The best street food in Rome

Among the ancient streets of Rome, you have no trouble finding plenty of great restaurants, cheap or starred, hospitable bars for quick snacks, and comfortable and original pubs. However, what makes the Eternal City particularly welcoming to travelers is the quality of street food it offers, from international dishes to local specialties.

Trapizzino

The name comes from pizzaiolo Stefano Callegari’s invention: a corner of white pizza, shaped like a sandwich, filled generously with a traditional Roman dish. The trapizzini can be with meatballs in sauce, chicken cacciatore or eggplant parmigiana, always priced at €5 each. The most famous venues are those in Trastevere, Ponte Milvio, and Testaccio. The setting is informal and seating is limited; therefore, reservations must be made or eating on the street, as it should be.

Er Buchetto

Street food establishments in Rome cannot do without offering the most traditional quick dish: the crispy porchetta sandwich. Er Buchetto, on Via del Viminale in Esquilino, in close proximity to the Opera House, offers stuffed sandwiches or white focaccia with Ariccia’s famous porchetta with an average receipt always under €10. This is a family business and the limited seating requires reservations. It is open every day except Saturday afternoon and Sunday.

Bite and Go

The traditional flavors of Roman cuisine incorporated into a sandwich-from one with boiled rump to one with tripe-form the basis of Sergio Esposito’s offerings, which you can find at his stall at the Testaccio Municipal Market. Crispy bread ciabattas are dipped in broth, stuffed with meat and vegetables and served over the counter. Reservations are not required here: a bit of a line and you’ll walk away with a juicy sandwich in your hands spending less than €5.

Bench 39

Banco 39 is located in the Pinciano covered market on Viale Antonelli in the Parioli district. It interprets street food in a vintage version. Downstairs, there is a counter at which to enjoy hot sandwiches and deep-fried buns: here among the specialties are rice croquettes and chicken croquettes. As in all street food markets in Rome, opening hours are long: they run from 7 a.m. to midnight, every day of the week. The restaurant accepts reservations and offers quick solutions at low prices: from 15€ of sliced meats boards down.

Dar Filettaro in Santa Barbara

In Largo dei Librari, not far from Campo de’ Fiori, one of the city’s most picturesque squares, you can enjoy the famous fried cod fillets. In addition to this quintessential street food, the small trattoria offers another local delicacy: garlic and anchovy puntarelle. It is open daily -except Sundays- from 5:30 pm to 11:10 pm. The price of its specialties, around €6, are average. Given the size of the venue and its celebrity, the wait can be a bit long.

Food Box

The supplì, the traditional tomato-flavored rice croquette with stringy mozzarella fiordilatte cheese inside, is perhaps Rome’s most beloved street food. Food Box shows up with a stall at the Testaccio Market on Franklin Street, under a modern glass roof and above an archaeological site, as is often the case in Rome. The offerings are not limited to supplì with different fillings. There are also artichokes a la giudía and stuffed squash blossoms, all always reasonably priced under 10€. It is open every day except Sunday.

AO Street Food Market Lab

Based on Pico della Mirandola Street at Box 50 of the Covered Market, his cuisine based on local products is constantly on the move. It participates in the most celebrated street food markets in and around Rome and is present at the most important events held in the capital, from Rugby 6 Nations to Formula E, from the Boat Show to Candlelight. Try one of their gourmet burgers with filleted rump meat: from Augustus, with provolone, onion and crispy bacon, to the spicy Nero. Prices range from €8 to €11.

At the Gourmino Food Truck

It’s part of Rome’s street food on 4 wheels: a street food truck in perfect vintage style offers traveling cuisine, as in the best tradition of food trucks in Rome. Often, you can find him in and around the Massimina area, between the south side of Via Aurelia and the Grande Raccordo Anulare, where he offers customers a gourmet lunch on the road. Its highlights are gnocchi served with traditional tomato and basil sauce, pita with pastrami, and the classic grilled sausage sandwich.The perfect place for a quick lunch under 10€

Pinsere

As the name implies, the specialty of this pizzeria is pinsa, which is the typical oval-shaped Roman flatbread, made using strictly organic flours. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Saturday and Sunday, it offers prices ranging from €4 to €6. It offers pinse in many different flavors, from the innovative stracchino, ciauscolo, and chiodini mushrooms to the classic escarole and raisins, to be enjoyed while strolling if you can’t find room at the few indoor and outdoor tables, which are always full.

Dar Ciriola

Located on Via Pausania in Pigneto, it is a small place where you can find “er pane der popolo romano,” baguettes stuffed with fillings derived from traditional recipes, ciriole precisely. Whether they are with meatballs with sauce or chicken with peppers, with bacon or with cacio Romano, the price is between €5 and €6 each. Open daily from 7 a.m. to midnight, it takes a break on Sundays, opening at 8 a.m. You might even meet his on-the-road version on the street, ayellow-red bee handing out fragrant and tasty ciriole.