Trastevere Food Tour with Every Table Booked in Advance

The practical argument for a guided food tour in Trastevere is not the food, which you could find yourself. It is that at eight in the evening on a Saturday the good places are full, and the ones with space at the door are the ones with laminated menus in four languages. Every table on this route is reserved before you arrive. You walk in, you sit down, the plates come out. No queue, no searching. The stops go through the Roman canon in order. Cured meats and local specialities first. Then supplì, the fried rice balls with a core of mozzarella that stretches when you pull one apart, which is where the name supplì al telefono comes from. A slice of Roman pizza with a cold beer. A guided tasting of desserts. Wines are chosen for each stop rather than poured from one bottle all night. Between courses the guide fills in who is cooking and why the recipe is the way it is, which is what you cannot get by walking in on your own. One thing worth knowing before booking: if you are gluten intolerant, the operator recommends the private version instead, where the whole route can be made gluten free. Meeting point is Piazza Mastai, by the fountain. Arrive ten minutes early. Latecomers are not refunded.