When I was invited to a press trip to Rome, Italy, I didn’t have much free time to explore on my own. However, I knew I could not leave without taking a Rome food tour since food tours are basically my favorite travel activity! I had a great Prague food tour with Eating Europe, so I reached out to them again to see if we could work together in Rome. They invited me to join their Twilight Trastevere Food Tour, so of course, I said yes! This is how I spent my last night in Rome, stuffing my face with delicious Italian food.

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Trastevere: Rome’s Cultural Melting Pot

The Rome neighborhood of Trastevere has always been a melting pot of cultures and cuisines, so it’s naturally the perfect place for a Rome food tour. This former working-class neighborhood of Rome is just across the Tiber River from the city center, but just far enough out to maintain a distinctly local flavor, as opposed to some of the more touristy areas of Rome. Today, Trastevere is the hipster foodie heaven of Rome and is well-known for its lively nightlife scene. Once you’ve had your fill of tourist sights in Rome, a night in Trastevere is the perfect way to unwind. If you have more time, there are tons of fun things to do in Trastevere!

Trastevere Restaurant Tour

Our Trastevere restaurant tour begins on Tiber Island, a convenient meeting place not far from the city center of Rome. A 5:45 meeting time is quite early for Italian dining, but an early start allowed us to get into some places before they open, which is key when visiting some of the best Trastevere restaurants. All told, we visited seven of the best restaurants in Trastevere; alternating between sweet and savory Roman dishes, culminating in a typical Roman pasta dinner followed by gelato. They aren’t kidding when they say to arrive hungry for this food tour of Roman cuisine.

Our tour starts at Da Enzo, a family-owned backstreet trattoria. Our tour was allowed early access before the place opened to the public and by the time we left, a queue was already forming outside. Here we sampled Jewish-style (fried) artichokes, which were quite delicious. We also had fresh bread, olive oil, and prosecco.

Next, we wandered through narrow, winding alleys until we reached Spirito di Vino, a former synagogue turned restaurant. We hung out in the wine cellar which dates back to 80BC (!) enjoying Sangiovese wine, and a pork stew that was allegedly the favorite meal of Julius Ceasar.

After two savory stops, it was time for some sweet Roman food. We popped into a cookie factory for a few samples, before continuing on to Norcineria lacozzilli where we had porchetta: super tasty pork served on focaccia. They claim to have the best porchetta in Rome, and this little deli was pretty busy on a Saturday night!

Our next stop was a street food stall, where we tried suppli. Suppli is allegedly the first “street food” ever invented and it comes in several varieties. It reminds me of the croquettes I tried on a food tour in Antwerp, Belgium. Fried doughy goodness with tasty treats inside. Ours had tomato sauce, rice, and mozzarella inside, giving it the name “telephone suppli” because the mozzarella creates a big long telephone wire when you bit into the suppli!

Our final savory food tasting is at the super cute Ristorante Rione 13. I loved this place from the second we walked in, and would definitely recommend having dinner here if you aren’t taking a food tour. We were getting pretty full at this point, but that didn’t stop them from serving us a huge pan of rigatonia all’Amatriciana, the dish in the header image of this post. It was super delicious and we were all sad that we couldn’t really put a dent in the huge dish.

And yet, we still had room for one final stop. You can’t take a food tour in Rome that doesn’t include gelato, can you? We popped into Fatamorgana for two scoops of gelato with whipped cream on top. I had a mint chocolate flavor and an almond milk flavor. Both were tasty! After our last stop, Valentina offered to get taxis or show us the way to public transportation. I waddled my way to a taxi, returned to my hotel, and started packing for the long journey home the next day.

How to Choose Authentic Restaurants in Rome

Valentina gave us some great tips on choosing authentic restaurants in the eternal city of Rome. There are a lot of tourist restaurants with overpriced, mediocre food, conveniently located next to classic Roman tourist attractions. In general, the further you go from the tourist sights, the more likely you will be to have traditional Roman food.

• If someone on the street is actively trying to recruit diners into their restaurant, it’s for tourists
• If the menu is in a dozen different languages beyond English and Italian, it’s for tourists
• If the restaurant is open early, say before 7 pm for dinner, it’s for tourists

One of the best meals I had in Rome, outside of the food tour, was at Ristorante Virginae near Piazza Navona. Tucked into a small side street, it did not fit any of the “tourist” criteria listed above and the Bucatini All’Amatriciana was amazing!

When choosing a gelateria, there are also a few rules for choosing between authentic and touristic. The gelato should be flat in the containers, not crafted up into huge mounds as that’s all just air filling up the container and it won’t be as fresh. Ideally, an authentic gelateria would have about 7-8 different flavors. If they have dozens and dozens of flavors, it’s most likely made somewhere else. If they have a banana flavor, check it out; it should be the color of the fruit of a banana (off-white) not a bright yellow. This is another tip for spotting the best gelato shops in Rome.

About Eating Europe

Eating Europe launched as Eating Italy in 2011, with Rome food tours led by the founder, an American ex-pat. They now operate food tours in ten different locations, from Lisbon to Strasbourg. What I like about taking an Eating Europe food tour is that the customer service starts as soon as you sign up for a tour. The initial email gives detailed instructions on meeting points, including a PDF map plus arrival instructions using public transportation or a taxi. Another quick reminder goes out shortly before your tour, and by the time you get home from the tour, you have a nice little PDF showing all the spots you visited on your food tour, as well as a map so you can find them again! So far, I am three-for-three on fantastic guides as well. Our guide on this Rome food tour, Valentina, was born right in Trastevere, and is so passionate about the local food scene. You can tell we were visiting some of her favorite Trastevere restaurants. Having a great guide makes all the difference in the world!

Other Tours I’ve Taken With Eating Europe

• Prague Food Tour
• Paris Food Tour: In the Footsteps of the French Chef

What is your dream food tour destination? See if Eating Europe has a tour there!

I received a complimentary tour with Eating Italy Tours. These are solely my personal experiences and I was not financially compensated for this post.