Osteria da Mario — Restaurant in Rome

I am working in Rome (lucky me) while my family is seeing the sites. Osteria da Mario is on the street where we are staying so I slipped out around noon to catch a quick meal at this place. This is an excellent Roman restaurant so 'quick' is not really the vibe, they are cooking to order. But the service was good and I was out in under an hour. I sat inside so as not to take an outside table away from tourists and ordered the Trippa alla Romana with a side of Verza. Delicious. I even splurged and had a glass of the house wine. Delicious. One local (at least he was speaking Italian) entered right before me and by the time I finished the inside tables were full of people speaking Italian (including one man with a priest's collar) so I get the impression that this really is a real local's eating place along with the nice outdoor area for tourists. I scanned what the people speaking Italian (locals?) had ordered. I saw Tonnarelli Cacio E Pepe for the young man and the older men had ordered salads or Affettati Misti (cold cuts). I plan to take my family here some time later this week....

Some things that don't affect the raring but you should be aware of. The entire meal little bugs were enjoying wine, face, and arms. I also was treated to multiple cigarettes during my meal. The exhaust of the cars and scooters sits heavy in this courtyard.

Service. Pleasant but painfully slow. Well over 25 min to get pasta course. Second courses were similarly paced although it fill up compared to first course when we were the only table ordering.

The arrabiata lacked any depth of flavor and spice for my taste. My wife said she got some spice out of it though.

Carbonara, I actually thought was pretty nice as far as flavor goes. Not the way everyone else seems to prepare it but tasty nonetheless.

Veal saltinbocca, void of soul. Light flavorless sauce with underseasoned mashed potatoes that could have used another pass through the tamis

Rabbit, my wife enjoyed it and I'd seen enough so I didn't taste. All in all about what you would expect in such a...

We came to Rome with a mission to avoid all touristy dining places, including those made popular by Instagram and TikTok. We were casually strolling by the street where Osteria da Mario is when we figured out that everyone inside (and out) of the restaurant speaks Italian and that there are no tourists here whatsoever. The patrons didn't care about luring us in, and everything seemed authentic, so we decided to dine there. Best decision ever. The whole staff was lovely - smiling, singing, and accommodating us with a 10 month old baby. We felt like at home. The food was fresh, seasonal, and delicious - unlike anywhere else that we tried in Rome (to the point that we kept coming back here for every dining experience instead of experimenting with different places). Can't give enough praise to Osteria da Mario, which is obviously a hit with the locals, and what better indication of this being an authentic Roman dining place...