How to eat like Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in ‘Roman Holiday’
How do you cure an unhappy princess? Easy, you leave her to explore one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Roman Holiday tells the story of Anne (Audrey Hepburn), a glum princess. Bored with the resplendent interior of her country’s embassy in Rome, she decides to slip out and wander the Eternal City unaccompanied. After revealing her true identity to a charismatic American reporter (Gregory Peck), they begin a wager that he can secure an exclusive interview. It isn’t long, however, before the city’s heat induces a swooning romance.
As well as being one of the most beloved romantic comedies of the 1950s, Roman Holiday provides a sumptuous portrait of a city revered for its cuisine. But here’s the issue: like so many cities known for their food, Rome has its fair share of touristic restaurants serving lousy cooking for loads of money. Worse still, they get better business than many much nicer establishments. Look, I understand.
If you’ve been on your feet all day, it’s all too easy to sit down at the first restaurant with a free table. And, sure, you might get something half-decent, but the likelihood is you’ll end up with a saltimbocca drier than the surface of Mars. Of course, you’ll be pleased to hear that there is another way. And with Princess Anne and Joe Bradley as your guides, I wager you’re in safe hands.
Dining, we quickly learn, is far from adventurous inside the embassy. The first thing we see Anne eat during Roman Holiday is a bedtime tray of milk and biscuits. Only when she leaves the Palazzo Brancaccio – just a biscuit’s toss from the Baths of Trajan – does she get hold of something worth making a fuss about – booze followed by strong coffee.
The moment comes after Anne joins Joe at the bar where he drinks and plays poker with his friends. His table is packed with chips, cigarettes and empty glasses – presumably once filled with Negroni or Campari Soda. Drink Kong is an excellent option to get your cocktail fix, and it is within walking distance of Palazzo Brancaccio. However, if you’re looking for something a little less intense, your best bet is walking toward the river, where you will find quieter bars like Solotto 42 and Bar del Fico. If you’re heading towards Circo Massimo, try Marco Martini
In terms of coffee, you’re really spoilt for choice. There are countless bars, cafes and restaurants that will serve you an excellent cup, but there are some important things to consider if you’re in Roman Holiday mode. First, you’re going to want somewhere you can sit outside and watch the world go by. Secondly, unless it’s breakfast and you’re dining on cappuccino e cornetto, you’re best off going for a single or double espresso.
Rome is the spiritual home of coffee, so there’s no use in beating around the bush: drink that hot java as strong as they’ll serve it to you. Just remember Joe’s words when he finds Anne sozzled in the corner of the bar: “Get yourself some coffee, you’ll be alright”.
A little while later, Anne finds herself in Piazza di Spagna. Gelato in hand, she settles herself on the Spanish Steps and soaks up the sun beneath the towering Rennaisence facade of Trinita dei Monti. Considering this is one of the most famous culinary scenes in cinema, it’s unsurprising that Giolitti, the gelateria that provided Hepburn with her cone, is still doing good business all these years later.
With an eye-popping variety of flavours, Giolotti is a Roman institution home to what many believe is the finest gelato in the whole city. That being said, you’d also do well to seek out Otaleg!, Fassi, and Günther Gelato too.
When Anne and Joe are reunited, the pair stroll down to Rocco, a small street-side restaurant on Via Giovanni Lanza. Anne goes for a glass of champagne, and Joe orders a Caffe shakerato – made by placing a shot of espresso in a Martini shaker along with some ice and a little sugar and then giving it a good shake.
The pair don’t eat, but that doesn’t mean you can’t. Roman pasta dishes (Cacio e pepe, Amatriciana, Carbonara) are a beautiful thing and restuarants such as Nannarella, Otello, and Tonnarello in Trastevere do them very well indeed. Joe was probably very familiar with the Roman restaurant scene, being completely unenlightened in the art of cooking. As he later confesses to Anne when she asks if she should make them something to eat, he has “no kitchen; nothing to cook; I always eat out”. Now those are words to live by.
