Food tours are a great way to get a flavour of a place, both literally and metaphorically. But what if you also want the freedom to explore on your own, and at your own pace? The answer is to take a BiteMojo self guided food tour. Armed with nothing more than your smartphone, this allows you to combine walking and discovery with trying tastes of different local foods. I got the opportunity to try one of BiteMojo’s newest tours on my last visit to Rome. (And read to the end to find out how you can get a discount on all BiteMojo tours.)
Exploring Rome With The BiteMojo App
BiteMojo operate around the world, and not just in Italy (I previously tried one of their tours in Jerusalem). They have two tours In Rome: the one I followed was a 2.4 km route taking in a mixture of well known and lesser known sights, and a variety of different food experiences.
Each BiteMojo tour gives you a map showing the route, the food stops, and “hidden gems” (places of interest) along the way. It includes a number of “bites” – these are drinks or small plates of food that you can claim simply by showing your phone in different cafés and restaurants. And while you are eating, or drinking, you can read more about the food, the restaurant, and its owners.
Roman Food And Hidden Gems
The bites on this tour were a cross-section of traditional Roman food. I started at the Norcineria Viola, a long established family-run salumeria (a shop specialising in dried meats, usually pork based). Then there were savoury snacks, followed by home-made tiramisu at ZUM. And there was a drink at L’Angelo Divino, a small wine store with an owner who obviously knew a lot about wine. (This would be a good place to come if you wanted to buy some fine wines to take home.)
But BiteMojo tours are not just about food. The route took in a whole range of sights, from the bustling market of the Campo de’ Fiori to Rome’s Jewish Quarter. From narrow back streets and hidden courtyards to the Roman remains of the Portico d’Ottavia. And there were the “hidden gems”. I might never have discovered the tiny painted passageway of Passetto del Biscione without this tour. And would I have realised that the Largo di Torre Argentina was a modern cat sanctuary as well as the site of an ancient Roman temple complex?
BiteMojo: Some Practicalities
The recommended time for this tour was 2.5 hours, but I took almost twice that long. This enabled me to stop and look at everything as I went. Equally importantly, I could enjoy all the food: I might have struggled to eat everything on offer in a shorter time. (BiteMojo does in fact allow you to stop the tour at any time and to finish it another day, or to convert unused bites to credits to be used on another occasion.)
One or two other practicalities. Wear good shoes for walking. And make sure your phone is fully charged before you begin – you don’t want to find that your battery is flat when you’re trying to claim a bite! And, although the bites are included in the cost of your tour, you might want to budget for some extra drinks along the way.
What I like most about BiteMojo (apart from the yummy food) is the flexibility. You can decide for yourself how long to take, and where to linger. And when you’ve eaten enough you can just save your bites for another time.
BiteMojo currently operates in 12 cities in 10 different countries around the world. Readers of this website can get a 10% discount on any of their tours by using discount code WWW.
I took this tour as a guest of BiteMojo.
