When in Rome, you’d be remiss not to enjoy the Italian delicacies, which include much more than pizza, pasta, and gelato. If you’re visiting the Eternal City for the first time, you might be startled to hear that some of your favorite Italian foods aren’t available at restaurants here. A local guide may help you discover regional specialties such as supplì (cheese-stuffed rice balls), carbonara, and cacio e pepe. Continue reading to learn about the top cuisine tours and cooking lessons in Rome, as ranked by U.S. News.
To establish the finest Rome food tours, we combined our personal experiences with current tourist ratings.
Eating Europe – Twilight Trastevere Rome Food Tour
This walking tour of Trastevere, also known as Rome’s bohemian area, is an excellent introduction to Roman food and also covers some of the city’s history. The stops include a visit to a wine bar with a cellar that predates the Colosseum, a sample of porchetta (slow-roasted pig), street cuisine like supplì, antipasto like carciofi alla giudia (Jewish-style fried artichokes), two varieties of pasta, and handmade gelato.
The tour’s entertaining guide had a fantastic sense of humor and quickly established a sense of camaraderie among the group, joking that by the conclusion, we’d be like a big, toxic Italian family.
Eat and Walk Italy – 3 in 1 Cooking Class: Fettuccine, Ravioli and Tiramisù
If you want a more hands-on experience than a conventional walking tour can offer, this cooking class is an excellent choice. At a restaurant near Piazza Navona, you’ll join a small group to learn how to prepare fettuccine, ravioli, and tiramisù from an English-speaking chef. The chef will discuss his secrets for perfecting handmade pasta. You’ll create the pasta dough from scratch and select your preferred sauce for the fettuccine, then load ravioli with seasonal ingredients before sitting down to enjoy your dinner with a glass of wine or a nonalcoholic beverage of your choice.
The program is accessible every day and lasts around three hours. Travelers say this lesson is ideal for families with teenagers and beginners with no prior pasta-making expertise. Classes are held everyday in the afternoon and evening. Prefer pizza over pasta? The firm also offers a pizza-making course.
The Roman Guy Tours – Trastevere Local Food Tour in Rome
This walking trip begins in the historic center and continues over the Tiber to Trastevere, stopping four sites along the route. You’ll taste meats and cheeses at a classic salumeria (deli), stop for baccalà (fried cod filets) or supplì, then seat down at a trattoria for a three-course meal with antipasti, two Roman pastas, and a main dish, closing with a gelato. The excursion is limited to 12 individuals and includes wine.
Tourgoers praised the entertaining, knowledgeable hosts and the great meal, however some were upset that pizza was not included. Tours are available daily at 12:30 p.m. and in the evenings beginning at 5:15 p.m.
The Roman Food Tour – Rome Food Tour in Prati
Foodies will like this walking tour of the Prati area, which includes tastings of luxury food and wine such as 30-year-old balsamic vinegar, truffles, and Barolo. This tour’s highlight, according to reviews, is a stop to Bonci Pizzarium, widely regarded as the greatest pizza al taglio (by the slice) in Rome. There’s also a stop at La Tradizione, one of the city’s premier gourmet food stores, with over 400 cheeses and 300 different varieties of meat. Finally, you’ll sit down to have some pasta before finishing with gelato from Fatamorgana, one of the city’s top gelato shops.
Devour Tours – Tastes & Traditions of Rome: Testaccio Food
If you want to travel off the main route and visit an actual Roman area, this culinary tour in Testaccio might be for you. During the walking tour, you’ll learn about Testaccio’s historical origins and how the old slaughterhouse (now closed) played an important part in the evolution of Roman cuisine. The journey begins with a classic Roman breakfast of espresso and a maritozzo (a soft bun filled with whipped cream), followed by a visit to the Mercato di Testaccio, which some locals believe is more authentic than the Campo de’ Fiori market, and a tour of a historic wine cellar. Other highlights include lunch at a sixth-generation family-run trattoria, as well as several cheese, pizza, and pasta sampling.
Raphael Tours – Rome Street Food Tour with Local Guide
This three-hour walking tour in Campo de’ Fiori and the Jewish Ghetto concentrates on street cuisine, including pizza and supplì. Previous excursions have included stops at the open-air market in Campo de’ Fiori, the renowned Antico Forno Roscioli for some of the city’s best pizza, and the traditional Sant’ Eustachio Caffè near the Pantheon. You’ll also learn about Roman history at the Jewish Ghetto and the assassination site of Julius Caesar, Largo di Torre Argentina.
The group size is restricted to 15 persons, and there are two time windows available each day (morning or evening). Tourgoers praised the skilled guides and enjoyed learning about the history of each dish. They also like the low ticket pricing and generous meals.
Rome with Chef – Spritz & Spaghetti Class
If you’re scared about cooking and want some liquid courage to get you started, this class could be for you. When you arrive, the spritzes begin to pour. Learn how to make the ideal Aperol spritz and then compare it to a Campari spritz. After kneading your pasta dough, you’ll learn how to prepare one of Roman cuisine’s most iconic sauces, carbonara or cacio e pepe, before finishing with a delicious taste of limoncello.
Secret Food Tours – Rome Food Tour
One of the things that distinguishes this trip from others is in the name: each tour includes a delectable mystery cuisine that is exposed only during the tour. The walking tour begins with an espresso or cappuccino at one of Rome’s oldest cafés and proceeds to six or seven locations in Piazza Navona, Campo de’ Fiori, and the Jewish Ghetto for pasta, pizza, and gelato, among other delectable treats. While it concentrates on Roman food, you will also be able to sample delicacies from other Italian areas, such as cannoli and stracciatella cheese.
If you want to make your trip more enjoyable, try paying extra for the enhanced beverages package, which includes prosecco or a spritz, Italian beer, and organic Italian wine. Participants commended the guides for being both humorous and informative.
Gourmetaly Rome Food Tours – Campo de’ Fiori, Jewish Ghetto and Trastevere
This firm has been giving culinary tours in Rome for over a decade, so you can be confident they know what they are doing. This plastic-free walking tour covers three areas in the city center (Campo de’ Fiori, the Jewish Ghetto, and Trastevere), with 15 different culinary samples available at five sites. Highlights include sampling mozzarella, burrata, and pecorino romano, trying fried artichokes or zucchini flowers (depending on the season), indulging in cacio e pepe and amatriciana, and savoring organic gelato.
Reviewers recommend doing the tour early in your vacation to take advantage of the guide’s recommendations and pointers for avoiding tourist traps (participants receive a restaurant directory and cookbook, which will be useful if you’re staying for a few days). Tourgoers regard the tour’s pace as relaxed and the meals as ample.
The tour is available in English numerous times every day, and customized tours can be scheduled in Spanish, French, German, or Italian. If you have a sweet craving, consider booking the company’s espresso, gelato, and tiramisu trip, which includes stops at cafés, bakeries, and gelato stores near the Pantheon and Navona square.
Withlocals – The 10 Tastings of Rome
When you book this personalized cuisine tour of Rome, you get to select your local guide. You may wind up with a pastry chef, an actress, a photographer, or even a yoga instructor. The walking tour takes you around Campo de’ Fiori and Trastevere, stopping to sample ten different foods and drinks. You’ll experience both sweet and savory dishes, such as buffalo mozzarella and gelato.
Because this trip is private, it may be totally customized. Availability depends on the guide you pick, and cost is determined on the number of people in your group. For example, a group of four people could anticipate to pay around $99 per person. Let your guide know about any allergies or dietary restrictions ahead of time, and they will adjust the trip accordingly.