Rome between lunch and dinner: Hotel Diana revives its Light&Fast rooftop menu

Rome — High above the bustle of Termini, where traffic and commuters dominate the streets below, Hotel Diana’s L’Uliveto Roof Garden offers a very different rhythm to the Roman day.

Surrounded by olive trees, grapevines and flowering plants, the seventh floor terrace has relaunched its Light&Fast menu, a continuous dining service available from 12.30 p.m. to 6 p.m. that bridges the gap between a traditional lunch and an evening aperitivo.

The concept is simple: there is no rush to arrive at one o’clock, and no need to wait until dinner. Guests can enjoy everything from Roman pasta dishes to Mediterranean wraps, salads, bagels and cocktails throughout the afternoon, creating a more flexible way to dine in the heart of the capital.

During the launch event, chef advisor Umberto Vezzoli described the menu as food designed for the hours when “lunch is over, but dinner still feels far away.”

Rather than reinvent familiar dishes, Vezzoli has created what he calls passepartout cuisine: recognisable, accessible meals with subtle Mediterranean influences. A smoked salmon and avocado wrap is finished with wasabi mayonnaise, while the vegetarian version combines hummus made from chickpeas and olives with grilled vegetables. International flavours such as teriyaki, pastrami and bagels sit comfortably alongside pinsa, carbonara and spaghetti with three tomatoes and burrata.

The result is a menu that feels both cosmopolitan and unmistakably Roman, reflecting the international character of the neighbourhood surrounding Italy’s busiest railway station.

For Caterina De Angelis, food and beverage manager and a member of the family that has managed Hotel Diana for generations, the rooftop is intended to be more than a hotel restaurant.

“We want to welcome not only our guests and tourists, but also Romans looking for a beautiful and peaceful place to spend part of their day,” she said.

She describes L’Uliveto as a garden above the city, an oasis cultivated for more than twenty years where greenery softens one of Rome’s busiest districts. As temperatures cool in September and October, the terrace becomes an ideal setting for late lunches, informal business meetings or simply escaping the streets below for a few hours.

The experience naturally extends into aperitivo. Seasonal cocktails created by bartender Alessandro Pennacchio, including the Noir di Ciliegia and the basil infused Basil Whisper, encourage diners to linger well beyond lunch without the interruption of a traditional afternoon kitchen closure.

The rooftop will remain active throughout the autumn with a programme of evening events. On 7 October, Sorsi di Stelle will combine signature cocktails with an astrology evening led by Massimo Giannone, while Brezze d’Arte returns from 18 October, pairing guided cultural visits with themed dinners. The opening edition includes a visit to the François Tomb at the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia.

Hotel Diana itself dates back to 1939, when Benedetto De Angelis founded the property on Via Principe Amedeo. Four generations later, the De Angelis family continues to run the historic hotel, while L’Uliveto, inaugurated in 2008, has become one of its defining spaces.

In a city famous for its devotion to mealtimes, Light&Fast quietly challenges convention. Whether it is carbonara at four in the afternoon, a salad between meetings or a cocktail beneath the olive trees, the rooftop embraces the idea that in Rome, the hours between lunch and dinner deserve a place of their own.

PS