When I booked my holiday to Rome, I could not have been more excited – I’ve always wanted to visit the city, and with my sweet tooth, the idea of gelato everywhere was almost more than I could handle. But then another thought hit me: (aside from gelato) what was I going to eat?! The Italians are obviously famed for their incredible food, but the majority of which is filled with flour – pizza, pasta, gnocchi to name but a few. Luckily, I needn’t have worried; if you do your research, eating in Rome gluten-free really isn’t that difficult. Hurrah! Read on to find out where I managed to enjoy some fabulous gluten-free meals (and snacks) in this equally fantastic city.
Breakfast
The majority of breakfasts that I saw focused around pastries, which looked amazing but would have been less so for my stomach. However, dotted around the city are little cafes called Vero, with their tagline ‘food and smiles’. They are geared towards more healthy eating, and do some great yoghurts with compote as well as a variety of big smoothies and juices. There are also frozen yoghurts, muffins and pastries and salads for lunch. It’s not the cheapest, but I’ve also seen a lot more expensive, and in a breakfast world of pastries, it’s a nice sanctuary. I also saw that quite a few cafes open for breakfast serve various fruit salads, so this might be another gf-option for you, too.
Lunch
By far the meal I had the most trouble with. Delectable looking sandwiches, baguettes and panini’s were absolutely everywhere, but finding a gluten-free one was like searching for a needle in a haystack. I headed into the Trastevere area of the city, left of the river and south of the Vatican, where there’s a lot more ‘traditional’ little restaurants than in some of the tourist traps near the Spanish Steps et al. I went to Mama Eat!, which has a non-gf menu, but the majority of which they have as a gf version. There’s a huge range of panini’s, of which I chose a grilled aubergine and mozzarella variety: it was a good size, and delicious! The bread was more soft and fluffy than a typical flatter/crispier panini bread, but it was so nice to find a sandwich I could eat, I didn’t care. They also do pizza and pasta, along with burgers, breaded chicken and sausage rolls among others. My panini was €8, so not super cheap, but not too extortionate either.
Very obviously gluten-free, I also had an absolutely delicious Caprese salad at Exquisitaly; the mozzarella was the thickest (in a good way), most fresh-tasting I had ever eaten. Granted, it’s not the most exciting lunch prospect ever and there’s not much else that’s gluten-free on their menu, but if you’re looking for something easy and not expensive, then this isn’t a bad option. Plus their gelato is incredible (and cheap) for dessert.
Dinner
On my first night, I visited Il Viaggio, which I walked straight past to start with as it was tucked down a side street (enter Google maps as my saviour). I’d read beforehand that some of their menu options were gluten-free, and was pleasantly surprised to discover the entire menu was gluten-free. The waitress saw my surprise and explained that Il Viaggio decided to go entirely gluten-free about three years ago as they didn’t want both coeliac Italians and tourists alike to miss out on delicious, traditional Italian food. No complaints from me, or the other diners sat around me who also (as per their conversations with the waitress) seemed to be there because they’d heard about its gf options. There’s gf bread (and also a non-gf option) to start, and was also bought a complementary little sample of potato soup, which was lovely. For main, I had salmon ravioli, which I was incredibly excited to see because in my almost four years of having a wheat-free diet, I’ve never been able to find a ravioli I could eat. And I wasn’t disappointed – the pasta itself melted in my mouth, while the salmon interior was creamy and cooked to perfection. For dessert, I had the chocolate fudge cake, which was more of a soufflé style number, but it was decadent, rich and oozed molten chocolate. I was sold. And my two courses and drink didn’t break the bank either, all coming in at under €20.
Above: Salmon ravioli at Il Viaggio
I’d knocked the pasta off my list, but there was absolutely no way I was leaving Rome without at least one gluten-free pizza. In the end I managed to only get the one (sob) but the one I did eat more than compensated for this. Situated on the main Piazza by the Vatican is La Soffitta Renovatio, a restaurant which, over its time has clearly pulled in some big names (actors such as Tom Cruise have all signed pizza boards which adorn the walls), and with food like theirs it’s easy to see why. I had a margherita with proscuitto and mushrooms and it. was. amazing. The crust was soft and fluffy and a real, thick pizza dough that was full of flavour. I might even go so far as to say it wasn’t only the best gluten-free pizza I’ve ever had, but the best pizza full stop, even from the days gone by when I could eat ‘proper’ ones. And they didn’t scrimp on size either; the thing was bigger than the plate and I was stuffed by the end (but powered on through, obviously). Honestly, even just writing this makes me a bit sad I can’t simply pop down the road and have another one. The entrance doesn’t have the most curb appeal and you have to go down some steps to get to it, but don’t let that put you off, I implore you!
Snacks and treats
The obvious one: gelato. It’s everywhere, in every flavour conceivable, and it tastes amazing. Plus, everywhere serves it in cups, not only the non-gf friendly waffle cones; if you can’t see the paper cups ask for one, as more often than not they do have them! On my final day I was wandering round some little streets on the way back to my hotel and stumbled across a great little raw food shop, that sells entirely gluten-free cakes and sweets. Obviously I went straight in, and there was a crazy amount of choice! In the end I settled for a chocolate mousse cake which was absolutely delectable; I only wish I’d found it sooner so I could have gone back again and tried something else. It’s not cheap – my little cake cost me €6 – but if you’re on holiday and after a treat, then there’s no reason not to splurge. If you look in Carrefour mini supermarkets and the like, they also tend to have a range of gluten-free boxes of biscuits and snack bars. I found some delicious quinoa bars stuffed with melted chocolate that were individually wrapped and great to pop in my bag for if I needed a snack during the day but couldn’t find anything gluten-free at that time. Spotting gf products in shops isn’t too difficult; they tend to have an illustration of a wheat stalk crossed out and the words ‘sanze glutine’ on them!
Above: the delicious cakes at Grezzo Raw Chocolate
I’ve listed the addresses of the restaurants I visited below so you can seek them out yourself if you’re visiting Rome. Happy eating!
Vero cafe: Via Marcantonio Colonna 30; Via Venti Settembre 26 or Via Vittoria Colonna
Mama Eat! Via di S. Cosimato, 7 (www.mamaeat.com)
Exquisitaly, Piazza di S. Bernardo, 99
Il Viaggio, Via Isonzo, 14 (www.ristoranteilviaggio.it/en/)
La Soffitta Renovatio, Piazza del Risorgimento, 46/a (www.http://www.lasoffittarenovatio.it)
Grezzo Raw Chocolate, Via Urbana, 30 (www.grezzoitalia.it/)