6 Reasons to Take a Food Tour in Rome

Rome is full of so many fabulous treasures.  Home to the world-famous Roman Colosseum, the Pantheon, and the Vatican, you will find fascinating sites around every corner of this iconic city. 

Another of the many treasures of Rome has some of the top traditional Italian food that you can find, making a food tour in Rome a perfect addition to your Rome itinerary!

The best food tours in Rome take you beyond the bad tourist restaurants. 

A Roman food tour takes you outside of just pizza and pasta and introduces you to the Italian food in Rome and maybe even a wine tour during your guided walking tour. 

Rome food tours allow you to eat like a local in Rome, tasting some incredible Italian food, making your experience so much better! 

So, keep reading to see why food tours in Rome can introduce you to some of the finest food venues in the Eternal City.

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How to Choose a Roman Food Tour

As you have probably already discovered, there are many options when choosing one of the food tours in Rome.  There are so many food tours in Rome that it can be overwhelming.

I say to look for one of the food tours in Rome that meet your specific needs. 

By that, is there a specific reason you are doing your Roman food tour?  For example, do you want to know a specific neighborhood better?  Do you want to try a specific type of food, like street food or food venues? Are you interested in wine tastings?

If so, you would probably enjoy a Roman food tour that focuses on that neighborhood, like this tour that focuses on the Trastevere neighborhood, this tour outlining the Monti neighborhood, or the neighborhood around the Trevi Fountain, all of which focuses on native Italian cuisine.

We chose to take a walking tour with Secret Food Tours for our Rome food tour. 

We loved our time with Secret Food Tours in Dublin, so we knew we would have a great experience with them in the Eternal City, and we were right!

We have found Secret Food Tours to be some of the best food tours anywhere and are one of the best food tours in Rome!

Whatever you desire, you can find Roman food tours that match it; do your research before deciding, especially if you are looking for an evening food tour or private tours.

Next time we visit, I will do a wine tour because I love wine tasting while I explore Rome!

Reasons to Take a Roman Food Tour

Take Food Tours in Rome to Learn Local History

Now, don’t let them scare you off; this isn’t going to be a boring history book type of history.  NO!  This is cool, food and culture-related history.

We met our guide before the famous Pantheon to start our walking tour.

Not only did we learn some fabulous facts about the Pantheon, but we also learned about the Piazza, some of the ancient ruins, the Trevi Fountain, and surrounding neighborhoods. 

Don’t worry, though, your guide knows that you are there for a food tour, so they keep the historical facts to a minimum and instead truly focus on the Italian cuisine.

The best food tours in Rome give you the opportunity to see the town through an entirely different lens while providing you with several delicious tastings.

These tours are available throughout Rome and the Vatican City.

Discover Off the Beaten Path Restaurants During Rome Food Tours

It is no secret that restaurants in the Eternal City are a dime a dozen. 

Don’t fall victim to the ones that focus strictly on tourists. They are truly just tourist traps. 

To get true Italian cuisine, you must venture off the beaten path and eat where the locals eat, tasting authentic Roman dishes. 

One of our favorite ways to discover these local food venues is by asking the locals. 

This is exactly what we were introduced to on our food tour. 

We were led off the beaten path and into local butcher shops, street food, bakeries, gelato shops, true Italian trattorias, and some of the best pizza ever!

We ventured down little side streets that I didn’t even know existed and wound our way through cobblestone lanes only to be introduced to some of the best food in Italy we had ever tasted.

Discovering off-the-beaten-path restaurants with a local is one of our favorite things about taking food tours.

Tasting Local Food is a Highlight of Food Tours

Our Rome food tour allowed us to visit places we normally wouldn’t. 

During our Roman food tour, we visited local restaurants and tried local foods, street food, and wine. This was truly some of the finest food we have ever tasted.

Marty and I upgraded our tour with Secret Food Tours to get the drink package. 

I recommend doing this or at least looking for the option when you are looking at food tours. 

This allowed us to enjoy delicious tastings of alcohol, including wine tasting and coffee beverages at the stops along with the food.  Several friends we made on our tour wished they had upgraded, too!

During our Roman food tour, we tried so many amazing foods.  We visited Roscolio (which I probably never would have found on my own), where we had the most amazing arancini. 

Don’t know what arancini is?  I didn’t either until this tour.  Arancini is a rice ball with cheese and meat deep-fried to perfection. 

Trust me when I tell you they are delicious. 

 Get Tips From a Local Guide

As I said in the history section, having a local guide is incredible. 

We were taken along the back streets and alleys as we ventured from destination to destination, all while hearing about the culture and history of the area we were visiting.

Our guide apparently knew the businesses we were visiting and the community. 

This was especially true when we visited the market and the butcher had prepared our cured meats.

Several times he was greeted on the street while giving our tour.  We enjoyed hearing his take on Rome’s food and drink scene as we ate through the city!

While exploring food tours, be sure they provide you with a local guide knowledgeable about Roman cuisine.

Pro Tip: Include that information in your booking if you have any food allergies. The guide will be sure that you, the restaurants, are aware of all food allergies.

Make New Friends

Nothing brings people together like delicious food and great Roman cuisine! 

We had so much fun making new and interesting friends on our Roman food tour. 

On our tour, we met people from all over the United States, a lady from Scotland and one from Japan. 

Really, bonding while enjoying delicious tastings is such a great experience.  We still have friends that we talk to from our Galveston food tour and our Dallas food tour!

Food tours are truly an awesome way to make new friends.

Try Some New Drinks

We were glad we purchased the drink upgrade for our Roman food tour! This upgrade allowed us to see even more of Rome’s food culture.

As our fellow participants were drinking water (unless they paid for it), Marty and I sipped Aperol Spritz, delicious lattes, ice-cold Italian beer, wonderful Italian wine, and Limoncello.  These perfectly accompanied our delicious tastings, especially the cured meat and street food!

If you haven’t tried limoncello or Aperol Spritz, you need to! 

We first experienced limoncello while in Capri, and we loved it!

We were introduced to Aperol Spritz during the hot summer months in Venice and have drunk them in Italy ever since.  I wouldn’t have survived the summer heat in Cinque Terre or Florence without my Aperol Spritz!

Adding the drinks truly made this the best food tour ever! Especially when you combine it with a great wine tasting or two!

Final Thoughts on Food Tours in Rome

We loved our Roman food tour in the Eternal City with Secret Food Tours.  They gave us the best food tour and let us taste some delicious local foods, making this one of the great cultural tours.

This tour allowed us to kick back, relax, do a wine tasting, eat amazing food, and meet some awesome people.  If you do anything while in Rome, take a Roman food tour!

This is the perfect activity whether you are looking for a family food tour or a tour as a single person!

Now I’m looking for that wine tour with all the possible wine tasting since I have uncovered Rome’s favorite food tour!

Happy Travels, Friends!!! 

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