While ancient Rome didn’t have anything spectacular about their food scene (can you say cereal and legumes?), the famous Italian capital has luckily improved their cuisine immensely over the years.

If you’ve ever heard of pasta carbonara, cacio e pepe, or gelato, all of them come from Rome and are arguably the best right from the source. Avoid getting caught in tourist trap pasta spots or inauthentic gelato places and instead take a food tour that will show you the best eats the city has to offer.

I’ve decided to curate a complete guide to the 7 top Rome food tours out there, that are well worth your time and money. Let’s jump right in!

Best Food Tours in Rome

	Rome: Guided Food Tour in Trastevere	Rome Food Experience Max 6 People Group Tour | w/Private Option	Rome: Food Tour with Unlimited Food and Barolo Wine
Meeting Location:	Piazza Mastai, 00153 Rome	Piazza Mattei, 00186 Rome	Via Cipro, 4 L, 00136 Rome
Tour Length:	2.5 to 3 hours	3 hours	4 hours
Start Time(s):	1:00, 5:00 & 6:00 PM	12:30 & 6:30 PM	Between 10:45 AM & 7:30 PM
What’s Included:	Walking tour with commentary with local expert foodie, Food tastings, Wine tastings	Small Group of just 6 people, Dinner, 5-course lunch or dinner with drinks, Wine and beer tasting, Professional local guide, Private tour option available	Walking tour, Live guide, 20 food tastings, Wine, Unlimited food & wine offered
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Our 7 Top Picks For Rome Food Tours For 2024

1. Rome: Guided Food Tour in Trastevere
2. Rome Food Experience Max 6 People Group Tour | w/Private Option
3. Rome: Food Tour with Unlimited Food and Barolo Wine
4. Rome Trastevere Food Tour at Twilight with Eating Europe
5. The Award-Winning Private Food Tour of Rome: 6 or 10 Tastings
6. Rome: Food Tour and Wine Tasting in a Traditional Trattoria
7. Rome Walking Food Tour With Secret Food Tours

Rome Food Tour Reviews

1. Rome: Guided Food Tour in Trastevere

What to Expect on the Tour

Set off on an exciting journey through Rome’s rich history in the form of delicious food and wine! Complete with a guided walking tour that takes place largely in the charming neighborhood of Trastevere, you can expect a picturesque adventure full of fun facts and new experiences.

I always find food to be such an accurate glimpse into the soul of a place, and with the guidance of a knowledgeable local expert, you can be sure to learn a ton about the tales that shaped Roman civilization.

What Makes This Tour Great

Lasting 2.5 to 3 hours, it’s short enough that you’ll easily be able to fit it into a busy itinerary and is the perfect alternative if you want to go to a nice restaurant for lunch or dinner.

Start off by meeting your guide and the rest of your group in the center of Piazza Mastai and start your walking tour by venturing through Trastevere, learning about important landmarks like the Santa Maria church, and many others.

We learned a ton about the history and culture that influenced the food and wine (and vice-versa), offering a truly “Roman” experience that is perfect whether it’s your first or fiftieth time in Rome.

You’ll get to try plenty of famous Roman dishes like expertly-cured meats and aged cheeses, and while it may sound simple, they’re bursting full of unique flavors.

I’ll admit that I’ve never considered myself to be a big pasta fan, but trying the best carbonara in all of Rome definitely changed my mind. For dessert, we headed to an iconic gelato place, and throughout the tour we got to try tons of different wines from the Lazio region.

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2. Rome Food Experience Max 6 People Group Tour | w/Private Option

What to Expect on the Tour

Enjoying a meal is a very personal thing, and I’ve found that I learn the most with less people on my tour. With the Rome Food Experience Max 6 People Group Tour w/ Private Option is perfect for me!

As you have such a small group setting, it’s very intimate, though you can pay a small fee to make it a completely private experience, if you wish!

Indulge in an evening exploring authentic Italian flavors guided by a local expert who’ll show you the hidden gems of Rome, with traditional dishes that many tourists miss out on, otherwise.

Begin your journey just as the sun sets, casting a golden glow over Rome’s breathtaking architecture as you stroll through different neighborhoods to learn about each one.

