Food Markets in Rome that Are Actually Worth Visiting

Suppli_Carbonara_Street_Food_Testaccio_Market
Sampling local Roman treats and delicacies on food tour
Location iconRome, Italy
TripAdvisor Winner 🏆

Rome Food Tour through Trastevere

Rating star icon4.96(3203)
from69 €

Most of Rome’s visitors never venture much beyond the historic centre. But the city’s daily life plays out across the city’s neighbourhoods (rioni). So it should come as no surprise that each of Rome’s neighbourhood has its own market (mercato rionale). What most travel blogs won’t tell you is that many of these are rubbish, and not remotely worth visiting. 

Campo de Fiori farmers market bustling with fresh produce vendors in Rome Italy

Campo de’ Fiori's market. Good for photos, but poor for produce

Even some famous food markets, like the daily market in Campo de’ Fiori, have become overpriced tourist traps that most locals avoid like the plague. This guide shares the best food markets in Rome depending on what you’re looking for. We’ll recommend the best markets for Roman street food, the best market for a sit-down lunch, the best for some foodie souvenir shopping the day before departure, and the best for general vibe. 

We also want to be realistic: you’re probably not going to be spending months in Rome, and there are only so many food markets you can fit into any one visit. So we’ll be honing in on the highlights and being honest about what makes them stand out. Here are five food markets in Rome that are actually worth visiting, and where you can guarantee you’ll eat like a local and not be treated like a tourist. 

Testaccio Market (Mercato Testaccio) - Best for Street Food

Address: Via Aldo Manuzio 66b, 00153

Open: Monday to Saturday, 7 am - 3:30 pm

Testaccio Market is hands-down the best street food market in Rome, offering incredible variety and guaranteed quality. Across its 61 stalls you’ll find everything, from greengrocers and butchers to international food specialists, like Spiros Greek Kantina or the Asian Altro Green.

Pasta in Testaccio Market.jpg
Fresh Pasta in Testaccio Market


But it’s the local street food stalls that really shine through. Personal highlights include:

  • CasaManco. Specialises in creatively topped pizza whose dough has been left to rise for 100 hours. Featured in our guide to Rome’s best pizza.
  • FoodBox. Sells deep-fried street food specialities like supplì (rice balls), baccalà (cod fish), carciofi (artichoke), and fiori di zucca (pumpkin flowers with anchovies and mozzarella).
  • Altro Pasta. Grab a seat, order a freshly made plate of pasta with daily sauces, and watch the world go by. 
  • Sicché - Roba Toscana. A left-field choice, this place specialises in Tuscan (specifically Florentine) food. If you’re brave, try the panino al lampredotto — a typical sandwich made from tripe, oil-dunked bread, salsa verde (green sauce), and salsa piccante (hot sauce).

You’ll find plenty of space in the centre of the market to sit down and eat. Or you can walk a few minutes to Piazza Testaccio and enjoy a picnic lunch there. 

Campagna Amica Market - Best for Lunch in the Sun

Address: Via di San Teodoro 74, 00186

Open: Saturday and Sunday, 8 am - 3 pm

Situated just around the corner from the Circus Maximus and at the foot of the Palatine Hill, Campagna Amica Market is a rustic indoor farmers’ market with a couple of dozen stalls selling quality foodstuff and a few street food trucks in the garden courtyard at the back. It might not look like much when you first step inside. But don’t underestimate how lovely this place is on a warm sunny day (which, let’s face it, is most days in Rome). 

Campagna Amica Market courtyard

The external courtyard of Campagna Amica Market. Photo credit: Campagna Amica Market


When friends come to visit, I almost always take them here for lunch, and many remember it as one of their favourite meals in Rome. My recommendation is to get one of you to grab some glasses of locally produced wine from the first stall on the left in the courtyard while others secure a table. Then use that as your base to browse the food trucks. (The food trucks change regularly so I can’t recommend any in particular, but they’re always quality).  

