Off the beaten path in Rome

We did the Taste of Testaccio tour from Eating europe, https://www.eatingeurope.com/rome/ on a Monday morning in March. (Approx $95/person). There were 7 of us on the tour, 2 couples, and one couple with their college age son. It was fun to learn about the Testaccio area, which is less touristy than many other parts of Rome, and we sampled so much food that we were completely full at the end of the 3.5 hours. Even if you aren't interested in doing the tour, you might want to explore Testaccio on your own, the market has a lot of different food stalls that all looked fabulous, many with long lines so go early.

I agree with sanomh about Testaccio! One of my favorite things to do in Rome is to explore the Testaccio Market - so many excellent choices for an informal lunch in the food stalls there. The tour sounds wonderful but you can easily explore the market on your own. On our last trip, we discovered Supplì a delicious cheese/meat filled rice ball.

Check our some food blogs or YouTube videos where people offer suggestions about places to eat and foods to try.

Have a great time in Rome.

Great idea! Thank you.

If you sign up for the food tour do you skip the lines?

The eating Europe food tour was a walking tour that stopped at several restaurants, bakeries, food stalls in the market etc. There really weren't lines to speak of. Each place works directly with the tour group, so they were expecting us and were ready to serve us. Of course, we were there on a Monday late morning-afternoon in March so I'm not sure if that matters. On the other hand, I know that Rome can get much more crowded than when we were there, but it certainly wasn't uncrowded anywhere! Word to the wise, make reservations for any restaurant you know you want to try, and if they say they don't take reservations, be prepared for long lines, or go off times. It doesn't matter whether it's a Saturday night or a Tuesday night, the more popular restaurants were busy!

hey hey kcapita15
eatingeurope.com
other food tours in rome and use EATWELL10 as discount
eatwith.com/ rome
scroll down with experiences around rome, some classes, some dinner/lunch served by a resident in their home.
oldfrascati.com
take a 30 minute train ride from rome and meet guide at frascati train station. tour around the area then maybe a pizza making glass, it's out in the countryside. wine tasting for mom & dad, and pizza making for your children.
tripsavvy.com
search best beaches of rome. take a train to a beach you might like, have lunch, maybe a swim and enjoy the area.
getyourguide.com
search the city your in and see what they offer
raphaeltours.com
look at tours offered
streaty.com
marketsofrome.com
make sure you stop for gelato and just people watch. you got the gang with you and can only go as fast as slowest one. wear comfy shoes, pack light, light weight clothes to rinse out in sink unless you have a washer in apt or laundry nearby
don't know how many days in rome , venice or sorrento. they are long train rides away from rome. if you know dates, book train travel early for discount. (trenitalia.com/ italotreno.it/ trainline.com) when are you planning this trip and do you have hotels/apts booked. book your coliseum tickets early. it doesn't seem to matter nowdays anymore, so many people are traveling anywhere and everywher and you are going to places many all want to go to. expect crowds and lines. are you flying roundtrip rome-rome, or doing a multicity, into one city out from another, that you do not backtrack that takes up travel time.
good luck, have fun

aloha

All good choices. But...fact remains that by the time a restaurant is in print media or on the digital radar, it's been found out.

Not that you should stop your research, however. The recommendations I've gotten from culinary historian Katie Parla served us well when we stayed for a week overlooking Campo de' Fiori in late winter 2017. She turned us onto the Forno Bakery--well-known but still neighborhood-y--and their take-away pizza slice with salsiccia & escarole was fantastic. Also their sister restaurant--Ristorante Emma, which specializes in Carbonara & puntarelle salad.

But I'll tell you, the sheer fun of finding a great little joint in Rome by happenstance is intoxicating. I remember one afternoon on our way back to the piazza from the tabacchi shop where we bought our bus/Metro passes, we happened upon a guy standing outside his Sicilian restaurant, smoking a cigarette. We struck up a conversation with him, and it turns out he's the owner & chef, and he invited us back that evening. What an evening--it being February, there weren't that many patrons and the owner spent time & sat down with us, brought out his 'special' Sicilian pizza with no cheese, black olives and anchovies. Wow--never would've tried that otherwise.

So...don't script everything out. Leave room to wander--trust me!

Maybe check out Trionfale market and eat there. Pizzarium there comes to mind, but there are other worthy choices.

