Is there a place that keeps drawing you back? For me, it’s Italy, and especially the capital city of Rome. Besides its very many attractions, it’s the food that beckons. And there’s a lot to savour apart from the admittedly fabulous (in general) pizza and pasta. On my last trip, I took a food tour with Eating Europe in the Trastevere neighbourhood to discover all the amazing street food in Rome.
Meaty delights
The king of street food in Rome is undoubtedly the suppli.
This quintessentially Roman snack is a ball of rice with ragu (meat-based tomato sauce), and mozzarella that’s crumbed and deep-fried. What’s not to like?!
Another favourite was the porchetta that we tried at a family-run norcineria, a butchery specialising in pork products.
Porchetta is pork roast that’s stuffed with herbs and slow-roasted over several hours till it’s deliciously fatty and moist with crispy skin – is your mouth watering yet?
The trendsetter
Invented in 2008 in the Testaccio neighbourhood, the trapizzino has become a trendy street food in Rome. This is a combination of pizza and tramezzino, the triangular Italian sandwich. Pizza dough is used to make a triangular cone of sorts (like a pita pocket). The stuffing is classic Roman dishes like artichoke (my favourite!), oxtail stew, and even tripe. Or it could have other Italian fillings like eggplant parmigiana, chicken cacciatore, beef meatballs in tomato sauce (pictured above), etc. I even tried a fabulous tongue in green sauce.
Sweet treat
No street food in Rome list is complete without gelato! Our gelato stop was just outside Trastevere, back over the Tiber River in the Lungotevere area. We visited a branch of the famous Gelateria del Teatro near Piazza Navona in the city centre. It’s a tiny shop but they make some amazing gelato, not just the traditional pistachio, stracciatella, chocolate, and fruit flavours, but also some excellent herb flavours. I tried their sage + raspberry, rosemary + honey + lemon, and white peach + lavender (pictured above). All the flavours were excellent, but the last one was my favourite.
If you want to try fabulous gelato in Trastevere itself, I recommend Otaleg! (which is gelato spelled backwards), recommended to me by Maria of HeartRome. These guys make great gourmet gelato with intense flavours (including savoury ones) that you’ll keep coming back for. I recommend their passion fruit and frutti di bosco (mixed berries).
This is just a glimpse of what you can expect on the Trastevere street food tour with Eating Europe.
We also visited a market, had a cheese tasting, and took a coffee break as well.
While you’re in Trastevere, lose yourself in its cobbled streets…
… and also pop in at the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere.
I mean, just look at the interiors!
Plus these 12th and 13th-century mosaics.
Book the tour
Over the past few years, I have taken several food tours with Eating Europe and have always had a great experience. Read about their Testaccio Food Tour in Rome or their Paris food tour covering Saint-Martin and Haut-Marais. Bonus – the second link is to my Nat Geo Traveller article on cool food tours in Europe!
So if you’re heading to Italy, get a taste of the best street food in Rome. Book this foodie tour with Eating Europe and thank me later. As the Italians say, Buon appetito!
