Settimo Roman Cuisine and Terrace

What this place is and who it is for

Settimo opened in 2021 as the rooftop component of the Sofitel Roma Villa Borghese restaurant. The property's name means "seventh" in Italian, after the floor it occupies. Chef Giuseppe D'Alessio runs the kitchen with a menu split between Roman cuisine and a smaller bar plate program.

It works for a 7pm pre-dinner cocktail with a reservation and a small group of two. Avoid if the goal is a quiet conversation after 10pm: the terrace runs music at conversation-difficult volume Thursday through Saturday. Forbes Travel Guide's 2024 Rome luxury bars review placed Settimo fourth citywide for service-to-view ratio.

What the space feels like

The terrace runs in two sections: a south-facing lounge with seven low tables and a north-facing bar counter facing Villa Borghese. The service bar sits in the middle, behind a glass partition. Architectural Digest's 2022 Sofitel Roma feature described the rooftop as "the only Rome hotel rooftop where the bar counter faces the Villa Borghese tree line directly."

What to order, what to skip

Order the Settimo Spritz (20 EUR) built on Cappelletti Amaro with prosecco and a grapefruit twist, paired with the supplì alla Roman plate (14 EUR). Skip the imported gin builds, which The Times of London's 2023 Rome review consistently flagged as the weakest part of the program. The Roman Negroni at 22 EUR uses Vii gin from the Roman Distilling Co. and is what the bartenders pour when guests ask for a build with a local provenance.

Who shows up and when

A 6pm to 8pm crowd of hotel guests and aperitivo regulars, an 8pm to 10pm cocktail crowd that runs heavier on couples than groups, and a 10pm to midnight dinner-bound crowd that turns over to indoor seating. The Infatuation Rome guide noted that "the rooftop runs music heavier than other Via Veneto five-star hotel rooftops, which means the conversation drops by 10pm."

When to walk in

Settimo runs a service that follows the Roman dinner clock. The 6pm to 7pm window is the slowest and the only shift where a walk-in lands a north-facing bar counter seat, though the cocktail list opens at full strength only at 6:30pm. From 7pm to 9pm the terrace fills with reservations and the kitchen is at peak service, with bar plate orders taking about 8 minutes from the counter. The 9pm to 11pm window is what Tripadvisor regulars flag as the right shift for a third round with a confirmed seat. After 11pm the music moves to conversation-difficult levels Thursday through Saturday, and the terrace turns to a younger drinking crowd. Tuesday and Wednesday are the easiest nights for a walk-in; Friday and Saturday require a reservation 48 hours out.

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