A Brummie Home and Abroad Guide to Rome Food and Drink
When planning a trip – after important things like flights and accommodation – it’s food and drink that takes up most of my research time. And when the destination is Rome, the possibilities are endless. Having a bar or restaurant bucket list would mean a list I could never fulfil. Yet I continue to research where does the best pizza by the slice, the least touristy restaurants in a tourist trap area, and where I can find the most expensive cocktails with a stunning view. Readers, I give you the Brummie Home and Abroad Guide to Rome Food and Drink
Breakfast spots in Rome
A Roman breakfast is much more likely to consist of a quick coffee and a pastry. In Rome it is only acceptable to drink a milky coffee before 11am, so a cappucino is technically a breakfast item. After noon, it’s espresso all the way. Ask for a latte, and you’ll get a glass of milk.
Breakfast was actually included in our hotel room rate. And a fine breakfast it was. But that doesn’t mean we weren’t ready for a coffee and a pastry mid-morning. Our favourite was Caffe dei Coronari, found down a labyrinth of lanes near Ponte Sant’Angelo. The sales technique was so slick that I’d agreed to a Nutella Croissant before I could say “un cappuccino per favore”.
Italian Staples – Pasta and Pizza
I’m not a pasta fan, but when in Rome you must try traditional Roman pastas such as Cacio e Pepe, Carbonara, Bucatini Amitriciana or Gricia. Spoiler alert. I’m STILL not a pasta fan. Sorry Rome. It’s not you. It’s definitely me. If you’re not a pasta fan, then Gnocchi Alla Romana is a passable alternative. It’s not the potato gnocchi you may be familiar with, but semolina discs, roasted with butter and cheese.
Daytime pizza is often served by the slice – pizza al taglio. True pizzerie only serve whole pizza at night, when the wood fired ovens has been heated up over the day to optimum temperature. Locals are much more likely to get their fast food fix with suppli, a breaded and deep-fried ball of rice, tomato sauce and gooey mozarella.
One of our simplest lunches in Rome was at Angry Pig, just steps away from the Vatican Museums entrance. It specialises in juicy, moist porchetta, served in doorstep slabs of warm bread. The menu is simple – pick your sandwich filling, grab a beer from the fridge and enjoy. Porchetta is boned and slow-roasted pork, flavoured with salt, herbs and rosemary, and cooked with a golden crackling.
Craft Beer in Rome
Okay, so you probably don’t think of craft beer when you think of Rome. You’re probably more likely to think of wine, or an Aperol Spritz. At a push, think of beer and you’ll think of Peroni, or Morretti. But, like many places in the world, microbreweries are springing up, meaning that a hoppy IPA or a mouthwatering sour can be found. If you know where to look. Look for the phrase birra artigianali.
We found a great range of craft beers at tiny bar Ma Che Siete Venuti a Fa in Trastevere. Another highly recommended beer bar, Open Baladin, was close to our hotel but we sadly didn’t find time to visit on this occasion.
Drinks with a view
Naturally, I insist on at least one eye wateringly expensive rooftop cocktail. I find it at 9Hotel Cesari. Surprisingly this wasn’t as costly as expected, leaving plenty of birthday money left for an Aperol Spritz or three back on terra firma. Mr Fletche does insist on spilling his Cesar’s Mule all over the table and himself, so he doesn’t quite get the full value for money. There’s a good quality of nibbles served alongside. We went early on a Friday evening and got a terrace table without any problem, but if you’re in a large group or planning to visit during peak times it would be wise to book.
Other rooftop cocktail options that we didn’t explore this time round were Oro Bistrot, and Up Sunset bar, on the roof of the upmarket La Rinascente department store. La Rinascente has form for rooftop bars – we sampled another one during our one night in Milan.
Gelato
No trip to Rome is complete without gelato. A little tip from the gelato afficionados – if the gelato is whipped high and fluffy in a gelarataria, just keep walking. The genuine stuff should be flat in metal tins. The fluffy stuff is just there to entice customers. Also stay away from anything coloured bright blue.
We found our favourites at Fior di Luna and Gunther. Other geletarias which came highly recommended include Otaleg, Gelataria dei Gracchi, Giolitti and Old Bridge Gelataria.
How to find the best places to eat in Rome
Let’s be honest, it’s hard to get bad food in Italy. But it is easy to get over-priced average food. Booking on a foodie tour like the one we took in Trastevere is a great idea, but here are some more tips to find the best places to eat in Rome without falling into the tourist trap.
Avoiding the tourist traps
Inevitably you will be tempted by a restaurant with pictures of food on the menu. Or menu options in every language. Or promising “the very best pizza/pasta/gelato in Rome”. And most times, these restaurants are passable, the food edible and the service enthusiastic.
But the best places to experience genuine Italian hospitality and food will be the ones that aren’t begging pitching for business. Just walk a few blocks away from the main tourist landmarks. You’ll soon find places hidden down a back street, the type of restaurant where it looks like locals might eat. Our favourite – and cheapest – place in Venice for a Aperol Spritz looked like someone’s front room. We ate amazing tapas in Tenerife in a restaurant with absolutely no signage at all. And in Rome we experienced both the tourist traps and the hidden gems.
Ask locals for their suggestions.
Italians love talking about food. And they want to share the best food recommendations with you. If you’re stopping in a hotel then ask at reception. Ask your taxi driver. Ask the barista at the coffee shop in the morning where they recommend for dinner. If you’re taking a tour of the Colosseum, or the Vatican, ask your tour guide.
And don’t be afraid to ask restaurant staff to recommend a dish for you if you’re faced with an unfathomable menu. They will able to make suggestions based on your preferences.
Traveller recommendations
Of course, there are a myriad of review sites which can help (or hinder) your selection. Whenever I’m tempted to check and trust Tripadvisor, I remember that the No 1 rated Birmingham restaurant is a pizza restaurant in a shopping mall above a train station. This isn’t even the best pizza place in Birmingham, never mind the best restaurant in a city with 5 Michelin stars. I digress. Long story short, take recommendations from travellers or travel writers you trust. Like me.
I read a ton of Rome travel blogs, and made a note whenever the writers mentioned a particular place to eat or drink. Some restaurants, cafes and bars cropped up on numerous occasions; these were the places that made my shortlist. I pinned the recommendations on Google Maps so I could always pull up a location-specific list, wherever we were in the city. But in all honesty? Often, we just winged it.
(If anyone wants a copy of my Rome Food and Drink lists please let me know! Sad to see all my research go to waste…)
Gelato. Gnocchi. Pizza. Pasta. The choices for Rome Food and Drink are endless. What’s your favourite Italian meal? (And don’t try to tell me that gelato isn’t a meal. You’ll be telling me next that there are no nutrients in an Aperol Spritz.)
