Visconti 2.0 — Restaurant in Rome

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A Fantastic Roman Dining Experience Near Vatican City

We had a truly wonderful first-night dinner at Visconti 2.0, just a short walk from our stay near Vatican City. I discovered the restaurant through The Fork app, which gave us a great discount — perfect for travellers and locals!

From the moment we arrived, the hospitality was top-notch. We were warmly welcomed by Yuri, our server, who was friendly, attentive, and made us feel right at home. Since our party of 12 arrived early around 5:00 PM, we had the place to ourselves for the duration of our dinner — a fun, friendly, and relaxed way to ease into our Roman adventure.

🥂 Food & Drinks Highlights:

To start, I shared the Tonnarelli Amatriciana fried balls — coated in panko and cornflakes — which were crunchy and satisfying. While they didn’t quite beat the arancini we had in Sicily, they were still a fun and flavourful bite. Others at the table enjoyed the Mortadella with black truffle and burrata — creamy, decadent, and delicious.

I ordered the Spaghetti Carbonara with black truffle, and it was easily one of my favourite pasta dishes from the entire trip to Italy — rich, flavorful, and beautifully textured with that perfect crispy bite of guanciale. Other standout dishes from our group included:

Diavola pizza all of the kids and teens in our group had the pizzas, and they were all great.

Homemade potato gnocchi with clams, mussels, shrimp, and yellow tomato sauce. Unique and tasty.

Tonnarelli all'Amatriciana with pork cheek and pecorino. A classic dish and cooked really well.

Classic Carbonara with fresh eggs and pork cheek. Also great, although my personal preference was still the truffle version - my relatives that had this dish really enjoyed it.

Every pasta dish was well-balanced and delicious. You can really taste the care in preparation and the quality of ingredients.

As for drinks, we weren’t huge fans of the spritzes that we ordered (which is just more of a personal preference as we do not like spritzes in general… but when in Rome), but the Ascaro IGP Lazio BIO red wine — a Merlot/Petit Verdot blend from Cantina Vincenzo Lotti — was absolutely beautiful!

🍽 Atmosphere & Story:

Visconti 2.0 has a welcoming, modern-yet-cozy vibe. Originally founded in 1988 by “Sora Maria,” the restaurant has been lovingly passed down through three generations. In 2016, it evolved into “Visconti 2.0,” led by Chef Luca Tomei, who updates traditional Roman recipes while staying true to their roots.

They also pride themselves on sourcing local ingredients, including craft beers and a wine list with over 200 labels from the Lazio region. (Note: a €2.50 charge per person for tablecloths, which is common in Rome.)

💬 Final Thoughts:

We had an exceptional experience here — from the friendly service to the delicious takes on Roman classics. It was the perfect place to start our trip, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to friends, family, or fellow travellers.

Grazie mille to Yuri and the Visconti 2.0 team — we’ll be back next time we’re...

The reason why we are so upset with this restaurant is because they charged us for the NAPKINS and for the bread basket they gave in the beginning. Keep in mind that we did not ask for it (we thought it was complimentary as it would be in any other restaurant). We noticed the charge when we asked for the bill, I was completely dumbfounded. The waiter (old guy; mentioned in another review too) explained the charge. When I just stared at him because of how shocked I was, he just snatched the receipt from me. On top of that, he demanded a tip? Tourists and locals STAY AWAY. There is much better out there.

At first glance, seemed like a decent restaurant. They had a range of items on the menu. My friend ordered a gnocchi fritto (appetiser) and pappardelle salsiccia (main). I ordered Roman artichoke (appetiser) and gnocchi with truffle (main).

Food was ok, could be worse. The gnoccho fritto was unexpected to us because the English name on the menu was “fried pizza/pizza squares”, which was quite misleading. It sounds like there would be filling in the dough. A google search of the Italian name showed us that indeed, gnoccho fritto was simply fried dough. However, customers shouldn’t have to spend 15 minutes googling their dishes in order to make a informed decision, especially if there is an English translation. Moreover, the oil tasted stale, as if it had been used multiple times. The food also felt microwaved, the temperature wasn’t consistent; some pieces of meat were hot while others were cold in the pappardelle.

I liked the artichoke, nothing bad to say about it. Cost 6 euros. The gnocchi truffle dish was ok. It had generous amounts of truffle which is a plus. However, it was an extremely greasy dish, and the oil again tasted old and stale.

Long story short, food was edible but we would never enter this restaurant again. We would even consider standing outside the restaurant to prevent people from going in and experiencing the inevitable disappointment we felt. We do not think it was worth the 50+...

Service When I come to buy food if I want a recommendation I will ask but the old waiter felt the need to tell us what he thought about all our food choices. My wife ordered a muscato which is typically a dessert wine and we know that as its listed as that but I didn't appreciate him letting her know its 'incorrect' to do this. As a waiter, just take orders. Also when it came to time to leave we waited long for the bill in the end we had to go back into restaurant to ask for it but waiter started serving other customers. When the bill arrived, waiter was very quick to say his tip wasn't included? We tipped out of guilt, ultimately we rewarded bad service. Food My wife enjoyed her dish but I hated mine. I got what is written in the menu in English as pan fried lamb with herb bread. In reality it is deep fried lamb with a scarce uneven layer of breadcrumbs + oily fried potatoes without any veg. my dish was well cooked but poorly described and lacked flavour. The portions are huge, I don't think the picture conveys it. Atmosphere The place is buzzing and had lots of diners. It seems the locals get to eat in and the foreigners on the outside but it isn't an official policy at least not openly. The outdoor seating area isn't exclusive, pedestrians, beggars and street traders often walk through. Toilet has no seat, which made for extremely awkward use. Reviews I write loads of reviews, where I write genuine accounts of my lived experience. My criticism is genuine so when I do give 5* it can be respected. This restaurant has too many 5s from people who: rarely write reviews, are just trying to earn points to be local guides and folk who give virtually every place 5 without...