking is classic, with a quiet confidence that doesn't need to announce itself. Two counter seats face the open kitchen if you want the chef's more improvisational menu and a front-row view of how it all comes together.
-
Rank 4. Il Sanlorenzo
Mediterranean Seafood
A fish counter greets you at the door, which sets the tone for everything that follows at this polished seafood restaurant a short walk from Campo de' Fiori. The room is elegant, the service is quietly professional, and the wine list is enormous in a way that rewards browsing. The crowd trends toward Rome's discreet moneyed set, and the staff seems constitutionally allergic to fuss. Ranked fifth among Italy's fish restaurants by 50 Top Italy.
-
Rank 5. Ottavi Mare
Seafood
-
Rank 6. Acciuga
Seafood
-
Rank 7. Pirò
Seafood
A short walk from Piazza Navona in a city where proximity to a landmark usually means a tourist tax, this seafood restaurant holds its own with a menu built around crudo and whatever the day's catch makes possible. The room is modern and intimate, service reads your mood without hovering, and the team brings real experience to Rome's notoriously competitive dining scene. Go when the evening quiets the neighborhood down.
-
Rank 8. Dogma
Grilled Seafood
Charcoal smoke threads through almost every course here, including dessert, which tells you immediately what kind of cooks run this small seafood restaurant near piazza Zama. A husband-and-wife team, him cooking and her running the room, they bring real technique and the occasional Basque detour to Rome. Tables fill fast on evenings, so book ahead.