My little black book of where to eat and drink in Rome

You can do both incredibly well here (and it doesn't have to cost a fortune)

Rome might be it for me. The one. The city above all others. The one you find yourself Googling flights to late at night, even when you’ve just arrived home.

We all have places like that.

In December 2024, I visited Rome for the fourth time. One of those times was for just under a month and I can tell you, it was one of the highlights of my three-year-long travels. I never wanted to leave because it had exactly what I love in a city. Great food and great wine at great prices.

Not to mention it’s bonkers beautiful.

If Rome is on your itinerary for this year, I want to share my favourite food and wine joints. Places I return to time and again.

As with all my in-depth guides, this is a paid subscriber post. Free subscribers, I love you all, but guides like this take a long time to curate (not to mention all the travelling that comes with building them, not that I’m complaining) so they go behind the paywall.

Access to all travel guides, plus everything else I’m building at The Sauce (essays, wine reccos, recipes and more) is $5 a month or $50 a year.

Travel guides so far include Jerez, San Sebastián, Logroño, Porto and now Rome. This year I hope to hit Barcelona (another home-like city for me) and a couple of others TBC.

These aren’t just TikTok-style recommendations built from what’s famous or popular. They are tried and tested places with extra tips to boot. Tips like:

• Why the Italian enoteca business model makes them the best value places to drink wine in the world.

• Why you probably shouldn’t bother with Rome’s most famous pizza joint.

• How beat the queues at the most popular speciality coffee shop in town.

• Busting the myth of Rome being an expensive city.

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Every day in Rome starts the same. A caffè and a maritozzo — Rome’s famous cream-filled buns —or cornetto (filled croissant) at one of countless Roman cafes.

Whilst the above maritozzo from Il Maritozzaro close to Trastevere train station is great, my all-time favourite place for breakfast is Pasticceria Barberini in Testaccio. Their cornettos are filled to the brim with crema or pistachio. Be warned however, don’t go with a hangover; it’ll be too noisy for your poor head, with caffès and cappuccinos served at an incredible rate.

If you’re not familiar with Italian coffee culture, the best way to experience it is at the bar or al banco. Drinks and food tend to be cheaper here than when you sit down and you get to watch everything unfold.

Another tip. Speciality coffee is not a huge thing in Rome, but Barnum has managed to break through and these days is incredibly busy. Beat the lines by walking straight past them to perch at the bar and taking a coffee and pastry, rather than waiting for a table. There is always room and it’s infinitely more interesting.

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Onto pizza.