Twilight Trastevere Food Tour: Eating and Laughing With Eating Europe

Archaeological ruins, ancient art, beautiful views. The Eternal City offers all this and more. But let’s face it, what most travelers long for is trying the local cuisine. This is why going on a Trastevere food tour has the double perk of eating plenty of delicious dishes in one of Rome’s most popular and history-rich neighborhoods.

Twilight Trastevere Food Tour: Full Review and Details

porchetta roma trastevere food tour
A sample of porchetta at La Norcineria of the Iacozzilli family

This Rome food tour of Trastevere takes place in the evening and you will have plenty of tastings before dinner, so make sure you don’t eat before. Along with the eating stops, we also visited historical places like Santa Maria in Trastevere Basilica, the undergrounds of Spirito Di Vino restaurants, apparently connected with the undergrounds of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere Basilica via a tunnel, and the history behind Via dell’Atleta street.

I joined this Trastevere food tour with my husband and we enjoyed every stop. Our guide, Luca, was knowledgeable and very entertaining, sprucing up the tour with jokes, Italian habits and traditions, and an interesting narrative behind dishes and places.

What is this Rome Trastevere food tour called and who runs it?

dinner trastevere food tour
Ready to enter for dinner with our Twilight Trastevere Food Tour

The full name of this Rome food walking tour is Twilight Trastevere: Timeless Traditions. It’s run by Eating Europe (formerly Eating Italy), a large company that runs food tours all over Europe. In Italy, apart from Rome, you can find them also in Florence and Naples, while in the other European countries they offer tours in Paris, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Prague, London, and Strasbourg.

READ MORE: Check out our full guide to the best food tours of Rome.

How long does this food tour of Trastevere last?

This Trastevere food tour lasts between 3.5 to 4 hours but count easily 4 hours as there are plenty of tastings, historical anecdotes, and jokes.

What are the stops of this Rome food tour in Trastevere neighborhood?

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Cacio e pepe at Ristorante Casa Mia in our Trastevere walking food tour

We started our Trastevere walking tour in Piazza di San Bartolomeo all’Isola on the Tiber island and our guide Luca introduced the tour and the neighborhood to us. After introducing ourselves to the group, we started our walk.

In total, we made 6 stops:

  1. First stop was Da Enzo al 29 in Via dei Vascellari, truly, deeply one of the best traditional trattorias in Rome. After a glass of Prosecco bubbles, we tried a typical Italian starter, melon and prosciutto crudo ham. Since I’m vegetarian, for me was the melon and a delicious sample of grilled eggplant and bell peppers. Finally, they offered organic olive oil from Viterbo to dip homemade whole grain bread.
  2. The second stop in our Trastevere food tour was not a trattoria but a more upscale restaurant, Spirito Di Vino (Via dei Genovesi 31A). This was a very fascinating stop as we descended into the wine cave from ancient Roman times which is some 150 years older than the Colosseum. Here, too, Luca told us about the history behind these walls and their purpose in the centuries, including serving as an old Synagogue. The treat for the group was a pork stew made following an authentic ancient Roman recipe and using several of the ingredients now seldom used in the Italian cuisine, such as lavender, cumin and garum, fermented fish used as salt when the actual salt was more of a luxury good used to preserve the food instead of cooking. For me, a mouthwatering pumpkin and carrot velvety soup.
  3. Off to our third stop, we tried the historical Norcineria deli run by the Iacozzilli family (Via Natale del Grande 15), a popular street food place in Rome. Another great stop to try Italian delicacies such as porchetta, spit-roasted or bakes pork previously stuffed with herbs, typical from Lazio, Tuscany and Umbria regions. A generous slice of porchetta on top of pizza bianca (white pizza), a type of focaccia very common in Rome, and a sample of 36-month aged Parmigiano Reggiano and the local Pecorino Romano were given to the group. For me, instead of porchetta, was a delicious piece of fresh ricotta topped with honey and accompanied with a slice of pizza bianca. Alongside water, who wanted could taste a sample of high-quality craft beer.
  4. As the popular Trapizzino (Piazza Trilussa) opened in Trastevere too, our fourth stop was there to try their delicious supplì fried rice balls. Classic with beef ragout for the group, and with garlic, olive oil and chili pepper for me.
  5. The fifth stop of our walking food tour in Trastevere was for dinner, and the restaurant A Casa Mia (Via della Renella 88) was waiting for us. The group was served a very much appreciated mezze maniche all’Amatriciana pasta and for me a well-prepared and creamy cacio e pepe. Red and white wine were paired with the dishes.
  6. The last stop couldn’t be other than gelato. And the treat was at Fata Morgana, one of the top gelaterias in Rome. I took a cone with two scoops, Bacio del Principe (hazelnut and chocolate) and Venus rice with rose buds. Absolutely delicious, but I knew it already as Fata Morgana sees me quite often in many of her shops scattered around Rome.