Central Market (Mercato Centrale) - Best for Food Shopping

Address: Via Giovanni Giolitti 36, 00185

Open: Daily, 7:30 am - 11:30 pm (12 am Friday and Saturday)

Although central and convenient to reach, Rome’s Central Market is not the most scenic since it’s located within the train station. But in terms of choice, accessibility, and modernity, it’s the best food market in Rome. It was inspired by Florence’s Mercato Centrale, whose food hall on the top floor has everything, from Florentine steak and Neapolitan pizza to Sicilian arancini and, as a sweet treat for after, lemon and ricotta cannoli

Like Florence’s Mercato Centrale, it has a distinctly modern, chic, and organised feel to it — in stark contrast to the usually chaotic and colourful vibe of most Italian markets. This is no bad thing for visitors, however, since it reduces the amount of interaction required to order what you want and start tucking in. You’ll find everything from Roman classics like trapizzino, pizza, and gelato, to more international options like smash burgers, Chinese dumplings, and Argentinian empanadas. 

Mercato Trionfale – Rome’s Most Unspoilt “Local” Market

Address: Via Andrea Doria 41, 00192

Open: Monday to Thursday 7 am - 2 pm. Friday 7 am - 7 pm. Closed Sunday

This market might be situated just a three-minute walk from the Vatican Museums. But in terms of crowds, noise, and a more local feel, it seems like galaxies apart. Mercato Trionfale is Rome’s largest market, with 275 stalls selling all sorts of food and merchandise. And it’s visited almost exclusively by locals, who come here for fresh fish, fruit and veg, cereals, cold cuts, cheeses, pork, honey, jams, organic and exotic products, haberdashery, and clothes. 

Media

There isn’t huge choice in places to sit down and eat, although vendors will go out of their way to accommodate you if you indicate that’s what you want. But if you’re shopping for ingredients or food souvenirs, or just want a feel for a real locals-y food market, Mercato Trionfale is a must.

Esquiline Local Market (Nuovo Mercato Esquilino) - Best for International Food

Address: Via Principe Amedeo 184, 00185

Open: Monday to Thursday, 5 am - 3 pm, Friday and Saturday 5 am - 5 pm

Located not far from Termini Station on the Esquiline Hill, Nuovo Mercato Esquilino is the most lively, multicultural, and — for my money — exciting food market in Rome.

I am hardly exaggerating when I say you can find everything here, from obscure Chinese spices, coconut milk, and fresh coriander (almost impossible to find in Rome) to intricate Indian fabrics threaded together to make saris. Eagle-eyed visitors will immediately realise that it’s rarely tourists or Italians who shop here, but chefs, restauranteurs, and Rome’s international residents. 

Spices of Esquiline Market (Mercato Esquilino)

Spices of Esquiline Market (Mercato Esquilino)

Get a Real Taste of Rome with our Award-Winning Food Tour

Treat yourself to a food tour and you’ll enjoy the best of Roman cuisine in hidden spots that the locals keep to themselves. Our Rome food tours support small family businesses that source their produce locally and ethically. They are sustainable, meaning the proceeds go towards reforestation through our partnership with Ecologi.

Our food tours are led by fun, local guides who don't just love Italian food — they live Italian food; are fluent in the language of Italian food; and are experts in sharing the secrets and stories behind your best-loved Italian dishes.

👉 Join our award-winning small-group food tour 

👉 Enjoy the more peronalised experience of our semi-private food tour

👉 Treat yourself to a fully-private food tour of Rome



Alexander Meddings Author Image
Alexander Meddings
Check iconVerified Writer
Alexander Meddings is a professional copywriter and postgraduate in Roman history from the University of Oxford. After graduating with his MPhil, he moved to Florence and then Rome to carry out his research on the ground and pursue his passion at the source. He now works in travel, as a writer and content consultant, and in education as a university lecturer and translator.
Get in Touch!
Enjoy the latest offers, insider tips and all things Carpe Diem!

Related Tours

Download the app