Navigating Italy’s capital with a newborn, with all its ancient roads and many stairs, is not an easy task. But finding the right restaurants in Rome to eat with your baby does make things much easier and your trip smoother. From a pizza place to contemporary bistros, we have tried and tested several places to eat in Rome with our baby and these are the ones where he (so, we!) had a more relaxed meal.
In order for a restaurant to be baby-friendly, we think it needs to provide a high chair, a changing unit in the bathroom and be willing to make a lighter meal for a newly weaning child. Usually, when we booked a restaurant, we have always asked if they had all these facilities beforehand and then made our decision, but sometimes we ended up eating somewhere unexpected.
Unless we already knew the restaurant we were going, we always carried his homemade food in a thermos and then asked the waiter just for a plate and a spoon. However, even if we did have our food ready but we found that the restaurant could make something for him, we did so.
Il Margutta
This is one of my favorite restaurants in Rome to go with a baby not only because it’s one of the best places to eat vegetarian in Rome, but also because it’s spacious, the food is visibly made with high-quality ingredients and very curated, and you can easily find kids-friendly dishes without asking to make something separately. However, our baby was just starting to eat solids, so we asked if they could make some soup and so they did, a delicious zucchini pureed soup my baby literally devoured.
They have a high chair my baby seemed to like and didn’t want to immediately jump out from and their bathroom is equipped with a baby changing unit, which is not in the ladies’ restroom like it often happens, but in a larger bathroom reserved for guests with disabilities.
- Where: Via Margutta 118
- How to get there: metro (Flaminio, line A).
- Website.
Ginger Sapori
For some reason that I can’t explain, Ginger Sapori restaurant in Via Borgognona, off Via del Corso, is one of the very few my son doesn’t want to run away from as soon as we grab a table. It might be a comfortable high chair or the laid-back vibe, but we can always enjoy our meal to the end, sometimes, with dessert included.
The food is also baby-friendly because they have veggie options cooked in a light way such as steaming, and my son’s weaning involved mainly cooked soft veggies. From Ginger Sapori, he had steamed veggies, some rice and some pieces of fish, eating from his own plate and then having a taste of what we ordered, too. We are lucky that our baby loves to try new foods, which makes it easier when we eat out in Rome.
As a plus, we found that this is one of the best restaurants in Rome to go with a baby because their toilet features a changing unit. All parents know how precious this is when you travel with a little baby!
- Where: Via Borgognona 43-46.
- How to get there: metro (Flaminio, line A)
- Website.
Aromaticus
We love Aromaticus, one of our favorite restaurants in Trastevere. They serve natural, organic, vegan food and it’s always been easy to find something for our baby whether we picked it from the starters, the main courses, or even the side dishes.
If your baby is less than 2, you might want to avoid whole-grain rice or other grains and maybe ask to cook a little longer pasta or grains, but many other things will do just fine. Our baby started quite young to eat with herbs and spices (not too chili!), so he has always enjoyed very tasty foods.
Whether it’s inside or outside, our baby has always enjoyed this Rome restaurant, so now that it’s tested and tried, it’s one of our safe spots.
- Where: Via Natale del Grande 6/7
- How to get there: train (Trastevere station), tram (8), bus (8BUS, H).
- Website.
AquaLunae
This lovely bistro is in Rome’s Prati area and features both inside tables and dehors. Its location in Piazza dei Quiriti makes it a quiet spot in the middle of a very busy hub of the neighborhood. Their dishes are a nice blend of tradition and the chef’s personal take, and the result is contemporary fine dining.
While for a baby these recipes might not be ideal, they are willing to make simple dishes like pasta with a light tomato sauce.
They also provide a high chair and the bathroom features a baby changing unit. You just need to ask them because it’s not permanent so they need to set it up, which takes a minute, so no issue.
- Where: Piazza dei Quiriti 19/20
- How to get there: bus (81), metro (Lepanto and Ottaviano, line A)
- Website.
Berberè
Berberè is one of our favorite pizzerias in Rome and my son’s very first encounter with a pizza, still not too expert but not yet starting to wear it as a hat. The place is cozy and its trattoria-style décor gives it a family-like vibe.
For the baby, they provided a high chair and offered to make a smaller “baby” pizza, which my baby absolutely loved. They make their pizza with a blend of organic, semi-wholegrain flours and finish it with gourmet toppings.
Obviously, for babies, you can ask to modify the toppings as you think fit, I created a very simple one for my baby.
- Where: Via Mantova 5
- How to get there: bus (38, 89, 120F, 490, 495), metro (Sant’Agnese-Annibaliano, line B)
- Website.
Le Vele
This is a restaurant we discovered by chance one day when we were shopping near the Vatican. It is a bit elegant and upscale, but the staff was so welcoming and helpful with the baby in any way that we immediately felt comfortable.
Somehow, they knew what we needed. We had forgotten our portable high chair so it came in pretty handy when they brought us a high chair. They also suggested what we could order for him.
Our baby had baked fish on potato crust. He’s not a big fan of potatoes but he did enjoy them with the fish and he also tried everything else his parents ordered.
- Where: Piazza Pio XI 75
- How to get there: bus (31, 33, 98, 190F, 791, 881, 916), train (San Pietro station)
- Website.
Vivi Bistrot Villa Pamphilj
Vivi Bistrot in Villa Pamphilj Park serves simple dishes made with organic, high-quality ingredients. From hearty sandwiches to Buddha bowls, here there is really everything for everyone, and finding something light and easy to eat for a baby is not difficult.
However, I’m suggesting this as a nice place to eat with a baby in Rome more for its location than the place per se. The restaurant doesn’t have a bathroom well-equipped for babies as it lacks changing unit and it’s pretty narrow in space.
The fact that it’s inside one of Rome’s best parks makes it one of my favorites. You can order a picnic, but please do it online and from the day before, last time I went to order directly there and they panicked.
The kitchen is open from 12.30 pm until 3 pm and to make a picnic they need a few hours so booking well ahead is the only way you can have a picnic with more than the sandwiches already on display. They also give you a basket and a mat/towel to lay on the grass and place your food. Our baby enjoyed it very much, both when he was a baby and now that he’s a toddler.
- Where: Via Vitellia 102
- How to get there: bus (31, 33, 791, 982).
- Website.