Click here to book your spot in the Twilight Trastevere Food Tour of Rome.

What were our favorite stops in this Rome food walking tour?

Hardly to choose one stop. Each place had its own character and reason for a visit. We did eat everywhere we stopped, but the historical explanations were very interesting and added to the value of this Rome food tour in Trastevere.

If I had to choose, I would say that I enjoyed the stop at the Norcineria as my ricotta topped with honey was delicious, and the one at Fata Morgana as it really is one of my favorite gelato shops in Rome.

My husband thoroughly appreciated the pasta all’Amatriciana with his glass of Primitivo red wine from the Puglia region. He also very much enjoyed the second stop at Spirito Di Vino, the restaurant set in the former Synagogue, for its ancient history and undergrounds dating back to Roman times.

READ MORE: Do you want to try another Rome food tour with Eating Europe? Check out our review of their Taste of Testaccio food tour.

roman pork stew trastevere tour
The ancient Roman pork stew from Spirito Di Vino

Our tips to enjoy this Rome food walking tour in Trastevere

  • Wear comfortable shoes. You will stop to eat plenty of times, but there is also a fair share of walking involved. And it’s all around the cobbled alleys of Trastevere, so you don’t want to wear high heels.
  • Keep a bit of empty stomach. Lots of tastings in this 4 hours Rome food walking tour, delicious and authentic food that you don’t want to miss.
  • Don’t be late. The tour takes place in the evening and it’s pretty full of activities so you want it to start on time.
  • Ask questions. If something is not clear or you want more explanation, ask away to your local guide, they will be happy to answer and give more tips.
  • Stay close to the group. Your guide will give tips and anecdotes both at the stops and long the way. It’s very interesting so you want to take in as much as you can.
  • Bring a bottle of water. You will have drinks at every stop, but especially in summer, you want to keep hydrated when walking. You can fill your bottle at the public fountains very common in Rome.
  • Bring a camera. The neighborhood is very photogenic and so are the places you will visit and the dishes you will eat. You might want to take home some visual souvenir.
spirito di vino restaurant trastevere walking tour rome
The wine cave in the undergrounds of Spirito Di Vino restaurant

Location and how to reach your meeting point

The meeting point for this tour is Piazza San Bartolomeo all’Isola on the Tiber Island. Right between the Fatebenefratelli Ospital and San Bartolomeo all’Isola Basilica.

Located between the Trastevere neighborhood and the Jewish Ghetto, it’s pretty easy to reach. If you are coming from Trastevere railway station, you can take tram 8 and get off at Belli stop. If you are in the Trastevere neighborhood, you can reach on foot, and once along the Lungotevere, you cross Ponte Cestio Bridge and you’ll immediately spot the church and your guide.

If you are coming from the Jewish Ghetto, you will need to cross the ancient Ponte Fabricio bridge from Lungotevere de’ Cenci and you will be quickly at your meeting point.

Why take this Trastevere food walking tour in Rome?

If it’s your first time in Rome and you are not familiar with the flavors of the local cuisine, this Trastevere food tour is for you. As this is part of the city center, it’s easy to fall into the tourist trap. This is one of the main reasons I recommend booking a tour with a local expert.

Not only you will enjoy an evening of delicious food, but you will also get to know the right places where to eat authentic Italian cuisine rather than tourist menus. Trastevere is very popular among tourists as well as locals, and it’s important to know where to go.

On top of that, the neighborhood has a very old history hardly known by most. This type of Rome walking tour takes new travelers to discover a side of the city that otherwise they won’t probably understand fully.

Click here to book your spot in the Twilight Trastevere Food Tour of Rome.

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About The Author: Angela Corrias

Hi, my name is Angela Corrias! I am an Italian journalist, photographer, and blogger living in Rome. After over ten years of living abroad, I finally came to the conclusion that in order to better organize my future adventures, I needed a base. Since I know and love Rome so much, I moved back to the Eternal City. This is how Rome Actually was born. Here, I cover everything about Rome, from the local food to the culture to Roman history.

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