What to Eat While Exploring Rome

Rome does not have a great food scene. It has a legendary one. Every neighborhood, every market, and every tiny trattoria tucked down a cobblestone alley has something worth stopping for. The trick is knowing what to order before the waiter even arrives.

Panini

Rome’s sandwich culture is built on tradition, high-quality ingredients, and near-perfect affordability. A proper Roman panino is packed with cured meats, aged cheese, and local vegetables, eaten standing up or wandering down a side street.

Mordi e Vai at Testaccio Market is beloved by locals for its slow-cooked meat sandwiches inspired by traditional Roman recipes. For something near Campo de’ Fiori, Antico Forno Roscioli does an exceptional panino alongside their famous pizza and bread.

Cacio e Pepe

Three ingredients: pasta, Pecorino Romano, and black pepper. It sounds almost too simple to be interesting, and then you eat it. The sharpness of the cheese and the warmth of the pepper create something genuinely difficult to replicate outside of Rome, where the quality of local Pecorino changes everything.

Roma Sparita in Trastevere is one of the most celebrated spots for it, even earning a mention from Anthony Bourdain. Flavio al Velavevodetto in Testaccio is another reliable choice that locals return to again and again.

Supplì

Rome’s great street food: a deep-fried rice croquette stuffed with gooey mozzarella and tomato sauce, coated in crackling breadcrumbs and eaten standing up, ideally right outside the shop that just made them. The name is thought to come from the French word for surprise, a nod to the stretchy cheese that appears when you pull one apart.

Supplì Roma in Trastevere and Antico Forno Roscioli near Campo de’ Fiori are consistently praised as two of the best spots in the city to try them.

Carciofi alla Giudia

Rome’s Jewish community created this dish in the 16th century, when they developed extraordinary ways to cook with locally available produce. The entire artichoke is flattened and then fried twice in olive oil until the outer leaves turn golden and shatteringly crispy while the heart stays tender.

It looks like a bronze flower and tastes completely unlike any artichoke you have ever had. Nonna Betta and Ba’Ghetto in the Jewish Ghetto are both considered the gold standard, and eating them there, in the neighborhood where the dish was born, adds a dimension no other restaurant can replicate.

Pizza al Taglio

This is not Neapolitan pizza. Roman pizza al taglio is baked in long rectangular trays, cut to order with scissors, and sold by weight. The base is thick, airy, and crispy at the edges, topped with everything from simple tomato and mozzarella to roasted vegetables and cured meats.

Pizzarium Bonci in Prati is widely considered the best in the city, with inventive topping combinations that have made chef Gabriele Bonci something of a Roman legend. Forno Campo de’ Fiori is a solid alternative if you’re already exploring the center.

Bucatini all’Amatriciana

The lesser-known sibling of carbonara and the one that Romans themselves tend to order when nobody is watching. Bucatini, the thick hollow spaghetti with a hole running through the center, is tossed with a sauce of guanciale, San Marzano tomatoes, and Pecorino, finished with a pinch of chili.

Da Enzo al 29 in Trastevere is a local favorite for classic Roman pasta and one of the most consistently praised trattorias in the city. Arrive early or expect a queue.

Gelato

Not all gelato is equal, and Rome’s best is significantly better than what most of the world has tried. Look for shops that make their gelato fresh daily, signaled by muted natural colors and seasonal flavors rather than neon mountains of artificially colored cream.

Giolitti near the Pantheon has been serving Romans since 1900, while Gelateria del Teatro near Campo de’ Fiori is known for unusual and beautiful flavors like fig and ricotta. Either will do the job.