What to Eat in Rome: A Local Food Guide

The short version: eat the four Roman pastas — cacio e pepe, carbonara, amatriciana and gricia — plus supplì, pizza al taglio, a crisp Roman-style pizza, artichokes (carciofi), and gelato. The best food is in Testaccio and Trastevere, at lunchtime trattorias and market stalls rather than the tourist streets around the big sights. Here is what to order and where.

At a glance

The four Roman pastas

Rome’s soul is its pasta, and four dishes define it — all built on the same handful of ingredients. Cacio e pepe is just pecorino romano and black pepper whipped into a silky sauce with pasta water. Carbonara adds egg yolk and crisp guanciale (cured pork cheek) — and never cream, which is the tell of a tourist kitchen. Amatriciana brings tomato and chilli to the guanciale and pecorino, and gricia is the “white amatriciana”, the older dish without tomato. Learn the differences in our guide to the four Roman pastas, then eat them where Romans do, in Testaccio.

Beyond pasta: street food, artichokes and pizza

Start with supplì, the fried rice croquette pulled apart to reveal a string of melted mozzarella, sold at pizza-by-the-slice shops. Pizza al taglio is Roman fast food: rectangular slices cut with scissors and sold by weight, the crust crisp and airy. A sit-down pizza romana is thin and cracker-crisp, unlike the puffy Neapolitan kind. In winter and spring, don’t miss carciofi — artichokes braised alla romana with mint and garlic, or the Jewish-Roman alla giudia, deep-fried until the leaves crackle like petals, best in the old Ghetto. Finish with a real gelato from an artisan gelateria (look for natural, muted colours).

Where to eat, and how to skip the tourist traps

Two neighbourhoods reward you most: Testaccio, Rome’s old slaughterhouse district and the home of its working-class cooking, with a superb covered market; and Trastevere, cobbled and atmospheric, best explored in the early evening before dinner. As a rule, walk a few streets away from the major monuments, look for handwritten daily menus, and eat where there are Roman families. The easiest way in is a Rome food tour that takes you between market stalls and family trattorias, or a pasta-making class where you cook carbonara yourself.

Frequently asked questions

What food is Rome famous for?

Its pastas above all — cacio e pepe, carbonara, amatriciana and gricia — plus supplì, pizza al taglio, Roman-style thin pizza, artichokes, and Jewish-Roman fried specialities.

What are the four Roman pastas?

Cacio e pepe (pecorino and pepper), carbonara (egg, pecorino, guanciale), amatriciana (guanciale, tomato, pecorino) and gricia (guanciale and pecorino, no tomato). All use pecorino and, except cacio e pepe, guanciale.

Where do locals eat in Rome?

In Testaccio and the quieter corners of Trastevere, at lunchtime trattorias and the neighbourhood markets — a few streets away from the main sights, where the menus are in Italian and handwritten.

Taste it for yourself

Book a Rome food tour through Testaccio and Trastevere, cook the classics on a Rome cooking class or pasta-making class, or see everything on the Rome food & wine hub.