A Trastevere Foodie Tour
Aka how to stuff ourselves silly on our first night in Rome
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Italy is known for it’s amazing food. Whilst researching our Rome trip I had a list of restaurant recommendations that would take us, quite frankly, years to get through. But the area of Trastevere kept cropping up as a foodie gem. So we decided to let the experts guide us, with a Trastevere foodie tour on our first night in the Eternal City.
You can read my A Brummie Home and Abroad Guide to Rome Food and Drink here!
Mr Fletche and I join a group of 8 other people to explore this charming neighbourhood which lies across the river Tiber. By day it is a haven of traditional stores, handed down through generations. But at night, it becomes a foodie’s delight. This is a three hour guided walking tour, taking in traditional Roman foodie delights. The focus is on small dishes and restaurant-hopping, and this casual style suits us perfectly. We sample around 7 dishes in total, with plenty of local wines to wash down the food.
We meet our guide Amelia at 6pm at Piazza Mastai, a 20 minute stroll across the river from our hotel. Amelia is passionate, personable and a true foodie. Like us, many of our fellow tour guests have only arrived in Rome that day. The Americans in particular are hoping food and drink will stave off jetlag.
Our tour starts at La Norcineria di Iacozzilli, a family- owned business specialising in the finest salted and cured pork products. We’re given two local cheeses to try – Parmigiano Reggiano, and Pecorino Romano. They are served on cocktail sticks. I refrain from asking where the pineapple cube is.
The eating starts in earnest with their signature porchetta on pizza blanco. The pork is slow-roasted, rubbed with rosemary, salt and black pepper. It’s melt in the mouth delicious, washed down with a glass of local red.
My favourite blue and white dress is an early casualty as I manage to drop juicy porchetta all down my front, leaving a lovely grease stain. I do however later find a chunk of porchetta in my handbag, so at least I didn’t waste the dropped piece.
Stop number two is Suppli. Which sells, well suppli. For those not in the know, suppli are balls of rice with tomato sauce, coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried. This is a popular fast food in Rome, and Suppli often has a long queue out the door. Amelia has put our order in though, and we are soon munching on suppli, with a surprise cheesy treat oozing out of its centre.
From here, we head back over the main road dividing the two side of Trastevere. It’s pizza time. The earlier cheese, porchetta and suppli have just been an amuse bouche. I’m not going to lie. For Mr Fletche and I, a single pizza is generally a meal for two, maybe with a side salad or a charcuterie board. In Rome, pizza is merely the starter.
At Sesamo, we’re treated to three kinds of pizza, including the classic Roman margarita. We’re grateful for the opportunity to sit down in air-conditioning, the hot and humid evening taking us all by surprise. Pizza is served “al taglio” – served by slice. You can order a slice by weight or by cost – “I’ll have €1,5 of pizza please” – great if you’re eating your way around Rome on a budget.
After all that pizza it’s time for something lighter. Oh, I’m mistaken. Now is time for the primi course. Pasta. At Sette Oche in Altalena – sette oche is translated as seven geese – we’re seated at a long communal table. The jugs of wine are flowing freely. It’s time to confess that I don’t actually like pasta. Then again, I didn’t like pizza until our last visit to Italy. Maybe it’s just UK pasta I don’t like.
Sadly, even Sette Oche can’t convince me. I push the carbonara and amatriciana around my plate, and focus on the wine. Conversation is starting to flow around the table. Maybe it’s the wine. It’s certainly loosening my tongue.
We take the opportunity to stroll around the neighbourhood to work off some of those carbs. Before the next inevitable round of carbs.
Our next stop at Spirito Di Vino starts – unsurprisingly considering the name – with a sneak peak into their cavernous wine cellar. It’s quite an experience to stand in a room that predates the Colosseum. Renovation of the historic building has unearthed treasures now found in some of Rome’s top museums. This family-run restaurant specialises in slow food, supporting local food producers and sustainable agriculture. Here we savour lean pork in a rich sauce, with a morsel of toasted bread to keep up our carb quota.
Finally, it’s time for dessert. Gelato to be precise, from Fior di Luna. No neon colours. No tubs overflowing with heavily whipped stacks full of air. Just good authentic gelato, with seasonal fruits, served from covered metal containers to avoid contamination from the air. The perfect way to end our Trastevere Foodie Tour and our first evening in Rome.
A Trastevere Foodie Tour – The Details
I booked our Trastevere Foodie Tour about a month prior to our trip through Get Your Guide. It’s a great idea to schedule a tour on the first day, not only do you find good local recommendations but walking tours are always a great way to familiarise yourself with a new city.
This particular tour cost £50 per person. The cost included all of the food and drink featured above.
This was so much more than just a food tour. We had the opportunity to explore Trastevere in the hands of an experienced and knowledgeable guide. And its also perfect if you want to sample lots of different kinds of Roman delicacies! We enjoyed our visit to the neighbourhood so much that we returned to Trastevere on our final night. This was our first ever food tour, but I look forward to eating my way around other cities very soon.
