INSIDE: The Best Things to Eat in Rome. Updated 2024.
If you’re looking for good food in Rome – the home-cooked style of food rather than gourmet, you’re in the right spot.
Check out our list of the best 11 things to eat in Rome below.
No guarantees that you’re going home the same weight as you are now!
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“The trouble with eating Italian food
is that two or three days later you’re hungry again”.
George Miller
The Best Italian Dishes to Try in Rome with kids
You could spend a whole family vacation in Rome just searching out new Rome foods to try.
Actually, you can forget the Colosseum, the Vatican, and the Trevi Fountain.
Eating all the Italian food in Rome is just as good a reason to visit this archeological wonder of a city.
No.1: Good Cheap Pizza in Rome at Pizza Florida
Eating the best Pizza in Rome sits at number one place.
Devouring handmade pizza in Rome should gain you an honorary citizen stamp in your passport.
Don’t you agree?
Try our favourite: The Four Cheese Pizza.
Failing that, a Pizza Roma (tomato, mozzarella, capers and anchovies) is mouth watering too.
They sell the slices by weight per 100 grams.
Mix and match your favourite pizza toppings, and rate them 1 to 10.
No.2. Devour a scoop or three of Italian Gelati
Gelati is a world famous Italian food, and for less than 2 Euro per scoop, it’s easy to sample your own favourite flavours.
Try the Chocolate Sorbet gelato in Rome.
It’s as black as mud, and the bold flavor tingles your tastebuds.
No.3: Polish off a plate of the best Spaghetti in Rome
Italy is one of the easiest countries in the world to travel with kids of all ages, especially teenagers.
Kids will eat almost everything in Rome. The food speaks their language.
Pasta (and Pizza) bars are also an affordable option for family meals on holiday, especially if you have ravenous teenagers in tow.
A meal of real Italian spaghetti is unforgettable.
Plus, the servings are super generous in Rome.
Hot tip: Two younger kids can easily share a meal, saving precious pennies for entry fees and more gelati!
PS: If you have little kids travelling in Rome with you, they’ll love the little star-shaped pasta called Stelline.
No.4: Find The Best Italian Cheese in Rome
The list of cheeses available in Rome is mind boggling.
Search for:
- Burrata soft creamy cheese
- Mozzarella di bufala (made from Water Buffalo milk)
- Parmigiano, Italy’s most popular cheese
- freshly made Ricotta
- Pecorino cheese (a hard cheese made with sheep’s milk)
Be sure to step out of your comfort zone and eat stuff you wouldn’t normally find.
A combination lunch of fresh cheese and crusty bread is proof there’s a God.
No.5: Chomp on Fresh Bread
Take your pick at any Italian bakery.
Try one of each:
- Focaccia
- Crostini
- Ciabata
- Ciriola
- Pane Rustico, or
- Rosetta.
Or make DIY Bruschetta back in your hotel room or apartment kitchen by toasting bread slices and covering it with a combo of garlic, tomatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper.
No.6: Demolish a Calzone
This is a mound of folded over dough stuffed with ricotta, tomato, mozzarella, ham or salami, and parmesan cheese.
Need we say more?
No.7: Risotto Rice
There’s tonnes of risotto flavours and combinations in Rome.
Take your pick, and do remember the grated parmesan!
No.8: Feast on Nutella EVERYTHING.
Nutella is an authentic Italian food in Rome too.
In our eyes, Nutella might even be THE National Dish of Italy?
It’s definitely an ingredient in many Italian snacks.
Nutella, the brand of sweetened hazelnut cocoa spread, was first made by the Italian company, Ferrero, back in 1964 and a giant jar of the stuff brings a sparkle to every kid’s eyes.
In Rome, you can buy:
- Nutella gelati
- Nutella calzone
- Nutella pizza
- Nutella tiramisu
- Nutella cannolo (cannoli)
- Nutella tarts, and
- Nutella croissants!
No.9: Snack on a Warm Crepe.
Filled with nutella of course.
The perfect mid-afternoon snack for hungry kids.
No.10: Consume Italian Hot Chocolate at least once a day
Once is not enough when it comes to Italian Hot chocolate.
If there’s one Italian food or drink I’d love to add to my ‘Last Supper’, it is this.
Eat it.
With a spoon.
Don’t even bother trying to drink it.
No.11: Eat Gelato at the Lindt Store Rome
THIS is special gelato in Rome. Guaranteed, no other gelati in Rome will compare afterwards.
Try:
- Lindt chocolate gelato with hazelnut topping
- Sacher torte gelato
- Pistachio gelato
- Nutella gelato
The only hard part is to pick which ice cream you want.
Plus, there’s pick and mix Lindt chocolate bins.
Address: Find it near the Pantheon at Via della Maddalena, 12, 00186 Roma
Seriously, are these not THE Top 11 Italian Dishes to eat in Rome no matter what age you are?
If indulging in all these Italian foods in Rome can’t bring a smile to their face, nothing will.
Italian Food Culture in Rome Italy
These foods to try in Rome are just a tiny sample of a much bigger list of foods to eat in Rome.
It really is possible to eat yourself silly in Rome!
Note: These top 10 italian dishes may add a few happy kilos to your frame but we believe those kilos are worth every bite!
Hot tip: Walk everywhere in Rome and you can eat what you like, when you like, including multiple scoops of gelato each day.
It’s a fact!