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Rome Italy Travel Guide
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Rome Travel Guide

All you need to know about the Eternal City

If I’m in Rome for only 48 hours, I would consider it a sin against God to not eat cacio e pepe, the most uniquely Roman of pastas, in some crummy little joint where Romans eat. I’d much rather do that than go to the Vatican. That’s Rome to me. Anthony Bourdain

After a nice walk or an intense shopping day in Rome you'll probably be hungry and ready to relax while tasting the great flavour of Italian food.
Traditional Roman cooking is made up of simple and meager ingredients, always extremely fresh and varying with the seasons.
In Rome you can find four different places where to buy and eat a meal:

The trattoria is usually a family-run concern, serving home-made cooking. The ristorante, on the other hand, is a bit more formal place, offering a wider selection of dishes and wines. The osteria, similarly to any English inn, usually offers a wide range of wines but a smaller selection of local dishes. In the pizzeria you can taste the famous Italian pizza as well as antipastos, pasta, meat and vegetables.
The quality of a ristorante or an osteria can't be judged just by its appearance. You'll be likely to eat your most memorable meal in a poorly furnished place, with plastic tablecloths, found in a tiny back street, a dingy square or a back road in the country. And please don't panic if you find yourself in a trattoria which has no printed menu:offering outstanding food and fresh produce they would need to daily update their menus.
After lunch or dinner, you could head for the nearest gelateria (ice-cream parlour) and have a gelato or simply a digestivo.

If you are looking for a place where to eat a light lunch or just a snack, enter a bar and ask for a tramezzino (sandwich) or for a panino (roll). Any delicatessen store (alimentari) sells sandwiches as well. If you have a sweet tooth enter a pasticceria and you will enjoy pastries, cakes and biscuits but if you do prefer a "walking pizza" please try a slice of pizza or a focaccia in any panetteria (bakeries).

Roman cooking is simple, made up of very few ingredients. Meat and fish are normally roasted, baked, or grilled and every main course has side dishes (usually vegetables) not always listed in the menu. Do ask for the "Specialit dello Chef".

The most typical dishes are:

Don't miss : coda alla vaccinara, saltimbocca alla romana, artchokes "alla giudia", prosciutto crudo.

If you prefer fish, ask for sea bass, bream, flounder or batter-fried baccal.

If you need to buy some food or wine, head for the picturesque Campo de' Fiori market: you will find several stalls full of fruit and vegetables.
For good wine lovers, many wine cellars organize wine tasting courses and information-giving meetings about vineyards, harvesting, fermentation and all the processes linked to the production of the so called nectar of the gods.
In the numerous historical coffee shops you can try typical Roman food in a unique surrounding that combines culture, history and tradition. Opened in the 19th and 20th centuries, Caff Greco, Babington's Tearooms, Caff Rosati and Caff Canova still remain important meeting places for artists and writers. For espresso coffee-lovers, we recommend Caff Sant'Eustachio located in the homonym square, a fine coffee shop founded in the 1930s where the coffee is roasted by hand over wood fires.

City Centre - Budget Restaurants & Pizzerie

Vatican - Budget Restaurants & Pizzerie

Trastevere - Budget Restaurants & Pizzerie

Testaccio - Budget Restaurants & Pizzerie

San Lorenzo - Budget Restaurants & Pizzerie

Stazione Termini - Budget Restaurants & Pizzerie

Monte Caelio - Budget Restaurants & Pizzerie

Vatican - Mid range Restaurants

Testaccio - Mid range Restaurants

San Lorenzo - Mid range Restaurants

Monte Caelio - Mid range Restaurants

City Centre - Top Restaurants

Trastevere - Top Restaurants

Testaccio - Top Restaurants

Stazione Termini - Top Restaurants

City Centre - Vegetarian Restaurants