Food in Rome is gloriously, defiantly simple. The Eternal City built its cuisine on humble ingredients and bold technique, turning pasta, cheese, pork, and pepper into dishes that the rest of the world now imitates. To eat in Rome is to understand that grandeur and modesty can share a plate, that the same city of emperors prizes a bowl of cacio e pepe above any elaborate creation. This is cooking born of working-class kitchens and Sunday tradition, refined over generations into a canon that the Romans defend with religious seriousness.

The classics carry the history. The famous Roman pastas, carbonara, amatriciana, gricia, and cacio e pepe, share a common DNA of pecorino, guanciale, and restraint. Supplì, the fried rice ball, and pizza by the slice fuel the streets, while the artichoke, especially the crisp Jewish-style version from the old Ghetto, marks the seasons. The wine comes from the volcanic Castelli Romani hills just outside the city. Food and drink in Rome grew from this marriage of poor ingredients and proud tradition, distinct in its insistence that less, done perfectly, is more.

Today the table runs from trattoria to fine dining. The best food and drink in Rome lives in the old trattorie of Testaccio and Trastevere, the pizza counters, and the wine bars pouring Castelli whites. Visitors searching Rome food tours or top food experiences will find market walks, pasta cooking classes, and guided trattoria crawls. Among the most satisfying things to do in Rome, a plate of cacio e pepe explains the whole city in three ingredients. Rome does not gild its food. It perfects it.