A Food Tour Through Rome and Florence
I just got back from a 15 day trip to Italy which was incredible. The first 10 days were with my study abroad program and consisted of seeing basically all of the churches, historical sites, and museums in Rome and Florence. I am not the biggest history buff BUT it was cool to see all of these things, like the Colosseum or David. The last leg of my Italy trip was a solo trip in Bologna for my 21st birthday...more on that in another post :)
Because I'm sure you can Google "Rome and Florence things to do" and find clearly laid out lists telling you all the must see spots, I'm going to just focus on the food because that was my favorite part of Italy. I'll be honest, finding good food in Italy is easy but it was overwhelming for me in Rome and Florence. Because of the plethora of ristorantes, trattorias, and osterias, I constantly feared "making a wrong choice" and leading my friends and I to a complete tourist trap. But on the other hand, I had received so many suggestions for restaurants that it was hard to choose enough for just a few days in each city.
I ended up eating some really delicious food. I really have no complaints. I already miss my daily dose of gelato but my body is happy to be eating vegetables again. While Rome and Florence are incredibly touristy, they are beautiful and I really enjoyed my time exploring each city. Keep in mind that these recommendations are just the places that I visited...there are many many other places that as just as good (if not better) ask around when you're in Italy or even wander and let your nose choose the place for a bit more spontaneity :)
Rome
Pasta:
To try - cacio e pepe, carbonara, amatriciana, spaghetti alla Gricia
- Pasta Chef (in Monti): cheap, homemade, super good
- Grazia & Graziella (Trastevere): carbonara, pretty good! good atmosphere and nice staff
- Osteria Da Fortunata* : AMAZING homemade pasta, all the Rome classics (i got amatriciana and it was amazing), you see them making pasta in the windows
- Taverna Romana (Monti) : no frills family restaurant. Good local authentic food
Pizza:
- Emma Pizzeria* : amazing Roman style thin crust pizza. Really big menu with local, organic items. Good for dietary restrictions and/if you want some lighter food.
- Piccolo Buco* : amazing thicker Naples style pizza. Great crust. Homemade cheese. Really really good.
Gelato:
- Gelateria del Viale (Trastevere): really good almost whipped gelato
- Della Palma (by Pantheon): 150 flavors. Great options. Pretty good! Creative flavors
- Come Il Latte*: my personal favorite. They will fill the inside of the cone with chocolate. Really creamy and flavorful gelato
Other:
- Jewish Ghetto: kosher cakes* (cherry and ricotta cake), Nonna Betta (fried artichokes)
- Ginger Sapori e Salute: good smoothies and fresh fruit. don’t get the avocado toast it’s underwhelming
- Gastronomia D’Angelo Caffé* - great coffee, cookies, sandwiches, veggie platters (amazing!) really affordable
FLORENCE
Lunch:
- Il Mercato Centrale: lots of options. Great cannolis :)
- Tamarindo Juicery: really good smoothies, juice, salads (Shake Café another smoothie/salad option)
- All’Antico Vinaio: amazing focaccia sandwiches worth standing in line (5€/sandwich)
- Panini Toscani*: amaaaazing! really good panini’s they give you samples of the different meat/cheese options and you decide what goes on your panini (6€/sandwich)
Dinner:
- Tameró (by Santo Spirito) : homemade pasta, good options for things other than pasta
- Trattoria Za Zá*: think Cheesecake Factory size menu all with pasta and local specialties...good good. Great for a group
- Gustapizza*: great pizza. Fun vibe (don’t worry if there is a line they’ll get you in quickly)
- Pint of View*: Asian fusion gastropub. Great beer. Really good food. Nice change from Italian food
- Osteria Cinghiale Bianca: wild boar ragu
Gelato:
- Edoardo Organic Gelato: really good!!! cool flavors and all organic
- Cantina del Gelato: the black rice gelato is amazing! Some normal but some Asian inspired flavors
- Gelateria Dei Neri*: the dark chocolate ohhh my god! SO GOOD. really traditional but really delicious
- Perche No!: good array of flavors. i got matcha and fior di latte with honey and sesame seeds yummy taste but not as creamy as i like it
Also, go to Gosh* which is cute hipster cocktail bar - cocktails based on your astrological sign
An addition to Rome and Florence, we also took a day trip through Tuscany stopping in Anghiari, Sansepolcro, and having a full Italian Sunday lunch at Trattoria de Vasco in the small mountain town of Montagna. 10+ courses of the most delicious home cooked food but I was so stuffed I could hardly walk afterwords! Worth every second, though :)
Despite not knowing Italian, I have a deep love for Italy. I love the culture, the food, and the people. It felt good to connect with my roots in the past 15 days and I am so grateful for the opportunity to travel in Italy for that long during the semester. This year is winding down but each place I visit continues to impress me in new ways. There's so much to explore in the world.
