Another favorite gricia came from Ristoro degli Angeli in one of Rome’s most charming neighborhoods, Garbatella. Filled with more locals than tourists, we were thrilled to discover this spot a few years ago. Like Cesare, Ristoro offers gluten-free mezze maniche, as well as fried zucchini blossoms stuffed with mozzarella and anchovies, and coated in a rice-flour-based tempura batter. Ingeniously, the restaurant uses the leftover batter to make gluten-free piadine, little flatbreads from the Romagna region. We used these to sop up the sauce from its version of uova in trippa, the best in town.
Co-owner Marco Ceccarelli told me many gluten-free diners are among the eatery’s customer base, and they have responded well to its inclusive approach. Amazingly, this extends to the dessert menu, featuring a fabulous tiramisu made with gluten-free ladyfingers and topped with a salty-sweet chocolate crumble. GF ladyfingers aren’t rare in and of themselves—several brands are sold in Italy—but it’s uncommon for a trattoria to make its tiramisu gluten-free by default. We couldn’t believe our luck.
Gelato, pizza, and baked goods
Apart from that tiramisu, we mostly stuck to gelato for sweet interludes on this most recent trip, and Rome is home to the finest gluten-free cone I’ve ever tasted. This came courtesy of Gelateria Torcè, a beloved gelateria with a few locations around town. Everything on-site—from the scoops to the cones —is gluten-free, and the gelato is lactose-free as well. The cones are made from corn flour; burnished and golden brown they taste like sophisticated Cap’n Crunch, with a texture to match. Really and truly, hackneyed as it is to say, I cannot believe they’re gluten-free. As for the galato itself, I favored the Fantasia di Bronte flavor, which contains Sicilian pistachio, almond, and pine nuts. On one visit Lauren got the salted peanut, a scoop she still thinks about to this day.
Gluten-free pizza without the risk of cross-contamination is also within reach, thanks to the separate ovens at Mama Eat, which boasts a few locations in Rome and an impressive rice- and corn-flour crust that blisters in all the right places. Even better is 3.0 Ciro Cascella, where the Neapolitan pies, made with gluten-free Caputo Fioreglut flour, are so texturally on point that they rendered me almost speechless. This might be in part due to the flour’s use of deglutinated wheat starch, which means it’s not safe for people who are allergic to wheat. Both the flour and this process are somewhat controversial among celiacs, though it meets the exacting standards of the Associazione Italiana Celiachia (AiC), and luckily, Lauren tolerates it just fine.
The AiC is a remarkably robust organization that supports the Italian celiac community and offers helpful resources to gluten-free travelers, including an app. The association provides accreditation to both 100% gluten-free restaurants and conventional eateries that have undergone specialized training (and paid a fee), though its list is by no means comprehensive. Still, the AiC is how I learned about New Food Gluten Free, a bakery with five locations in the city that offers seriously good gluten-free cornetti (a pastry similar to a croissant) for breakfast and rectangular Roman-style pizza (known for its crispy bottom) for lunch.
Courtesy of New Food Gluten
Courtesy of New Food Gluten
There are similarly delightful baked goods at Celiachiamo, a gluten-free haven with six locations throughout the Italian capital. Primarily a gluten-free market, the business also offers prepared foods at most locations. Though the offerings vary by store, they generally include an array of cookies, pastries, bomboloni (a type of filled doughnut), and pizza.
Lavish lunches
At Le Jardin in the Hotel de Russie just off the Piazza del Popolo, you’re paying as much for the ambiance as you are for the food. Set in a stunning courtyard garden surrounded by citrus trees, fountains, and swooping green parakeets, the restaurant feels like a movie set—and not in an Epcot way. Seasonal antipasti and contorni are the move, supplemented by a generous GF bread basket that includes a delicious olive bread. The staff also happily accommodated our request for gluten-free saltimbocca, pan-fried veal with ham and sage that would typically be dredged in flour.
Dining and Cooking