Neighbourhood Guide
Eating in Jewish Ghetto, Rome
Rome's Jewish community is the oldest in Europe outside Israel, continuously present in this small quarter along the Tiber since long before the 16th-century walls that once enclosed it. The food reflects that history directly: carciofi alla giudia (whole artichokes flattened and deep-fried until the leaves crisp like petals) is the dish to know, alongside fried salt cod and the dense, twice-baked pizza ebraica studded with candied fruit and nuts. Several bakeries and restaurants along Via del Portico d'Ottavia keep kosher, and the neighbourhood is genuinely small enough to cover on foot in under an hour, which makes it easy to combine with a stop at the nearby Ghetto's ancient ruins. Artichoke season (roughly February through April) is the best time to visit for the signature dish at its peak, though the fried cod and pizza ebraica are available year-round.
Tours in Jewish Ghetto
Jewish Ghetto Food Tour
Via Portico d'Ottavia is the real reason to book this one — several kitchens on the same short street do carciofi alla giudia, and the guide explains why the Roman-Jewish version gets fried twice instead of once. The stop for pizza ebraica (dense with candied fruit, nothing like Roman pizza al taglio) is worth saving room for. Runs through one of Rome's oldest, least touristed neighbourhoods.
