The pizza arrives tonda and thin, the rim shattering rather than folding — Roman crunch, not Neapolitan cushion. This is Settembrini by Achilli, the Prati room the Achilli pastry dynasty rebuilt in 2021 and turned, a year later, into one of the more interesting pizzerias in Rome. The dough belongs to Mauro Meddi, a world pizza champion who cuts Lazio flour with a little soy and rice and lets it ferment seventy-two to ninety-six hours. What lands is a pizza that genuinely crackles, and a Prati crowd that has quietly made the place its own.
The Kitchen
Settembrini by Achilli is run by Alessio Tagliaferri, third generation of the family behind Achilli al Parlamento and a fixture of Roman gastronomy. The pizza programme he shares with Meddi and pizzaiolo Matteo Fabriani is the reason to come: a neoclassical Roman tonda, thin and crackling, fermented seventy-two to ninety-six hours. The menu splits in three — faithful classics in the Con-trad(d)izione section, the kitchen's own inventions under Ma che stai a di?, and a safer middle for the unconvinced. The marriage of soy and rice flour into Lazio wheat is the trick that gives the crust its structure.
Beyond pizza there is a proper bistrot menu: antipasti at €12 to €15, mains €15 to €25, desserts around €7, the last carrying three generations of Achilli pastry pedigree. The address is Via Luigi Settembrini 21, in Prati, a few blocks from the Vatican walls. The room sits in the city's most quietly residential quarter, which is exactly why a pizzeria this good can keep its tables for the neighbourhood rather than the tour buses.
The Room
The Achilli family gutted and rebuilt the space in 2021: warm wood, soft light, marble at the bar, the polish of a family that has run Roman pastry counters for decades. It is handsome without being formal. The crowd is pure Prati — families at the early seating, couples and friends later — and the sound level follows them, conversation-easy on a weeknight, livelier and louder at weekend dinner. Tables are generous for a pizzeria. Dress is smart-casual; this is a neighbourhood that puts on a good shirt to walk two blocks.
Best for a Relaxed First Date
Book Settembrini for a first date that wants to feel like a good night out rather than an audition. Pizza is the great equaliser: no one has to perform across a tasting menu, and sharing a tonda and a bottle from the Achilli list does more for a conversation than any amuse-bouche. Three reasons it works — the room is warm and easy to talk in off-peak, the cooking is good enough to be a talking point without demanding silence, and the bill stays sane. If the night is going well, you order dessert from a pastry family that has been at it for three generations; if it isn't, a pizza dinner ends without ceremony.
Not For
Skip Settembrini if you came for the old bookshop-and-wine-bar restaurant — that Settembrini is gone, replaced since 2021 by a pizzeria and bistrot. If you wanted a hushed, multi-course tasting-menu evening, this is the wrong address, and a weekend dinner here runs loud.
Common Questions
Is Settembrini by Achilli worth it?
Yes, if you know what it is now. The old bookshop-and-wine-bar Settembrini is gone; since 2021 the room belongs to the Achilli pastry family, who made it one of Rome's more interesting pizzerias. The draw is the neoclassical Roman tonda, thin and crackling, with dough by world pizza champion Mauro Meddi. As a smart neighbourhood pizzeria in Prati it delivers; as the creative-cuisine restaurant it used to be, it no longer exists.
What should I order?
Order the pizza, which is the whole point: a thin, crackling Roman tonda fermented seventy-two to ninety-six hours. The menu runs from faithful classics in the Con-trad(d)izione section to the kitchen's own inventions under Ma che stai a di? Save room for dessert, where the Achilli pastry pedigree shows, and arrive early for a cocktail at the bar.
How much does it cost?
It is mid-priced for a smart Roman pizzeria. On the bistrot side, antipasti run €12 to €15, mains €15 to €25, desserts around €7, with pizzas in line with the city's better tonda specialists. A relaxed dinner — a pizza, a starter, a glass or two — lands around €30 to €45 a head. Good value for the quality of the dough and the room.
Do you need a reservation?
For weekend dinner, yes. Prati eats locally, and Settembrini fills with families early and couples later. Book a day or two ahead for Friday and Saturday; weeknights and the aperitivo hour are easier as a walk-in. The room is at Via Luigi Settembrini 21, a few blocks from the Vatican walls.
Also in Rome
Explore the full Rome dining guide, or read our Best for a First Date and Best for a Birthday occasion guides for more Rome picks.