The food that Rome actually eats, in the neighbourhoods where Rome actually eats it.
1. SUPPLÌ ROMA (Supplì — the fried rice ball) Via di San Francesco a Ripa, 137, Trastevere Access: Tram 8 to Trastevere or walk from Piazza Trilussa Open: noon-10pm (closed Monday) Order: one supplì al telefono — the fried rice ball with the mozzarella that stretches when the supplì is pulled apart (the “telephone wire” that gives it the name). Eat immediately, standing at the counter. Price: €2-3 / £1.72-2.59
2. PIZZARIUM BONCI (Pizza al Taglio) Via della Meloria, 43, Prati Access: Metro A to Ottaviano-San Pietro, 5 minutes walk Open: 11am-10pm (closed Sunday) Order: the pizza bianca con zucchini (the courgette, the mozzarella, the basil on the white base), the pizza with the mortadella and stracciatella, or whatever the daily special is at the time of visit. Point at the section, the staff cuts and weighs. Eat standing at the counter or on the pavement outside. Price: €1.50-3 / £1.29-2.59 per 100g
3. TRATTORIA DA ENZO AL 29 (Roman Trattoria) Via dei Vascellari, 29, Trastevere Open: Monday-Saturday lunch and dinner; Sunday lunch only Order: the cacio e pepe (the Roman pasta — the pecorino romano and the black pepper emulsified into the pasta water to coat the spaghetti), the coda alla vaccinara (the oxtail braised in the tomato and celery and the soffritto — the Roman offal tradition at its most accomplished), the tiramisu. Price: €30-45 / £25.87-38.80 per person Reservation: required at least 3-5 days ahead.
4. FILETTI DI BACCALÀ (Fried Salt Cod) Via del Governo Vecchio area, Campo de’ Fiori Note: The specific Roman street food that tourists consistently miss — the battered and fried salt cod fillet from the dedicated supplì/baccalà shops near Campo de’ Fiori. The shop that has been frying baccalà on this street since 1943. Price: €4-6 / £3.45-5.17 per piece
5. MERCATO TESTACCIO (Best Market in Rome) Via Beniamino Franklin, Testaccio Access: Metro B to Piramide, 10 minutes walk Open: Monday-Saturday 7am-2pm Note: The finest neighbourhood market in Rome — the produce vendors, the cheese stalls (the pecorino romano in three ages, the burrata from Puglia arriving twice weekly), the meat section, and the prepared food counters (the arancini, the fried artichoke, the supplì). The Testaccio market serves the Testaccio neighbourhood population and the professional buyers from the surrounding restaurants.
6. FLAVIO AL VELAVEVODETTO (Testaccio Cucina Romana) Via di Monte Testaccio, 97, Testaccio Open: daily lunch and dinner Order: the rigatoni alla pajata (the pasta with the intestine of an unweaned calf, the milk still in the intestine giving the sauce its specific creaminess — the most specifically Roman dish on any menu), the carciofi alla giudia (the fried whole artichoke, the Roman Jewish preparation, the leaves opened like a flower and fried until crisp at the tips), the abbacchio alla cacciatora (the spring lamb in the hunter’s sauce). Price: €35-50 / £30.17-43.10 per person
7. FORNO DI CAMPO DE’ FIORI (Bakery) Campo de’ Fiori, 22, Centro Storico Open: Monday-Saturday 7:30am-2:30pm and 4:45pm-8pm Order: the pizza bianca (the specific Roman focaccia — the dimpled olive oil bread that is simultaneously lighter than focaccia and denser than pizza, eaten plain or with the prosciutto or the mortadella from the deli counter next door). Price: €1.50-2.50 / £1.29-2.16 per piece
8. IL GELATO DI SAN CRISPINO (Gelato) Via della Panetteria, 42, Trevi Open: noon-midnight (later on weekends) Note: The gelato consistently cited by Italians as the finest in Rome — the natural flavourings (no artificial colours, no food colouring, the pistachio from Bronte in Sicily, the honey from Lunigiana), the cups only (no cones — the cone introduces a flavour variable). The hazelnut and the honey-walnut are the reference flavours. Price: €3-5 / £2.59-4.31 for a single-scoop cup
9. GRAPPOLO D’ORO (Wine Bar) Piazza della Cancelleria, 80, Campo de’ Fiori area Open: daily noon-midnight Note: The wine bar with the Roman wine tradition — the house carafe of the Castelli Romani wine (the dry white from the volcanic hills southeast of Rome, the traditional house wine of the Roman trattoria) at €8-12 / £6.89-10.34 per half litre, the cicchetti (the small plates — the bruschette, the supplì, the marinated vegetables) for the aperitivo hour.
10. MERCATO RIONALE TRIONFALE (The Neighbourhood Alternative) Via Andrea Doria, Prati Access: Metro A to Ottaviano Open: Monday-Saturday 7am-2pm Note: The neighbourhood market serving the Prati residential area — the least tourist-affected covered market in central Rome, the prices 15-25% below the Testaccio tourist-facing equivalent, the quality comparable. Recommended specifically for self-catering visitors.
11. PARIS RESTAURANT (Roman-Jewish Cuisine) Via del Mattonato, 28, Trastevere Open: Tuesday-Saturday lunch and dinner; Sunday lunch Order: the carciofi alla giudia again — this time in the traditional Roman Jewish Trastevere context, the restaurant that has been serving the historical Jewish community of Trastevere for multiple generations. The baccalà in agrodolce (the sweet-sour salt cod). Price: €35-50 / £30.17-43.10 per person
12. THE SUPPLI / BACCALÀ CIRCUIT (General Evening) The triangle: Campo de’ Fiori → Largo Argentina → Piazza Navona Note: The evening street food circuit — the supplì from Filetti di Baccalà, the carciofo fritto from the Campo de’ Fiori vendors (seasonal, October-April), and the Jewish-Roman fried preparations from the shops in the Largo Argentina area. Walk this triangle from 7pm with €10-15 / £8.62-12.93 and eat continuously.
