Hosteria l'Archeologia

Via Appia Antica 139 (across the street from San Sebastiano catacombs, at corner with Vicolo d. Basilica)
tel. +39-06-788-0494
www.larcheologia.it
Closed Tuesday
€€

Bus: 118

• Tomb of Cecilia Metella
• Catacomb di St. Callixtus
• Catacomb di Sam Domitilla ★★
• Catacombe di San Sebastiano ★
• Appian Way ★★

• Hotel Villa San Pio €€
• Hotel San Anselmo €€
• Hotel Aventino €€

• Appia Antica Caffè €
• San Crispino - Appian Way € [gelato]
• Checchino dal 1887 €€€

• "Pane e coperto" is not a scam: Nearly all Italian restaurants have an unavoidable pane e coperto ("bread and cover" charge) of anything from €1 to €15—though most often €2 to €5—per person that is automatically added onto your bill. This is perfectly normal and perfectly legal (though a few trendy restaurants make a big deal about not charging it).
• Find out if service (tip) is included: Don't double-tip by accident. If the menu has a line—usually near the bottom of the front or back—that says "servizio" with either a percentage, an amount, or the word "incluso" after it, that means the tip is automatically included in the price. (If it says "servizio non incluso," tip is, obviously, not included.)
  
  Even if the menu doesn't say it, ask É incluso il servizio? (ay een-CLOU-so eel sair-VEET-zee-yo)—"Is service included?" If not, tip accordingly (10%–15% is standard).
  
  Don't be stingy about tipping, though. If il servizio is, indeed, already included but the service was particularly good, it's customary to round up the bill or leave €1 per person extra—just to show you noticed and that you appreciated the effort.
• Tourist menus: The concept of a bargain prix-fixe menu is not popular in Italy. Some restaurants do offer a menu turistico ("tourist menu"), which can cost from €8 to €20 and usually entails a choice from among two or three basic first courses (read: different pasta shapes, all in plain tomato sauce), a second course of roast chicken or a veal cutlet, and some water or wine and bread. With very few exceptions, tourist menus tend to live up to their name, appearing only at the sort of tourist-pandering restaurants that the locals wisely steer clear of.
  
  However, a menu à prezzo fisso ("fixed-price menu") is often a pretty good deal, usually offering a bit more choice than a tourist menu.
  
  Then—especially at nicer (and pricier) restaurants—there is the menu degustazione ("tasting menu"), usually far more expensive (anywhere from €25 to €110) that is a showcase of the chef's best, or of regional specialties, and can make for an excellent way to sample the kitchen's top dishes.
• Book ahead: For restaurants that I am truly eager to try, I go ahead and book a table—at least at dinner. I find that a corollary of Murphy's Law seems to apply. If you prudently book ahead, you are likely to show up to a half-empty restaurant and feel a bit like a fool for having worried about finding a table. If, on the other hand, you just show up at the door expecting to find a free table, the place will inevitably be packed and its bookings full for the evening.

• Rome Market Walk
• Savoring Rome, A Culinary Stroll
• Roman Dolce Vita
• A Market Walk and Private Cooking Class
• Rome Food Walking Tour
• Small-Group Food Tour in Rome: Espresso, Gelato and Tiramisu
• Taste of Italy Food Tour to Chianti and Umbria from Rome

• Italian Cooking
• Small-Group Cooking Lesson in Rome
• Rome Walking Tour and Cooking Class
• Learn to Cook a Roman Meal
• Pasta Romana
• Rome Cooking - Make Pasta
• Pizza Romana
• Rome Cooking - Make Pizza
• A Market Walk and Private Cooking Class
• Small-Group Cooking Lesson in Roman Countryside

• Cucina Povera, A Curated Meal
• La Cena, An Italian Dinner
• Panoramic Rome by Night Tour and Dinner in Trastevere

• Wines of Italy: A Comparative Tasting
• Wines of taly: An Introduction
• Wine Tasting in Rome
• Small group food and wine pariing class in Rome
• Italian Wine and Cheese Tasting in Rome 
• Veni, vidi...gustavi - a Spirited Wine Tasting
• Wine tastings you won't forget

• Frascati Wine Tasting Tour from Rome
• De-Wine: Wines of the Castelli Romani, summer residence of the Popes
• Wine visit and tasting at Fattoria di Fiorano
• Tuscany in One Day Sightseeing Tour from Rome
• Winery visit, tasting, and Lunch at Falesco

• Basic phrases (below)
• Italian dishes, cooking terms, & menu vocab