Short answer: we are open 365 days a year, August and public holidays included, with the usual hours: from 8am until 1am, and until 2am on Friday and Saturday. Viale Aventino 32, three minutes from the Circus Maximus.
Why you cannot find a table in Rome in August
Between the second and third week of August half the city pulls the shutters down. It is not a myth: this is when neighbourhood restaurants close for the holidays, and whoever stays in the city — or arrives on holiday — is left with few options and no simple way of knowing which.
The same thing happens at Christmas, on Boxing Day, on New Year’s Day and on Easter Monday. The date changes, the situation does not: you walk around hoping, or you call five numbers and hope somebody answers.
The Circus Maximus area holds up better than most
Here the flow of people never stops, because it is a crossing point between the Palatino, the Terme di Caracalla and the Aventino. That keeps more places open than elsewhere — but not all of them, and not on their usual hours.
It is still worth checking before you set off: in August, at forty degrees, a twenty-minute walk to a closed door costs more than it would in March.
We never close, and that is the whole point
We are open 365 days a year, holidays included. The hours are the usual ones: from 8am Monday to Friday, from 10am on Saturday and Sunday, and we carry on until 1am — 2am on Friday and Saturday.
The kitchen does not close in the afternoon, so you can eat between meals as well. Aperitivo runs from 6 to 7:30pm, and after dinner the lounge bar stays open.
It is the reason a good share of the people who find us on 15 August or on Boxing Day were looking for exactly that: somebody open.
What you can eat on the days everyone else is shut
The full menu, not a reduced holiday version. The grill with the butcher counter in the room, pizza on three doughs, pasta rolled in house every morning, the fish.
Worth knowing because in August and on public holidays the opposite is common: the place is open, but with half a menu and a kitchen that stops at ten.
Practical guide to the Circus Maximus area · The dinner and grill menu · Three doughs, and how to choose
Frequently asked questions
Do restaurants in Rome close in August?
Many do, for two or three weeks, usually around and after 15 August. The Circus Maximus area holds up better than the rest of the centre because visitor numbers never drop, but it is worth checking in advance. We are open every day.
Are you open on 15 August (Ferragosto)?
Yes, on the usual hours. The same goes for Christmas, Boxing Day, New Year and Easter: we are open 365 days a year.
How late can you eat?
Until 1am, and until 2am on Friday and Saturday. The kitchen does not close in the afternoon either, so you can eat between lunch and dinner.
Should we book on public holidays?
It is worth it. Being open when many places are closed means those days fill up. Book online or call +39 342 189 9629.
Is the menu reduced on holidays?
No. It is the full menu: grill, pizza on three doughs, homemade pasta and fish.
More practical questions — hours, parking, dogs, accessibility — in our FAQ.