This guide isn’t just a passionate local – they’re actually an official sommelier who holds in-depth knowledge about Roman cuisine and regional wines. Whether you’re a history buff, a foodie, a wine connoisseur, or some combination of them, you’ll find something to love here.

What Makes This Tour Great

While the restaurants may not always be the same, you can count on various stops adding up to the equivalent of a 5-course lunch or dinner with drinks. The tour starts out with a glass of Prosecco and some snacks before making your way over to the city’s former Jewish ghetto.

Here, we heard so many interesting, moving stories about the Jewish population here, as well as how Jewish cuisine here actually provided the origin of Roman cuisine!

Appropriately, we tried many Roman-Jewish dishes like the deep-fried artichoke, stuffed zucchini flowers, and more. The pizza and homemade pasta later on was incredible, and there was no better way to wrap things up than with some of the most delicious gelato in all of Rome.

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3. Rome: Food Tour with Unlimited Food and Barolo Wine

What to Expect on the Tour

As you can probably tell by this guide, I’ve done a ton of food tours – including plenty of tours in the Italian capital. However, one of my all-time favorites remains the Rome: Food Tour with Unlimited Food and Barolo Wine experience.

This 4-hour journey takes you through Rome’s varied culinary landscape, balancing educational opportunities with history lessons and plenty of room for delicious food and wine!

You’ll see how the city’s culture revolves around its gourmet food and wine, and you’ll get to see and try plenty of hidden gems you’d likely have missed, otherwise.

This was the tour that made me feel like I was practically a local, showing us not only the establishments but also allowing us to get to know the families behind them! It was so far beyond your average cookie-cutter experience, complete with over 25 food tastings and dinner with your guide.

What Makes This Tour Great

The Pizzarium is Rome’s number 1 pizzeria, and while I thought it was going to be touristy and inauthentic, it definitely proved me wrong. We got to taste pizzas created by the “Michelangelo of pizza”, Gabriele Bonci – each with super fresh, local ingredients!

I highly recommend the salami with potato or pumpkin and octopus, but it’s impossible to predict what the pizzas of the day will be.

Aside from that, we tried plenty of gourmet offerings, including truffles, plenty of cheeses and cured meats, pastas, and much more! Enjoy a handmade Roman pasta paired with Barolo wine at the charming il Segreto restaurant before dessert in the form of creamy gelato!

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4. Rome Trastevere Food Tour at Twilight with Eating Europe

What to Expect on the Tour

Trastevere is one of the most well-known districts in Rome, reeling in countless tourists with its charming Bohemian vibe, interesting boutiques, art, and world-class wine bars and restaurants.

If you want an amazing evening experience in this historic neighborhood brimming with fantastic eateries and bars, look no further than the Rome Trastevere Food Tour at Twilight with Eating Europe.

Not only will you try some of the most unique and delicious food around, but you’ll also get exclusive access to the oldest wine cellar in the city and plenty of other cool experiences!

Start out in the Piazza S. Bartolomeo All’Isola where you’ll meet your guide and receive a briefing as to what you can expect in this tour. The passion our guide clearly felt for their hometown was palpable, inserting excitement and knowledge into all of the interesting stories they regaled us with throughout.

Strolling over cobblestone streets lined with beautiful historic buildings and other places of interest, it’s a great way to get to know Trastevere quickly, especially if it’s your first time in this district.

What Makes This Tour Great

While history and culture play a big part in the excursion, it intertwines with the local food and wine, which only adds to the area’s strong history. Sample an array of tasty treats, from traditional pasta dishes and artisanal cheeses, to gelato and wine.

Our guide offered plenty of insider tips and tricks of how to get around Rome, how to order authentic dishes, and other helpful bits of info that I’ll definitely make use of.

With VIP access to 7 different restaurants, we learned (in many cases) from the owners or staff, themselves, the inner workings and background of the locales, as well as the history behind their most iconic dishes. Trust me, you aren’t going to find this info in a Google search.

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5. The Award-Winning Private Food Tour of Rome: 6 or 10 Tastings

What to Expect on the Tour

This next tour is another one of my favorites for many reasons, with one of the major motives being that it’s a small-group experience perfect for a more personalized excursion.

