Head-to-Head · Rome
La Pergola vs BACCANO
La Pergola is Rome's only three-star, a hilltop tasting under Heinz Beck. BACCANO is the all-day brasserie by the Trevi. Book La Pergola for the occasion.
The Verdict
La Pergola is the only restaurant in Rome with three Michelin stars, and it has held them under the German chef Heinz Beck, who has run the kitchen on top of the Rome Cavalieri Waldorf Astoria since 1994. The dining room sits on the Monte Mario hill with the dome of St Peter's framed in the window, and the cellar runs to roughly 60,000 bottles. The dish to order is the fagottelli alla carbonara, pasta parcels that hold the carbonara as a hot liquid until they break in the mouth. The tasting menu runs around 320 euros before wine, jackets are required, and the room serves dinner only, Tuesday through Saturday. It scores 10 for food, 10 for the room and 8 for value.
BACCANO is the opposite kind of Rome table. It is an all-day Italian brasserie on Via delle Muratte, a few steps from the Trevi Fountain, open from morning through to the early hours with a kitchen that runs continuously between. The carbonara here is the benchmark version for a casual lunch, the raw bar holds oysters and crudo, and the cocktail list is long enough to make it a late-night room as much as a dining one. There is no Michelin star and no tasting menu; you order a la carte, walk in or book the same week, and pay a fraction of what the hilltop costs. It scores 9 for food, 8 for the room and 7 for value.
Scores, Side by Side
| Score | La Pergola | BACCANO |
|---|---|---|
| Food | 10 / 10 | 9 / 10 |
| Atmosphere | 10 / 10 | 8 / 10 |
| Value | 8 / 10 | 7 / 10 |
Which One for Which Occasion
| Occasion | Editorial Pick |
|---|---|
| A milestone dinner | La PergolaThe three-star kitchen, the cellar and the dome in the window make it the city's clear choice for an anniversary or a once-in-a-trip splurge. |
| Lunch near the sights | BACCANOSteps from the Trevi, open all day and a la carte, it is the practical table to drop into between Rome's monuments. |
| A late-night table | BACCANOThe kitchen and bar run into the small hours, so it covers the post-theatre and after-midnight slot La Pergola cannot. |
| A serious wine night | La PergolaRoughly 60,000 bottles and a sommelier team built around them; nothing in central Rome competes on the list. |
| Spending less | BACCANOA la carte with no tasting-menu commitment keeps the bill well under the hilltop's. |
Price and How to Book
The gap in price is as wide as the gap in format. La Pergola's tasting menu is about 320 euros a head before wine and climbs quickly with pairings from that 60,000-bottle cellar; BACCANO is a la carte, and a generous lunch with a drink lands at a small fraction of the same figure. Read both in full in the La Pergola review and the BACCANO review, and see where each sits in the wider Rome dining guide.
Booking favours the brasserie for spontaneity and the hilltop for planning. La Pergola takes reservations weeks ahead through its own desk and the Cavalieri concierge, with jackets required; BACCANO holds walk-in tables and same-week bookings. For cuisine context, weigh both against our guide to the best Italian restaurants worldwide and the best tasting menus. For occasion fit, compare them with our picks to mark an anniversary and for a business lunch. More match-ups sit on the compare index, including Ci Siamo vs Lincoln Ristorante and Carbone vs Don Angie.