72 Hours in Rome – A Food Guide

I umm-ed and ahh-ed over whether to write this post – unsure what I could add to the countless travel guide narratives on the web, to the expert advice of locals, to the city guides published by magazines. I eventually decided that really this is as much for my memory banks as for anyone else, and it’s what I would send to any friend who asked for tips, or anyone on instagram who messaged me during the trip.  It’s the lessons I learnt during a few sweet and sweaty summer days in July on a first time visit to Rome, and the result of many hours of trip research and planning (read: instagram-stalking restaurants). This is a 3 day highlight reel of a 4 day trip: my favourite bits. 

It’s also difficult in a city like Rome not to feel like you’re checking things off some ordained list that each visitor is instructed to follow on arrival. Maybe some would just say to avoid those sites, but it’s not for no reason that people go to wonder at the opulence of the Vatican, or gaze over the thousands of years of history on show at the Roman Forum. They’re incredible. I just try to balance them with that wonderful small coffee shop beforehand, or a walk around a less touristy neighbourhood, or go for a morning jog or walk before everyone and their camera is out on the streets. Plan unplanned time. 

Day 1

I’m an early riser – my jet lagged family is not. So I jog through Travestere, sleepy streets still full of rubbish from the night before, and up the many steps to Park Villa Doria Pamphili. It’s overgrown and dilapidated but full of gravel paths, broken statues, mossy fountains and locals out exercising before the heat of the day hits.

Back in Campo de Fiori, we end up following our noses around the corner to Roscioli Pasticceria. Vanilla-bean-flecked creme patisserie filled cornetti (the softer, sweeter cousin of the croissant), and flaky-crisp sfogliatelle (my new favourite pastry) alongside a strong cappuccino or double espresso. It’s so good, half the coffee shops and bakeries I had on my list languish forgotten – I learn that sometimes becoming a regular somewhere like this, trying a different pastry each morning, means more than dragging my family around Rome in the heat. 

Appropriately fuelled, we wander through the centre, orientating ourselves to the Spanish Steps, down past the Trevi Fountain, coins thrown over shoulders, through the Pantheon. In a nearby piazza, we find Sant’ Eustachio Il Caffè and order a café al granita con panna at the bar – icy espresso infused granita sandwiched with whipped cream, topped off with a wafer biscuit. (My brother recognises the place as being on a Kardashian’s instagram recently – regardless, it’s worth it). 

We’ve booked Sunday lunch at Tavernaccia da Bruno and I make everyone wait a second while I take a quick iphone photograph of the spread. Plates of wood-fired, golden-crusted lasagne, oozing mozzarella and sauce. Tender eggplant parmigiana. Burrata with grassy olive oil and sun-dried tomatoes, broken open to reveal that creamy centre. Roman chicory greens, sweet figs with pancetta. One of my favourite meals in Rome, hands down. 

Sleepily walking off that lunch, we wander up through quiet Trastevere streets to the Janiculum Terrace and take in the views over the city. Down the hill towards Castel Sant-Angelo – free on the first Sunday of the month, for a look at the path made for the pope to escape from the Vatican, and a direct view of St Peter’s Basilica. 

Trapizzino is a favourite quick dinner – there are a few dispersed over the city serving up hot, crispy edged pizza pockets stuffed full of traditional Roman mains: herby green sauce and tongue (don’t knock it till you’ve tried it), creamy burrata and fried summer zucchini, chicken and bell peppers. Try the suppli too – gooey fried balls of rich risotto filling, maybe with mozzarella and ragu sauce (another great place for this in the centre is Supplizio). Fior di Luna for scoops of pistachio and hazelnut gelato. 

Day 2

Today we hit the Vatican – via a skip the line tour that doesn’t really seem to skip much of the line at all, but it’s worth it to crane your neck up at Michelangelo’s Sistene Chapel and the towering gilded domes of St Peter’s Basilica. Really it’s the wealth and the extravagance of it all that is overwhelming – it would take weeks to really see everything in the museums and a few hours in that thick wave of humanity, only interspersed by colourful tour guide flags, was more than enough. 

