Before kicking off our big Italian vacation in 2026 on the Amalfi Coast, we spent one day and evening in Rome. The sole item on our agenda was a food tour through one or Dan and my favorite neighborhoods in Rome, Trastevere (fun fact – also where we lived when we studied in Rome!). This was the third time we have taken this tour, and it was just as good as we remembered. This post details our food tour through Trastevere with Eating Europe!
Walking to the food tour. I love Rome so much – just casually passing ruins on our walk.
START OF THE TOUR
Our Trastevere Twilight Tour began with a meet up at Piazza S. Bartolomeo All’Isola. This piazza is located on a small island in the Tiber River, which island houses the working Basilica of St. Bartholomew. We did not venture into the basilica, but it was apparently founded in 998 and contains relics of of St. Bartholomew the Apostle. I will make it inside on day! The location is pretty easy to find, and meeting point is a pretty and not-chaotic spot to begin a tour.
View of the Tiber River from Piazza S. Bartolomeo All’Isola.
We introduced ourselves to our guide and tour mates before setting out on the tour. Our group comprised the entire tour except a couple from Australia, who were such good sports and fit right in with us. The tour officially began by crossing the remainder of the Tiber and officially entering Rome’s Trastevere neighborhood.
Dan walking through Trastevere. Always feels good to be back.
STOP ONE: A TRADITIONAL TRASTEVERE TRATTORIA
The first official stop of our dinner tour was at one of Trastevere’s most popular restaurant, Trattoria Da Enzo al 29. Da Enzo is a family-owned traditional Roman trattoria that has been run by the same family since the 1980s (and before that, by Enzo himself!). For good reason, Da Enzo has become incredibly popular and it does not take reservations. You will see tourists lining up around the block waiting for a table at Da Enzo. Pro tip – if you take this tour, you enter the restaurant before it officially opens for the evening, thereby skipping the lines.
This is the line literally down the street waiting for Da Enzo to open. People are sitting on the ground they have been there so long.
We began our stop at Da Enzo with a glass of dry Italian Prosecco. The food pairing was bread with legit Italian olive oil and Burrata (cheese) paired with fresh tomatoes. The Burrata at Da Enzo is insane. This is the third time I have had this dish and every time, it is incredible. The Burrata is incredibly creamy and pairs perfectly with fresh tomatoes and real olive oil. One day I will return (in a very off season) and have a meal here without a tour, LOL. I would love to try some other items on the menu.
Prosecco is a great way to begin an Italian food tour.
The deliciously creamy Burrata with local tomatoes.
The spread. You can see how good the olive oil looks!
Dan’s parents joined us for the tour! Here is them at Da Enzo (also their second time here!). Before Rome, they were in Amalfi and Ischia.
STOP TWO: A MODERN APERITIVO
We left Da Enzo just before it opened for the evening, passing lots of diners patiently waiting for a table. Our second stop was at another great restaurant just down the road, Ercoli Trastevere. This was our second visit to Ercoli’s Trastevere location. Ercoli is both a trendy, modern restaurant, as well as an upscale food store. And, it’s a beautiful space. We sat behind the cheese display for our Italian aperitivo!
The group at Ercoli Trastevere.
To drink, we were served a Spritz, which is often made with Prosecco, soda water, and Aperol liqueur. This one, however, was made with Select, which is a liqueur similar to Aperol but in all of our opinions, better. Select is from Venice and dates back to the 1920s. It is not super easy to find, but we found bottles to purchase at the Rome airport (who knew?).
A Select Spritz.
With our Select Spritz, we were served a platter of small tastings, just like an aperitivo! The platter was made up of salami made with truffle, two types of cheese (one with truffle!), some sort of delicious sweet compote, and a bruschetta topped with goat cheese and zucchini. Everything was very tasty, but I think the zucchini bruschetta was my favorite. It was different than anything I had the rest of the trip!
Buon Aperitivo!
STOP THREE: A PANINO FROM A REAL FORNO
We continued through Trastevere after leaving Ercoli.
Trastevere.
Next was almost certainly my favorite stop of this tour, and my first visit, La Renella! La Renella is a forno, which are very common in Rome. For those unfamiliar, a forno is generally a bakery in Rome, baking both sweets as well as savory breads, which savory breads are seemingly more important in my opinion. Fornos (or forni in Italian) will often offer thin crust Roman pizza on their bread for sale during the day, as well as sandwiches made on their thin bread. They always look incredible.
The pizza at La Renealla.
