Top 5 best food to eat in Rome

If you are planning a trip to Rome or if you just think about the amazing Eternal City, the first thing that will come up to your mind will be Colosseum and Vatican for sure, and that’s what the majority of travelers wish to see.

However, one of the best way to learn all about Italian and Roman culture is to taste and smell the wonderful flavors that make local traditions so unique and genuine. Roman culinary history is based on natural ingredients that come from the countryside around the city. Traditions are handed down from one generation to another, so every member of a family knows how to prepare the best Roman food.

One of the reasons Romans love eating is that having lunch or dinner with traditional food is not only a way to socialize, chat and stay together with other people but also a way to taste delicious plates.

Roman cuisine is based on main courses made of pasta, seasoned with tasty ingredients! Are curious about the top 5 food to eat during your trip to Rome?

Let’s have a look at our special culinary favorites!

1. Pasta alla Carbonara

   This is the real symbol of Roman taste! Pasta alla Carbonara takes its name from the people that once used to prepare it, the Carbonai, that literally means Charcoal burners. They used to prepare this type of pasta with ingredients easy to find and preserve since they need to bring food with them during their long working days.

   What is this dish made of? Usually, Carbonara is prepared with the long type of pasta, especially spaghetti, served with egg, hard cheese, guanciale or pancetta and pepper. Sounds tasty right?

   How can you prepare it at home? Don’t worry it’s easy. First, cook the pasta in salted boiling water. Then, separately from the pasta, fry the guanciale and when it is ready, add it to a mixture of raw egg, grated pecorino cheese, and pepper. Finally put them all together with the hot pasta. Now you have your Carbonara!

2. Supplì

   Supplì is a characteristic appetizer of Roman tradition: you can easily find it both in restaurants and pubs or in places where you can buy pizza by the slice, so it is a typical street food too. Its name comes from the Italianised word surprise, from the French language, that means “surprise”.

   Also called Supplì al telefono, due to its stretched curd hot mozzarella, it is a real unmissable food during your trip to Rome!

   How is it prepared? It has a long cylindric shape, fried with rice and seasoning on the inside. Rice is boiled in salted water, and seasoned with meat sauce, pecorino and mozzarella. Once fried all together, mozzarella becomes hot and stretchy, and that the best moment to taste it!

3. Carciofi alla Giudia

   Carciofi alla Giudia, translated would sounds like artichokes of Jewish tradition. They are the real proof of the Jewish past of the city and how Jewish traditions influenced the Roman ones. 

   They can be eaten at any time of the day you prefer, both as a snack or as a side dish. The best place where you can go and taste them is Jewish District for sure, where you will find a lot of typical restaurants with genuine ingredients!

   Whatsmore, Jewish District is located near the city center just above the bank of river Tiber, the perfect way to begin your walking tour of Rome. Here you will discover one of the oldest quarter where Jewish used to live. Its name in Roman dialect comes from Venice Jewish District, called also Ghetto.

   Let’s turn back to Carciofi alla Giudia. How are they prepared? In the ancient recipe, handed down from 16th century till nowadays, artichokes are simply fried, gaining a flower shape, so that it is not only a food worth to eat but also worth to see.

4. Bucatini all’Amatriciana

   Again, another top 5 roman food is pasta! This time, we are going to learn all about Amatriciana, a typical pasta dish that comes from the countryside around the Capital City, from the town of Amatrice. Pasta Amatriciana, in fact, takes its name right from the place where it was cooked for the first time.

   The main ingredients of this seasoning are: tomato sauce, fried guanciale cooked together with wine and pecorino cheese. Usually, you can find this dish in each traditional restaurant, so you will have a chance to taste it for sure!

5. Maritozzo con la Panna

   Last but not least, we have a dessert in our Top 5: Maritozzo. You can choose between eating it at breakfast, maybe together with a foamy cappuccino, or after lunch as a dessert. Anyway, whether you choose the first option or the second one, this would be a pleasure everyone.

   Maritozzo is a sweet loaf of bread, cut in the middle and served with whipped cream. It is name comes from its ancient use: in the past in fact, it was a custom for a fiancè to offer this dessert to their girlfriend as a gift. The brides-to-be, who received this gift, called it maritozzo, that is a nickname for the husband (the Italian word that means the husband is in fact marito).

   Our journey through Italian culinary tradition has come to an end but if you wish to learn more about it don’t hesitate to contact us! Our booking staff will be pleased to help you plan your trip and to find your best foodie Tour for you!