Nonna Betta

Nonna Betta sits on Via del Portico d’Ottavia in Rome’s old Jewish Ghetto, a street where history comes with traffic noise, scooters, and the occasional feeling that you have accidentally wandered into the city’s most delicious lecture. The room is long and bright, with fresco style scenes and wrought iron lanterns that make even a weekday lunch feel faintly ceremonial. This is kosher cooking with Roman manners: start with carciofi alla giudia when they are in season, an artichoke pressed open and fried until its leaves shatter, then move to classics that rewrite Rome’s greatest hits without pork, like Jewish style amatriciana. The place is run as a family story, with Umberto, the grandson behind the name, keeping the repertoire rooted in Judeo Roman tradition while the kitchen stays reassuringly direct. Come hungry, order something fried, and suddenly the Ghetto makes perfect sense.