Old Bear

We came to this restaurant 5 years ago 3 times because of the quality and flavors of the food. Five years later, came back and is still the same, one of the best restaurants in Rome. Close to Piazza Navona and the Vatican. If in Rome, please visit. You will not regret it!!! I had salmon crostini that was delicious. If you don’t eat to much, the portion is enough for one person. Two pieces of bread with a good portion salmon of one person. I had to share because I ordered a lasagne and if I ate all the crostini I could not have anything more. My husband ordered truffle and mushroom lasagna and lamb kabob. He said it was amazing. I know it was because his plate were clean. We ordered Chianti Classico Buondonno. Really, really good

Although they have the standard Italian meals, they also have some other flavors that are very different. The pumpkin lasagna was rich and delicious. Their salad was dressed, which was a first. They have a nice dark beer on tap. Very friendly service. On a nice quiet street with great outdoor seating.

Stopped for a quick drink and a snack after an afternoons sightseeing.
Grabbed a beer (oddly only Tennants or Paulaner available) and ordered the Tomato Bruschetta and the Parma Ham Crostini. The food was great — nice sized portions and very tasty.
Service was fine.
Overall great value for money. Would recommend!

1. Cheese Lasagna was pretty good and tasty
2. beef steak cubes, I don’t reccomend, very little taste

Excellent Tiramisu. And I did not expect the pumpkin lasagna to be remarkable but the combination of the rich cream and cheesy bacon flavors was just remarkable. Others at the table loved the truffle lasagna and seafood linguine. All at an excellent price.

Oh my gosh. ONE of the best experiences I had during my time in Roma last week! Possibly it helped that I had an amazing group of people with me. No. That is not all it! This cute tucked away building off the Piazza Navona and up some cobble stoned side streets is a gem. A group of about 11 of us met up here for dinner. Yes. Being from the US, I balked at the name: What? THIS is not an ITALIAN name or place? I said. Well. I was surprised; it was. We all started with several carafes of the house red wine and a few platters of the Rustico: a charcuterie and fresh mozzerella platter. The house made Italian bread is non stop. MMMMM. Dipping that in the olive oil and balsamic vinegar was a meal in itself. Next comes the Mixte Salad. A fresh, large salad comprised of fresh veggies and lettuces. Spritz again with the balsamic vinegar and a dab of the olive oil and MMMMM again! We ordered various dishes amongst our group. I wanted different. I went with the rich, heavy White Truffle Lasagna. It comes out very hot and in a black iron cast baker and is a very generous serving. I could not finish it all, because its so big and its so rich! We had Limoncello after dinner and various desserts such as a Nutella mousse that is served warm… OH. MY. Bella. Seriously a great meal and very friendly, English speaking staff that was helpful and patient with our group all night. This place has so much cute ambience! I’ve bragged about my night here more than any other place I ate at in Roma on my trip. Can’t wait to return!

We should have know better when all the reviews were in English. That doesn’t denote good Italian food. Definitely not a food snob, just comparing to other places we are ate right around the corner.
Food: not great at all.
Location: great but littered with street vendors pushing roses and dancing bears.
Service: our server was very pleasant.

Old Bear is our favorite restaurant in Roma due to the amazing food, great service and perfect ambiance. It’s THE Italian dining experience you seek out to find. The restaurant is tucked away on a side street conveniently close to the busy Piazza Navona but far enough to be a romantic shelter away from the chaos. Try the Spaghetti Amatriciana — it’s simple but incredibly memorable.

Beautiful old tavern décor on a quiet street a few blocks from piazza Navonna. Loved dinner here. Great friendly service, loved the food, and at least 4 of the desserts are delicious!
Best of all my two daughters, my wife, and I had the Italian dinner experience. We sat around 8:30, ate talked and laughed, and finished around 11 pm. Three courses. No TV, no video games. Pure family bonding.
The street is very quiet and peaceful. One misunderstanding, though: we thought this was a brewery when we read the menu from the street. It said «birreria». But the beer selection was limited and not made on premises. They do have craft beer on tap but only a few choices.
My Mediteranean salad (grilled veggies), the pasta funghi, and the eggplant parm were all great. Would definitely go back.