Mom/pop? We just chanced across Cannavota, an absolutely quintessential example. Its directly across from Laterano basilica and was packed with local families celebrating Easter when my wife and I arrived. We were offered the final available table.
You won't regret it. Great food and equally attracative price point for a spot so close to a major attraction.

The family's young adult son waiter resembles Jimmy Page circa 1973!
I am done. the zep(polle)

We also enjoyed our EatingEurope tour this past fall. We did two of them and yes skipped lines
It was a lot of food on both and both guides were really insightful and told us other places to go to.
We also did a food tour with Local Aromas. We had done a cooking class with them on an earlier RS tour.

We like the food tours for trying different things and learning about the back history of food and
Restaurants

Enjoy

A couple of recommendations based on living local in Rome for almost 5 years.

In Parioli, an upscale neighborhood Northwest of Villa Borghese, check out Taverna Rossini. Great locals hangout, locally owned, consisting of a sidewalk cafe, interior trattoria, and fine dining restaurant. You can get the full menu in any of the venues. Just depends on what style of dining you want. Make a reservation if it is for Friday or Saturday night. http://www.tavernarossini.it/?lang=en

Go further afield and treat yourself to a full immersion experience at La Fraschetta del Pesce. Il Commandante (The Captain) reigns supreme in the dining room. He is a hoot and the service and seafood amazing. Very little English spoken. It’s less than an hour by Metro from the Centro Storico or grab a cab. (We used to take public trans to and taxi home.) https://lafraschettadelpesce.com/

We were very fond of the pizza at La Pratolina in Prati, not too far from the Vatican. Despite the location it is not very touristed. Reservations highly recommended especially Friday and Saturday. https://www.lapratolina.com/page_1

Hi, these were all great suggestions that I have looked further into. If I can ask for your opinion again. Is the food tour at Trastevere worth doing or should we just do on our own there? The cost for our family of 6 will run about $738 with the discount. Our family of 6 includes 3 college age boys and a high school daughter. The tour does look amazing but just wondering if we can get the same effect doing on our own..

Thanks so much!!

When we lived in Rome, Al Padovano (near Porta Pia) was one of our favorite mom-and-pop restaurants.

The tour is fun, but I would not spend that kind of money on it. You can sample all the food on your own.

hey hey kcapita15
wow that's is a lot for the tour but you do have 6 people and seems most tours are at $100+ nowdays. within the past few years prices have gone up and beyond. many guides take a class that cost, food, inflation, gas/fuel, rent, products for growing or feeding animals.
plus the pandemic didn't help, trying to make up for what they lost. it's just a merry-go-round and know you hope to understand the situation, it's everywhere.
couple options to check out:
withlocals.com/
culinary kickstart tour: rome. this is more budget friendly
doing a market tour on your own, they may offer things to taste or buy a bit for all to try and onto next stall. we did this in florence (mercato centrale), 2 story with so much food, shops, restaurants, souvenirs. expect a couple hours just to enjoy. can always buy "picnic/dinner/breakfast stuff for your apt and enjoy with a cocktail or eat outside tables at market.
mercatoditestaccio.it
it's in italian, see if translate to english. so much going on here.
myadventuresacrosstheworld.com/ testaccio market
a guide and history to the market. nearby is feliceatestaccio.it try their cacio e pepe and tiramisu
we stayed between piazza navona and the pantheon, great area few years back. walked around and did some zigs instead of zags and down small alleys found mom/pop restaurants off the beaten track. went thru campo de fiori market, lots to see and do, "free entertainment" busy, small meat/salami/cheese/bakery shops. walked across bridge to trestavere and had a great meal at ristorante carlo menta outside family tables. shared pizza and pasta with bottle of house white wine and tartufo for dessert.
try some fried artichoke hearts. hope no one are picky eaters, lots to try out there
search vatican and trionfale market tour, under trip advisor
another very budget friendly tour. up in the prati district near the vatican.
hope all works out for you and the gang, a wide opening experience if first time there. as Jay says, just wonder around, don't plan minute by hour for things to do and see. will probably take longer than you want. enjoy the atmosphere, sit down and people watch, it will be busy. seems so many people are traveling nowdays and no low season anymore
aloha

Food tours are usually quite a bit more expensive than other walking tours, which is totally understandable. Something in the 100-euro range was typical before the pandemic, I think. I have never taken a food tour because I don't drink alcohol, don't need to eat so much food within a span of a few hours and try to stay away from things like deep-fried nibbles. Also, I'm cheap. I don't think I'm their target audience.