Simple, with strong flavors, overflowing with dressings and anything but low-calorie. Perhaps a little unrefined but this contributes to its authentic, genuine style. Traditional Roman cooking is made up of simple, meager ingredients, that follow the seasons and which are therefore extremely fresh.

A typical Roman menu begins with the essential bruschetta “ammazzavampiri” (a canapé so full of garlic it would kill vampires), and maybe also a wonderful mozzarella in carrozza. The large pasta course that follows could be: spaghetti alla carbonara, bucatini all'amatriciana, bucatini cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper sauce), gnocchi alla romana and the rigatoni served with the famous "pajata".

Onto the second course. You can choose between: coda alla vaccinara (beef tail stew), saltimbocca alla romana, costolette d'abbacchio (lamb ribs). For side dishes, don’t miss the chance to try artichokes “alla giudia”, a typical way of cooking artichokes from Jewish-Roman traditional cooking. Wash the whole meal down with a white wine from Frascati or Cerveteri.

If you still have room in your stomach, to finish why not try a couple of maritozzi, or freshen up with a lovely "grattachecca", the typical Roman crushed-ice drink

Let’s take a look at food and wine you can buy...
Every morning in the picturesque market in Campo de' Fiori, fruit and vegetable stalls show off their seasonal wares: the effect you get is an explosion of color and aromas that makes your mouth water. The bakers’ shops and food shops surrounding the square are also culprits in stirring up this desire for food. Among the best gourmet stores in Rome, we can name La Tradizione (via Cipro 8) and Franchi (via Cola di Rienzo 203).

Coffee time...
Surrounded by a unique environment that brings together culture, history and tradition, the old cafes of Rome were and still are meeting points for artists and writers. Dating back to the 1800s and 1900s are places like Caffè Greco, Babington's Tea Rooms, Caffè Rosati and Caffè Canova. For lovers of espresso, we recommend Caffè Sant'Eustachio, in the Piazza of the same name, a prestigious coffee retailer founded in the thirties, in which the coffee is artisan roasted, with a wood fire.