What do you get when you combine good food, good wine, good service, good atmosphere, and a great location? You get a restaurant rated a 4 and a recommendation for others to go there.
First, don’t go to Rome in August, but if you do, go in the first half of August before the Italians all go on holiday. My preferred season for Rome is still December through February, but here we were in August.
Piazza Navona is a zoo. Crowded, chaotic, touristy, etc. Take your pictures and get the hell out as soon as possible. As you wander over towards Old Bear, you’ll notice immediately that the streets narrow and quiet down, the tourists thin out, and a certain peace comes over you. You are probably good to stop into any of the three or four places in the area, but we went to Old Bear.
We sat outside on a Saturday night at 9ish and had almost zero car traffic going by. Some foot traffic (mostly tourist groups from hell heading to God knows where), but very few cars. We got a ½L of Montepulciano, the gnocchi, and pasta of the day. All were great.
Try this place, it’s a nice respite from the chaos of the day.

Came here based off of the reviews, wasn’t horrible, but not great either. The ambiance is pretty neat, but the food was just ok. Maybe we ordered the wrong stuff… Would give it a 3.5 if I could.

Stumbled upon this great little place one day after an exhausting day of walking around seeing the sites. I lived in Northern Italy for a few years and this place brought me back to that time. A quaint little non pretentious place on a quiet street a few blocks from the crowds. The owner is fantastic, the food simple but very elegant. Servings are plentiful without being too much.

I don’t understand what draws people here. After hearing so many people rave about Old Bear, we finally went with a group of friends. The menu has an impressive variety of options but does none of them well. Tasteless ravioli were drowning in cheesy broth and the lamb kebab was dry and overcooked. The salads and goulash are not impressive either. The atmosphere is something like an English pub and in fact there was a great deal of noise which sounded like drunken sports revelers coming from upstairs. To top it off, people stood right outside the door and smoked (not unusual) but the smoke came right inside and filled the small room. I can’t think of any reason to return.

Lasagna heaven!!! This sweet little restaurant was right around the corner from our hotel. I loved the food so much, I may stay at the same place in the future just to be close to this restaurant. I ate here twice during my stay and probably would have eaten here again if I’d have gone sooner. The restaurant is very sweet with great romantic lighting. The waitstaff was very nice and made great suggestions. The house red was tasty and inexpensive and the rustic antipasti plate was generous and varied. We had the pumpkin lasagne, the mushroom and truffle lasagne, and the pasta amatriciana. All were superb! This was where we had our best meals in rome.

This is what I flew across the world for!
Tucked away down a cobbled street in the Piazza Navona area, we stumbled across (luckily UnilocalED thanks to the monocole feature) this wonderful taverna late at night. It felt very homey and we were made to feel very welcome by the staff. A great selection of European beers and well-​priced delicious wines, with excellent food and a wide choice of dishes on the menu.
The stone bass carpaccio was to die for — best starter I’ve had, better than in some 5-​star restaurants we have had in New York and Miami. Food portions are very generous so remember to bring your appetite with you. The bolognese was phenomenal as well. I would thoroughly recommend this for couples, families or large groups looking to have a relaxed meal in lovely, laid-​back surroundings. Excellent value for money.

I first ate at Old Bear 5 years ago and had a memorable experience. The inside is all wood and the outside has cute tables lining a little cobblestone street. I came to Rome to learn Italian; I have since then absorbed the culture and food. Eating here now, my taste has developed to spot touristy and authentic restaurants. The food isn’t necessarily bad, nor is it good. Pasta isn’t made «al dente,» but rather soft. The tartufo (truffle) pasta was very heavy with little personality; we got bored of it and it was left unfinished. My cozze e pecorino (mussels and pecorino cheese) pasta was bland because of the under-​salted water, in which the pasta was boiled.
I wonder if I would have liked the same food back then. In Rome, food that isn’t great is a waste of time and calories. There are MANY places to eat, especially in this neighborhood.

