🗺️ Italy food highlights!!! 🇮🇹

Tried more than 20 places but only found these 5 worthy to remember!

Antico Calice VE

Super random find from searching “restaurants nearby”on google maps. Noticed that gondoliers (wearing their uniforms) dine there too! Didn’t seem very touristy, and wasn’t very crowded.

Cuttlefish pasta was super flavourful ~ normally I find that squid ink only adds colour but isn’t flavourful, this plate changed my mind. Spaghetti was also perfectly al dente, love the chew. Cuttlefish portions were v generous!

I usually don’t fancy pasta but I was pretty mind blown by this dish 😮

42 Eur for 2 pastas!

Gelateria Artigianale La Sorbettiera | Santo Spirito

Had a loooootttt of gelato and this is the place that is still in my dreams!!!

I got the hazelnut and dark choc but super regret because their pistachio is the bombz! I taste tested it but gambled with hazelnut. Hazelnut was nice too, slightly salted but not mind blowing.

Their pistachio was too outstanding. It’s the touch of salt that they add that completes it without extinguishing the pistachio flavour 😍

Dark choc is usu pretty standard. I recall one that I liked particularly more because it was darker and had a stronger bitter profile but can’t recall if it’s from here.

4 Eur for 2 scoops!

Trattoria San Pierino

Recommended by our Airbnb host. Definitely a hidden gem, not touristy and got cute waiter, the only cute Italian I saw this trip 🫢

Tried their lamb shop, steak, seafood calaramata but it was their tiramisu that stole the show!

We came here for everything but the tiramisu, it’s a pleasant surprise. Waiter said they used Chantilly cream that day, dk what they use on other days but Chantilly was good! So cloud light we forgot we were eating cream. All the coffee & alcohol flavours were balanced so that each does not stand out in particular, they just blended into one.

Calaramata was also a surprise for me. I’ve never seen a pasta shaped like calamari in SG, that’s how it got its name according to the waiter. Tomato sauce was vv good, not the acidic sour type but also not too sweet & quite a decent portion of seafood bits!

Caffè Antica Roma

This cafe gave off the most local vibes out of all the places we tried for bfast ☕️

I like that they serve what the regular Italian would eat so nothing is too colorful or sweet.

Their pistachio croissant is stuffed with about 2 tbsp of legit pistachio butter, not the sweet creamy type & not just 1 dollop on top that u get from most other bakeries. It also has a pleasant pandan layer - not sure if it’s my imagination cuz pandan is such an Asian flavour??? Overall a rather light pastry that isn’t cloying.

Their other lemon pastry was also pretty light and was a nice contrast to the pistachio croissant.

Tried their barley coffee and have nothing to complain abt!

This place is also NOT overpriced, 6.8 Eur for everything, unlike most of the other places in Rome. Super like the local vibes!

Spizzica Roma - Pizza al Taglio

This was our last proper meal ~ we were actually quite full but still impressed by their pizza, says a lot!

I only recently learnt that there’s a difference between schiacciata and focaccia bread but I always mix them up! Idk but I suspect there this pizza base is the schiacciata, which is thin, crisp and not v dense at all!

This place is rated 5 stars but I had my doubts cuz all the pizza is pre-made. They heat it up when u order.

A bite into it, I felt bad for judging the pizzas by their appearance.

Smoked salmon with zucchini combination was super refreshing, I like that the ingredients are 70% of each bite!

And nothing is too salty, a common problem we had when trying sandwiches and pizzas. Even the anchovies were ok, nicely balanced with the tomato base.

Their cheese also wasn’t overwhelming but I’m a cheese lover so there’s no such thing as too much cheese 🧀

Really enjoyed the combination of ingredients! U won’t even believe how affordable this place is only 6 Eur for what we ordered, no coperto.

V small seating space, virtually none but has a nice clean toilet 🚽

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