We are both complete foodies and after our recent incredible Tapas Tour in Barcelona we signed up for a food tour of Rome! We chose to do an Evening Historical Centre Food Tour with Secret Food Tours who we’d previously heard great things about! Our evening consisted of a three hour guided food tour through the historical centre of Rome where we saw incredible Roman ruins, explored the Jewish Ghetto, Trastevere, Compo dei Fiori and Piazza Navona as well as learning about the culture, history and of course incredible food of Rome! Our friendly local guide Sylvia was passionate about both Rome and food and was an incredible guide. We loved strolling through the different neighbourhoods of Rome, seeing secret places that only the locals know about and stopping to try many different types of incredible foods throughout the evening. It was a great insight into Roman history, culture and cuisine and we had a fabulous evening that finished with very full and happy bellies!
Our tour group met in Piazza Navona where we met our group and our lovely, local tour guide Sylvia. Firstly we stopped for some authentic Italian coffee! Sylvia explained about all the different types of coffee available and I opted for an espresso whilst Dan had an espresso with a shot of sambucca in it which meant he wasn’t sleeping any time soon! Sylvia then took us on a little tour of beautiful Piazza Navona and explained the meaning behind Bernini’s beautiful Fountain of the Four Rivers which is without doubt one of the most beautiful fountains in the city.
Our first food stop on the tour was for Pizza! Sylvia took us to one of the best pizza shops in Rome where we could see the pizzas being made. The shop was very busy so we took our pizza outside and sat by a beautiful fountain to enjoy the three types of pizza which included white pizza, red pizza and a margarita pizza. The pizza was absolutely delicious and without a doubt one of the best pizza shops we’ve been to in all our time in Italy! It was a great start to the tour!
We then headed away from the crowds and were surprised how quiet the streets were after just a few blocks! Sylvia took the time to point out buildings of interest and tell us about the history of the places we were walking through. Our next venue was a little wine bar where we had some delicious Italian salamis and freshly baked bread with local wines. We were very impressed that it was self service wine and loved the cosy venue which our group fit inside perfectly.
Sylvia then led us to an authentic Suppli shop where we tried two different Suppli balls, which are fried risotto balls! First we tried the traditional Suppli balls which were tomato and basil flavoured with mozarella in the middle which were my favourite! Next we tried the chefs modern spin on Suppli balls which were mushroom and parmesan flavoured which were Dan’s favourite of the two types! They were absolutely mouthwateringly good and we loved them so much that we returned the next evening to have more for dinner!
We then walked through the historical centre to a delicious Sicilian bakery where Sylvia presented us with incredibly sweet and delicious Cannoli which are a Sicilian pastry filled with ricotta cheese and dipped in either almonds or pistachios. They were absolutely delicious, ridiculously sweet and I don’t think I could ever eat more than half of one or my clothes wouldn’t fit any more!
Our next stop was for a sit down meal of pasta accompanied by wine in a small restaurant in the Old Jewish Quarter. Sylvia explained about the history of pasta in Italy and how carbonara came about which was incredible! We then tried two typical Roman pastas which included spaghetti carbonara and a delicious tomato based penne pasta. My favourite was the tomato based pasta but the carbonara was delicious too!
After our pasta and wine we were all feeling very full and so Sylvia took us on a walking tour of the Jewish Quarter of Rome. We learnt a great deal about the history of the Jewish Quarter and those who have lived there over the years from the time of the Roman Empire right up until WW2 and today. I don’t think many tourists would find the Jewish Quarter during their travels or even try to find it as we hardly saw any other tourists during our tour. The streets were narrow, old and beautiful and Sylvia showed us so many incredible secret places that only the locals know about. We also saw some incredible Roman ruins which were some of the most fascinating we’ve seen during our time in Rome.
Up next was a very stylish wine bar and cheese shop in the Jewish Quarter where we tried delicious fine local wines and three types of amazing Italian cheeses! Being a big fan of both cheese and wine I was in heaven! The venue was very popular with locals and was very authentic.
Our final stop of the night was for Gelato! Sylvia taught us how to recognise a traditional gelato shop which makes its own gelato and we were lucky enough to be able to choose two flavours each. Dan opted for coffee and chocolate fondue which he loved and I was feeling brave so chose lemon & basil and carrot & passionfruit which were both absolutely delicious! I also liked to tell myself that I’d made a healthy option by choosing fruit and vegetable gelato!
We had such an amazing evening on our Secret Food Tour of Rome! Sylvia was such a friendly, knowledgeable guide and was truly passionate about Rome, Italy and food! We loved that Secret Food Tours run small group tours and our group consisted of only 8 people who we got to know well during the course of the night. We also really enjoyed that the tour consisted of a great combination of a walking tour of the historical centre as well as a food tour! Sylvia took us off the tourist trail and to the best restaurants and bars where we discovered incredible amounts about the culture, history and of course wonderful cuisine of Rome! We left feeling very full and content and loved the many different types of food that we’d tried throughout the evening. For €79 the tour is extremely reasonably priced and we’d highly recommend it to any food lovers visiting Rome! If you’re interested in booking the tour you can visit Secret Food Tours website for more information!
Thanks to Secret Food Tours Rome for hosting our evening.
Our opinions are as always, our own.