We were sent here by a friend who is a retired Lazio state policeman who now lives in the US.
He said it was great food and fun atmosphere and he was 100% right.
Luigi and his staff are dedicated to serving delicious food and lots of la dolce vita.
Do not miss the pumpkin lasagna. And the eggs and truffles are great too.

On a side street a couple of blocks of Piazza Navona, in a non nondescript building alone a narrow alley way lies this wonderful restaurant.
Before I get to the food, the drinks were just excellent, I’d give the place 5 stars just for the sangria ! I could drink it all night long, and I probably did. lol ! The beer comes in nice big ceramic mugs, they do have Tennant’s Lager on tap, and for the german connoisseur Paulaner dunkel flows aplenty.
The vegetarian options are limited, but judging by how fast my friends finished and savoured their meat options, I am positive it was just delish.
The outside seating is a bit crammed and the tables are a bit wobbly but then i think it tends to add to the charm of the place. The inside has a nice rustic feel and they do take all major credit cards. One word of caution, if you must eat outside, the traffic can get annoying. If this tends to bother you, then you are better off inside.

Really wished we’d eaten here our first night as we would have been back every night for sure. Our waitress was abrupt but efficient so don’t expect too many smiles unless you are grinning at her i don’t think she’s a fan of tourists! Marty and i decided to skip the entrée to try 3 pastas instead. The 202: spaghetti alla gricia with bacon, parmesan & pecorino cheese, the 203: baked pumpkin lasagna with speck ham & smoked cheese and my fave the 215: baked parmesan aubergines lasagna with mozerella & parmesan cheese. He loved the pumpkin lasagna though it lacked pumpkin for me. It’s the first place we’ve eaten in Rome with decent warm crusty bread which is a shame because i couldn’t fit in a dessert after polishing off all the bread. He had 2 beers (1/​5L each) and i had 2 1L bottles of water (really thirsty after being in this summer heat and sun) our bill came to just under 50euro. Easily the best place we ate in Rome in terms of price, efficiency and food quality. Loved it.

One of the hardest things when traveling abroad (or anywhere new) is knowing where to eat. And in the case of Roma, where the city’s main moneymaker is the tourism industry — makes deciding where to eat quite difficult. Alleys after alleys with employees standing outside yelling, «Bella!» to get your attention and lure you inside. I quickly came to find out, that these are the places to avoid. Anywhere where an employee is flagging you down is usually not a good sign, they just want your money. TRUST ME, I would know… from experience. The restaurants who do NOT need additional ‘live’ advertising are the businesses you want to support. They are the ones with great food. That is why they are successful.
I was in Roma in 2009 for a month studying art history. My classmates randomly came across the Old Bear, in an alley a couple blocks behind the Piazza Navona. Quiet, cute little alley. No tourists. No yelling waiters. Bliss.
There were about 25 of us students on this trip total. We came to the Old Bear quite often (at least 4 or 5 times during our stay) and they easily accommodated our large group. The layout looks very small and cozy but there is also a second floor that can accommodate the larger groups. We always sat upstairs due to our large number. The old wood textures, stone pillars, and brick arches give off a rustic italian feel. Mood is set by dim lighting.
Food was tasty. All their pasta dishes are great! I loved #214 Mussels with Fettucini and the Spaghetti with Scallops. When I was there they also had a Pumpkin Lasagna which was very good too. Portions are slightly smaller, especially in comparison to American portions. Men may have to order to dishes. Price was moderate for the quality of the food. And the service was so attentive! Normally at any restaurant, waiters/​waitresses loathe large groups, but every time they were so kind to us — even as tourists. The lady who always worked the cash register (owner possibly?) is so sweet and patient, especially as we worked out paying in a group IN CASH, IN EUROS. Seriously, sweetest italian lady ever. She alone made it worth going to the Old Bear.
So great, anyone who I know is going to Roma, I tell them about the Old Bear. If I ever visit again, I’m beelining straight for the Old Bear. Ciao~