Everyone’s reaching the end of their tether by the time we escape for lunch, so it’s a quick stop for much needed caffeine at Pergamino nearby before rallying to head to Bonci Pizzarium. It’s Gabriele Bonci’s takeout serving pizza al taglio (by the slice), and it irrevocably alters my pizza standards: crispy and air-pocketed crust topped with creamy dollops of burrata cut by rocket and anchovies; a thick spread of ricotta interspersed with spicy njuda; crispy slices of potato topped with rich and meaty ragu. Well worth the hype (but go off peak lunch hours if you can). 

We head back via Piazza del Popola and the Villa Borghese Gardens – you could visit the galleries if that’s your thing, but they are closed on Mondays. Dinner is a booking at Da Cesare, an easy tram ride out of the city centre to the best pasta of the trip. It starts with silky eggplant croquettes and zucchini flowers stuffed with mozzarella and anchovies, and moves onto the Roman staples –  the simplicity of cacio e pepe, wide spinach ravioli coated in l’armatriciana, pasta all gricia – spaghetti draped in creamy pecorino and black pepper with salty, fatty chunks of guanciale (pork).  We roll out on a dessert of tiramisu, berry panacotta and crostata. My brothers are up for round two so we visit Otaleg before crashing (sour cherry and dark chocolate, if you’re wondering). 

Day 3

I’ve already tried and failed to visit the apparently 200-year-old Pasticceria Boccione in the Jewish Ghetto (it was closed), but this morning we make it. An unmarked doorway, burnt apricot paint peeling, recognisable only by the smells wafting from within and that simple glass case lined with the day’s offerings- rich twisted pizza e braica, enriched brioche-like dough stuffed with dried fruit and nuts, and the ricotta crostatas (more like a pie). The latter was what we were here for – a glorious double crust of pastry filled to the brim with ricotta and laced with either wild cherry or dark chocolate chunks (visciole or cioccolato). (Also – you pay by weight, about 6 euro for a huge slice, and they sell out, so drop by in the morning). We sat on a bench in the square and devoured them. 

A tour of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum was one of the highlights of the trip – reaching back into the depth of my brain for that high school classics knowledge. Afterwards, a meander up towards Monti – a vibrant neighbourhood of small boutiques and eateries where I could quite happily have spent the whole afternoon. If you are spending time in this area, Green & Go is a great place for a throw together chopped salad if you need a break from pasta (this wasn’t the case for my brothers, who chose PastaChef Monti), and I have also heard good things about Trattoria Monti. For pastries, try the maritozzi at Regoli Pasticceria. 

A final lunch was back at our old favourite – Antico Forno Roscioli. More pizza al taglio, this time with grilled peppers and creamy burrata, fresh basil and cherry tomatoes. We grab some of the krantz cake for the train and end up wishing we bought double – sweet bread, plaited with almonds and raisins. It tastes even better than it looks. 

Gelato favourites:
Fior di Luna, Fatamorgana, Gelateria dei Gracchi, Otaleg, Gelateria del Teatro. 

Other recommendations if you have more time:

• Seu Pizza Illuminati: high on the list but didn’t quite make it here, but have heard incredible things – worth a booking. 
• Campo de Fiori market : this was right next to our airbnb so I ended up wandering through at various times. It’s small but full of wonderful produce – we stocked up on breakfast fruit – and Forno Campo de Fiori is extremely highly spoken of (particularly the pizza bianca)
• Testacchio Market (and visit Mordi & Vai)
• Coffee: Barnum Cafe, Faro – Luminaries of Coffee, La Case del Caffe Tazza D’oro, Sciascia Caffe

For more food recommendations and advice, I would highly recommend following Katie Parla, Elizabeth Minchilli and checking out the Eater Guide to Rome.