David Downie's Food Wine Rome

Food Wine Rome is about eating and drinking the Roman way. The selection of food artisans, specialty food and wine shops, and places to eat and drink, reflects native sensibilities reaching beyond the touristy areas into outlying neighborhoods where the concentration of culinary delights and their degree of authenticity are high.

Rome ranks high among Italy’s great food cities. It is a rich capital city and has the means to spend on quality, its gastronomic traditions are ancient, and it has some of the most demanding food consumers in Italy. They won’t buy mediocre ingredients or eat mediocre meals for long. Like New York or Paris, Rome is a talent magnet. Many of the best cooks and products from all over the country are here.

But the Eternal City is not immune to global trends. Agribusiness is taking over age-old traditions fundamentally changing the way food is grown and animals are raised. Supermarkets are popular: estimates are over 400 of them are now scattered across town. Globalization is changing the country and its food-ways: fast food and junk food are taking hold, especially among the young.

Happily the combined phenomena of factory farming, discount hyper-markets and processed or fast food have not yet killed off Rome’s vibrant, small family-run traditional food and wine specialists, one-of-a-kind retail food shops, cafes, trattorias, hosterias, osterias, pizzerias, and restaurants. The best of the best feature in this app. Increasing numbers of Italians are turning back to their traditions. There are reasons to believe the excellence of the Roman eating experience will continue for a long time.

The restaurants, trattorias, osterias, and pizzerias included in this guidebook are tried and true, serve Roman food and could only be found in Rome. Trendy or international-style restaurants and establishments serving food that may be very good and skilfully prepared but has little or nothing to do with Roman tradition are listed by type as Trendy.