Rome: Food and Drink Guide
This is a rather controversial statement but we share our opinion with many other visitors who have been to Rome.
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You will find some of the worst food in Rome.
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It's true, eating and drinking out in Rome is typically a tourist trap and the quality of pizza, pasta and wine is so poor, the freezer section in Iceland is laughing!
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Use our guide to help you eat like a local.
Rely on Google reviews
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Our advice is to really rely on Google reviews and as a rule of thumb, don't eat anywhere rated less than 4.5 stars. In Rome, there are so many restaurants with thousands and thousands of reviews it is so overwhelming. Instead, eat somewhere where there are less than 1k reviews and look for the language of the reviewers. If it is written in English, fine but make sure a good chunk have been translated from Italian.
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Outside restaurant staff with menus
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Not to say that restaurants that have an allocated staff member on the door means they serve bad food. However, in all of Europe, we just don't do this in normal restaurants. The reason why the restaurant usually allocate an attractive female staff member to entice customers is to show a level of customer service - which is usually absent in Europe but appeals to the Americans. True Italian places don't have these people on the doors. Be wary!
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Discounted Aperol Spritz
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It can be so enticing to stop off when you see a €3 or €4 Aperol Spritz advertised outside of a cafe. Aperol Spritz should not be costing you anywhere near what is does in other cities, expect to pay less than €7 per glass. However, we noticed that cafés that sell the Spritz for less than €5 usually came in a super small wine glass with one or two cubes of ice. We recommend that you opt for the places where they are on sale for €5/€6. Then you can guarantee a proper glass made the proper Italian way.
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Gelato
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Genuine gelato should be in silver deep trays and you shouldn't be able to see the ice cream. If they are in plastic tubs on display, then its just ice cream - not gelato.
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Siesta
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True Italian places often have a "siesta" where they close between lunch and dinner service. Be wary and not desperate for an early dinner, particularly when exploring the outskirts of Rome.
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We are not claiming to be experts on Italian food, so as you will have noticed, there are no tips and tricks on how to identify true Italian food. From our experience, the above tips just help you have a more authentic and better experience with eating and drinking in the heart of Italy.
