How to eat and drink in Rome

Last updated: January 20, 2025

My three rules for eating and drinking in Rome:

1. Don’t do inside if there's someone standing out front* beckoning tourists to come inside.

2. Don't go inside if there's a giant menu out front in English.

3. Don't go inside if there are pictures of the food on the menu.

* They're called acchiappini, Italian for catchers.

Wine Shops:

The Italian wine in Italy is better and cheaper than Italian wine in the States. I grabbed a new bottle every day from the wine store around the corner and to take up to my room. Those were some of my favorite memories of the whole trip.

• Antica Bottega Dei Sapori. My daily stop. It's just a grocery store, but a really good one. Decent wine selection. Nothing to write home about, but it was around the corner from me.

• Bernabei. REALLY good wine selection. A few locations around the city. I know of Bernabei in Testaccio and Trastevere. There could be more.

For cocktails:

• J.K. Place Roma. Hotel bar. Great cocktails. Really good shareable small plates. They bring SO MANY FREE SNACKS with your drink orders. You can basically get a light dinner for the price of a cocktail (not super cheap, at €24). My parents stayed at this hotel and raved about it.

• Terrazza Borromini. Rooftop bar at the hotel where I stayed. Depending on the season, it might be partially enclosed and heated, but you can still get outside to enjoy the views. I had breakfast here every morning, so can't comment on the cocktails, but another friend highly recommended it for drinks.

• Hotel Eden. I didn't make it, but a friend I trust had this to say: "If you find yourself at the top of the Spanish Steps, it's one of my favorite bars with the most amazing sunset views.  It's the bar on the top level of the Hotel Eden."

For food:

• Bar del Fico. My first stop after arriving in the city. I had the gricia and it was really good. There's a photo of me on the wall there. If you see it, snap a photo and send it to me, would you?

• Pirò. Really good seafood.

• Armando al Pantheon. It's good. But don't cry if you can't get in. Tough to get reservations because Stanley Tucci ate here once.

• Matricianella. Solid choice. Great carbonara and cacao e pepe.

• Da Peppo Al Cosimato. I haven't been, but our local food tour guide recommended this place.

• Hosteria Grappolo D'oro. I haven't been, but our local food tour guide recommended this place.

• Spirito Di'Vino. I haven't been, but our local food tour guide recommended this place.

For street food in an area where there are zero tourists...

• Mercato Testaccio. Walk down from Campo dei Fiori to work up an appetite—it's a beautiful stroll mostly along the Tiber—and then putz around the market. You can grab suppli, arancini, and other Roman street food.

For gelato

• Giolitti. Go here after the Mercato Testaccio. The place has been in the family for over 100 years and they've been serving gelato for at least 50. Most authentic gelato experience, i.e., no mounds of gelato, no toppings, just really great flavors. I think they have another location... I think just north of the Pantheon?