Trastevere at Twilight: What's Guaranteed and What Varies

Most food tours list a set of restaurants and then quietly substitute. This one states in advance what is fixed and what is not, which is worth more than a longer list. Always included, on every departure: a pizza tasting, a sit-down pasta dinner and Italian gelato, plus other local specialities, across six or seven stops. Sometimes included, depending on the day and on availability: names like Spirito Divino and Da Enzo, which are hard to get into alone and impossible to promise. The walk starts on the Tiber Island, crosses the Ponte Cestio and works through Trastevere as the light goes. Along the way, a trattoria that has been serving the same Roman dishes since 1935, closed on Sundays. A cellar cut 160 years before the Colosseum was built, where the wine comes with a recipe said to go back to Caesar's Rome. Porchetta in white pizza with a cold beer, from the man who does it best in this quarter. Supplì from a hole in the wall that has fed the neighbourhood for decades. Then a proper sit-down dinner with amatriciana and gricia, and gelato at the place that introduced Rome to the gourmet version, with an explanation of how to tell it from the tourist stuff. Up to twelve guests, with skip-the-line access. One practical note: use Google Maps rather than Apple Maps to find the meeting point, and remember it is up on the island, not down at the riverbank.