At La Renella, we tried a simple panino (sandwich) made with La Renella’s house porchetta (pork). While incredibly simple, this sandwich was insanely delicious. I will absolutely return to La Renella for this sandwich and to try other dishes. As La Renella is super casual (as are forni generally), we paired our panino with a Peroni beer. Peroni is a common Italian beer dating back to 1846; some would even call it the national beer of Italy. You can find it everywhere.
Pork panini at La Renella.
Just yum.
A Peroni beer. You can find these all over Italy.
The full spread.
STOP FOUR: A TAKE AWAY SNACK
Following the delicious panini, we meandered down the street to a popular restaurant, Checco er Carttiere. We did not sit down here, but went around the corner to Checco’s “take away” counter. And while you have probably heard that Italians famously sit down to eat and don’t “eat on the go”, you can find take away places in Italy. There are particularly a lot in Trastevere (I recall from my time studying here!).
Checco er Carettiere Take Away.
At Checco, everyone tried a supplì. A supplì is a fried rice ball stuffed with cheese and sometimes other things, such as meat or fish. They are similar to the Sicilian arancini but a bit different. Supplì is a very popular street food in Rome. Everyone tried one supplì here, and they were quite large. The cheese inside, which is my favorite part, was particularly good.
A supplì.
The inside.
STOP FIVE: ROMAN PASTA IN AN ANCIENT THEATRE
After supplì, we crossed back over the Tiber to Rome’s Centro Storico (or “historical center”) for dinner in a very special restaurant, Ristorante Pancrazio. Ristorante Pancrazio is located atop the ruins of the Theater of Pompey, which was the largest theatre in ancient Rome and, allegedly, the site of Julius Caesar’s demise back in 44 BC (!). While the main level of the restaurant is modern, you can see some of the ruins by going downstairs (just ask).
Ristorante Pancrazio.
Ristorante Pancrazio is tourist friendly, yet it also serves delicious traditional Roman food, including the four Roman pastas (Cacio e Pepe, Amatriciana, Gricia, and Carbonara). For our meal, we were served Amatriciana, which is pasta, Panchetta, Pecornio, and an ever so slightly spicy red sauce. It was simply great. Some people’s favorite meal of the entire trip! Our pasta was paired with local Red and White wine from Lazio (the province in which Rome is located).
Local wine from the Lazio region.
Our Amatriciana pasta.
In addition to the Amatriciana, we also sampled Eggplant Parmesan. Unlike American Eggplant Parmesan, Italian Eggplant Parmesan is not super deep fried. Instead it is generally eggplant layered with Parmesan cheese, very, very lightly breaded (like topped with breadcrumbs) and served with some sort of tomato sauce. It’s much lighter than its American cousin, in a good way. Eggplant Parmesan is also often served as a first course, rather than a main entree, in Italy. In any case, it was great that Eggplant Parmesan was served, as our traveling partners LOVE Eggplant Parmesan. This was was very good.
Eggplant Parmesan at Pancrazio.
STOP SIX: AN INTERESTING GELATO
Our tour ended with, what else, gelato! We stopped for gelato at Fatamorgana, which is an Italian gelateria that has now expanded to Los Angeles. This evening Fatamorgana offered some very interesting flavors. I opted for a classic, Stracciatella (vanilla gelato with chocolate chips), and a different one, Seadas. Seadas was Sardinian Pecorino Cheese with Chestnut Honey and Orange Peel. While this may sound odd, the gelato was delicious! Would absolutely order again.
Interesting flavors at Fatamorgana.
Italian gelato! The Stracciatella is on the top.
The whole group!
At the end, this tour was a fantastic start to our trip. I highly recommend this tour, or really any food tour in Rome, to almost anyone in Rome. Dan and I have taken numerous Rome food tours over the years, you can read about them here, here, here, and here!
STEAL OUR TRIP
Eating Europe: We took the Twilight Trastevere Tour at 94 euro per person. The cost included all food and drink. Book early, as these tours do fill up regularly!
Trattoria Da Enzo al 29: Via dei Vascellari, 29. 12:00 – 15:00 and 18:30 – 22:30. No reservations. Arrive early; be prepared to wait.
Ercoli Trastevere: Open daily 7:30 – 12:30, except closes at 17:00 on Monday.
La Renella: Via del Moro, 15. Open daily 7:00 – 20:30. No reservations; super casual. No
Checco er Carettiere Take Away: Vicolo del Bologna, 68. Open daily 12:00 – 15:00 and 19:00 – 23:00.
Ristorante Pancrazio: Open daily 9:00 – 0:00. Reservations recommended.
Fatamorgana Gelato: Via Dei Chiavari 37A
Roma, 00186 RM. Open 12:00 – 23:00. Closed Friday.
*This post is not sponsored. All opinions are my own.*