Every Table Booked Before You Arrive

The pitch here is logistical rather than culinary, and it is the right one for Trastevere. Every reservation is made in advance and every stop gives the group priority service, so three hours are spent eating instead of standing outside places that are full.

You meet at the fountain in Piazza Mastai, at the quieter end of the neighbourhood, where the guide holds a yellow flag.

Ten or more tastings. Roman cured meats and local specialities at a counter on Via Natale del Grande. Supplì on San Francesco a Ripa, the fried rice croquette with mozzarella at its centre, named from the French *surprise* for what happens when you break one open. A slice of Roman pizza with a cold beer, rolled thin and baked crisp rather than the Neapolitan way. A sit-down course with wine. Then dessert and gelato on Via della Lungaretta.

The venues are family-owned and buy locally, and the guide introduces the people running them, which is the part that makes it a neighbourhood tour rather than a route.

Up to fifteen travellers, guided in English or Spanish. Vegetarian and non-alcoholic versions with advance notice. Gluten-free and vegan diets cannot be handled on the group tour; the operator suggests a private booking for a fully gluten-free version.

Bring a reusable bottle to refill at the fountains along the way, which in Rome means the nasoni, the cast-iron street taps that have run drinkable mountain water non-stop since the 1870s. Arrive ten minutes early; late arrivals are not refunded.