Il Buchetto

This little hole in the wall was so Italian to me – the menu is really basic Italian food that is just so good. No décor — who cares? You’re in Italy. You’re there to eat great food, drink wine, and talk for 3 hours.
We went twice — and each time I had a different kind of pasta. The first time I had the arrabbiata, which was good, but not as spicy as I’d hoped for. The second time I went super basic — pasta pomodoro, just a tomato and basil sauce, and it was one of the most delicious pastas I think I’ve ever had. The bread was unbelievable, and the wine was great — although please don’t ask me what it was. Like other real Italian restaurants they asked, «What do you want?» and we asked «What do you have?» and went with their recommendation. Has never steered me wrong yet!
For veggies I asked for an insalata mista and it was ginormous — I would recommend getting one to share. Also, whether this place or other places in Rome, don’t expect the Houlihans/Friday’s laundry list of all the different salad dressings. Oil and vinegar. And you know what? It’s totally worth it. The olive oil in every restaurant I went to is so good if they’d allowed me I probably would’ve tossed some back in a shot glass. Add some balsamic vinegar and a little salt and pepper, and it’s a really refreshing, basic salad. Trust me!
Now, this restaurant is not in the main part of downtown/​touristy Rome, although on a Friday and Saturday night, this street with a number of restaurants and bars is absolutely hopping. But if you end up staying up in this area of Rome (I’ll be writing a review of the hotel in which I stayed shortly which I highly recommend), this is a great place for dinner. I also remember them opening on the earlier side, which in Rome is about 7:30.
Mangia bene!