Taste of the town in Rome
Trastevere is a colourful local hangout with some of the city’s best dining.
Trastevere, in the heart of Rome, was a popular address for Rome’s working class in the Middle Ages. These days it’s a colourful local hangout with lively nightlife and some of the city’s best restaurants, which makes it the ideal place to be embarking on Eating Europe’s food tour.
We arrive hungry to find our guide, Francesco, who grew up in Trastevere and still lives here, standing in front of the Church of San Bartolomeo all’Isola. The walking tour winds its way down the first of many cobblestone streets to our first stop, Da Enzo Al 29, one of the district’s renowned family-run trattorias. Usually there is a queue out the door but our tour visits much-loved restaurants before evening service kicks off in earnest at about 8pm. Kitchen staff laugh and gesture with flour-coated hands, plucking ripe tomatoes from a bag like magicians pulling rabbits out of a hat.
There are no Thermomixes or similar hi-tech gadgets at these authentic Roman restaurants. Nor are there printed menus at Da Enzo Al 29; the day’s dishes are written on a chalkboard and change depending on market offerings.
Artichokes are in season and carciofi alla giudia, deep fried artichokes, a dish that originated in Rome’s Jewish quarter, appear on a tasting plate in front of us. Francesco opens a bottle of prosecco and we savour the crackling crunch of the fried outer leaves and the velvet softness of the artichoke’s heart.
Our next stop is Spirito di Vino, a restaurant housed in a medieval building that was once a synagogue. We walk under Hebrew characters carved into the marble above the door and descend into the basement, which remains as it was in Roman Republic times.
Spirito di Vino’s hero dish is pork shoulder cooked in red wine with apple, onion, honey, vinegar and spices in accordance with a recipe created by Gaius Matius, Julius Caesar’s friend and cook. It’s a rustic dish that’s far from fancy, but filled with rich flavours that make it tempting to lick the bowl.
Next we head to the Biscottificio Innocenti biscuit factory, which is named after the original family that still owns the bakery almost 80 years later. Francesco points out his house up the road before we walk inside to marvel at the original oven used to create heart-shaped jam drops, tiny tarts and other classic Italian biscuits. If the wind is blowing the right way, Francesco can smell them baking.
After a stop at Antica Norcineria Iacozzilli to try some of Rome’s best porchetta, we visit I Suppli. This tiny store is famous for the capital’s favourite street food snack, better known as arancini in Australia.
The suppli is superb but the brothers behind the counter are even better. In between serving customers, they tease each other mercilessly and joke with regulars, who appear to give as good as they get.
With laughter ringing in our ears we leave for our penultimate stop on the tour where the classic tonnarelli cacio e pepe (pasta with cheese and pepper) has us reaching for the sparkling mineral water. Francesco explains there are “local” mineral waters in Italy, just as there are local wines, and the one we’re drinking is from nearby Lazio.
Our final stop is Fatamorgana, a gelato shop famous for bringing gourmet and organic gelato to Rome. The store is also renowned for its unusual flavours such as avocado, licorice, and pear and gorgonzola. It’s here we encounter our only disappointment of the tour. We are too full to manage the two scoops offered and have to content ourselves with one. However, when it comes to this charming inner-city suburb, we are hungry for more. Our first visit to Trastevere won’t be our last.
Tiana Templeman was a guest of Eating Europe.
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IN THE KNOW
The Twilight Trastevere: Timeless Traditions food tour runs for four hours and is available Monday to Saturday;
€99 ($160) for adults, €83 (13-17 years), €67 (four to 12).