The Award-Winning Private Food Tour of Rome: 6 or 10 Tastings is exactly that: you get to choose between either 6 or 10 food and drink tastings of local delicacies, depending on the option you select.

If that’s not great enough already, you can even opt to upgrade to a completely private tour designed with only you and the rest of your party’s interests in mind!

The 3 hours fly by surprisingly fast, focusing on Rome’s culinary scene dating back thousands of years ago all the way to present day.

With a local expert tour guide there to lead the way, you’ll leave no stone unturned, making stops at both famous and hidden-gem spots to learn about and sample iconic Roman dishes.

As you stroll between stops, your guide will show you the city from an insider’s perspective, offering tips and guidance to make your time in Rome more enriching and convenient.

What Makes This Tour Great

I found this tour to not only be a fantastic way to try plenty of local dishes, but a great way to get to know different districts – perfect if it’s your first time in the capital city.

We tried the iconic crispy rice balls with mozzarella (suppli), cacio e pepe, plenty of artisanal cheeses, fresh-baked focaccia, decadent gelato, and plenty more! However, it really was the personalized attention and itinerary-tailoring from our guide that set this one so high on my list!

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6. Rome: Food Tour and Wine Tasting in a Traditional Trattoria

What to Expect on the Tour

If you’re a foodie and love history, or simply want to gain a better grasp on local Roman culture and lifestyle, you’re in the right place. The Rome: Food Tour and Wine Tasting in a Traditional Trattoria is a charming experience that will take you through Italy’s culinary heritage in a carefully curated format.

Perfect for food enthusiasts and history buffs, alike, this tour will immerse you in the stories and flavors that make the Eternal City so identifiable.

Starting off in the famous market, Campo de’ Fiori, you’ll have an authentic little trip to see their iconic flowers, fruits, veggies, and other lovely offerings.

After the sun goes down, it’s transformed into one of the most popular and lively meeting places in the city, filled with all kinds of restaurants and bars. One of my favorite parts was when we tried different types of salami (one of my favorite things in the world), paired with some of the most delicious wines I’ve tried.

What Makes This Tour Great

Continue on through the city center as your guide shares all kinds of interesting, albeit odd, history as you pass certain areas before stopping at a historic cheese shop! Later on, indulge in another fantastic glass of Italian wine while trying the local specialty of baccala fritto (fried salted cod).

I’m sure you’ll love the 2 other tastings, which in our case consisted of typical Roman pizza as well as the famous suppli rice balls.

The journey doesn’t stop there, as you head to Trastevere to sample antipasto, more wine, and finish things off at one of the most well-respected gelaterias in the city.

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7. Rome Walking Food Tour With Secret Food Tours

What to Expect on the Tour

This next tour may be one of the shortest on this guide, but it’s certainly not lacking in flavor or entertainment! The Rome Walking Food Tour with Secret Food Tours experience will take you through various aspects and districts of Rome, offering a well-rounded excursion.

It’s one of those tours that does a great job at displaying just how diverse of a food scene and cultural background Rome possesses, bringing together countless cultures to develop one.

What Makes This Tour Great

I may be biased, but another reason why this tour was so excellent was because I tried one of the best cappuccinos and gelatos of my life on it!

I know Italy is obviously no stranger to coffee, but I’ll admit that I’ve fallen into way too many tourist-trap cafes in Rome where I almost gave up on finding a good cup.

This alone told me that I could trust my guide’s knowledge and knew it was going to be a couple of hours bursting with authentic, delicious dishes.

Visiting different trattorias and bustling markets, we got to see and learn about the ins and outs of the local food scene. We sampled all kinds of artisanal cheeses, cured meats, pasta dishes, pizza (3 different types!), and so much more!

At the end, we found out what their Secret Dish was and got to try it ourselves, while our guide told us all about why it’s so important!

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Katarina Jelks

Katarina Jelks is a professionally trained sommelier from Hawaii. She received her Wine & Management Diploma from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Her experience working across the wine industry, in locations all around the world (France, Australia, New Zealand, the US & more), has resulted in a global perspective. She loves sharing her passion with others and helping them to chase their thirst for interesting wine and great food.