Palombi - Roma

My Italian friend who previously worked at the American Embassy suggested that we that we treat ourselves to breakfast at Palombi on the Via Veneto. This is a lovely old bakery. It was started back in 1898 by Pietro Palombi and it is still a family business today. Here you will find the most delicious, genuine and quality baked goods. The warmth of the woodwork and the glass cases filled with pastries draws you right in. We sat at a table for two in the rear of the shop. There was another dining room as well. We enjoyed an American coffee, a cappuccino and two crostatine crema cioccolato (E12). The crostatine were so large we really should have split just one. It was so decadent, and we were in heaven. Unfortunately, our pictures were lost. The prices are higher than in other bakeries, but it is so worth it for the quality and ambience

It is located in Via Veneto, very close to Villa Borghese, in an area which was the very heart of the Dolce Vita of the magic 60's, which is gone forever : many shops of high fashion and jewelry have closed in the meantime and very few tourists now walk along the almost abandoned street. It is an old hisytorical establishment famous for its biscuits and baked goods in the 20's. They have a good assortment of candies, pastries and sandwiches and various prepared food. The space is divided up into an area for people that want to sit down (prices were jacked up a few Euros for each item) and another area with just the counter for people on the go. One day we got just a cappuccino, the second day we had croissants with creamy custard and espresso : all were delicious. Like any proper Italian cafe, service is relaxed and unhurried. So, if you are expecting popping in and then out, it might be the wrong place for you. All in all, good location, good food and nice décor. Service is on the slow side and prices are slightly on the high side. It is worth a try.

I don’t understand the few negative reviews for this cafe. The homemade pasta was the best and ironically the least expensive of our week-long Rome trip. The mixed salad tasted so fresh like they had just picked everything from the garden. The set lunch menu is a bargain and the staff is friendly and accommodating. We loved it. Their bags of dried pasta were 3 euros and we saw the exact products in other places for 10 euros. We are going back for lunch tomorrow!

We stumbled on this place after visiting the Borghese Gallery. Even if this bakery/restaurant is not flagged as a vegan friendly place, it has many more options (and much healthier than other so called vegan friendly). Beside two pastas, it had grilled veggies (usual pepper zucchini and eggplant), zucchini cooked in two ways, broccoli, e c’era una specie di couscous con verdure. They also have a bakery with cookies listing all the ingredients. When we went there there were two vegan cookies.

We ate here 3 times during our 5days stay in Rome. Breakfast was €7.50 and tasted wonderful coffee delicious, staff were so nice especially the lady on the till,she welcomed us each time and knew what coffees we wanted after our first visit. Very busy shop with beautiful homemade cakes and breads.and lot of local customers each time we visited. Definitely recommend.