Eating from the greengrocer: the best lunch breaks in Rome's green shops

Fruit and vegetable shops, those that Romans call "fruttaroli," have always been a reference point in the city's neighborhoods, although in recent years, like all neighborhood shops, they have been in sharp decline, gripped by competition from large-scale retail. Many young people who approach this profession focus intelligently on certain specificities to differentiate themselves from large-scale distribution: those who focus on a selection of seasonal vegetables, of quality, preferably local, and with a traced supply chain, come out on top. Just as those who liven up the offer with tastings, food service, and events. In the Capital, there are some very interesting addresses in this regard, now established as must-visit spots for a snack and, above all, for a high-quality lunch break.

Foodie GreenLab and Foodie Freshmarket

Foodie Greenlab is a vegetarian rotisserie in Monteverde, part of the Foodie Freshmarket group, shops where you can buy fruit and vegetables from organic farming – also ready to cook and eat – mostly produced by small companies in Lazio and Abruzzo, selected with attention to sustainability and craftsmanship (there are three, at via Barrili 52/a, piazza Testaccio 35, and via Fonteiana 16/b). Here, there are various options for ready-made preparations, to eat on the spot or to take away, ranging from oven-baked pumpkin with herbs to gratinated fennel with cacio e pepe, from stuffed wraps to seitan in various proposals.

Foodie GreenLab - v.le dei Quattro Venti 150/c – Roma - www.foodiefreshmarket.it

La Mandragora

Stop by for a salad or a sandwich, ready to take away or to enjoy on-site (there are a few seats in the venue), or to do some shopping, in a neighborhood - we are a short distance from the Colosseum - where it is really difficult to find quality references. The sign selects organic food, starting from fruit and vegetables coming from the local area. Then legumes, spices sold by weight, cheeses, naturally leavened bread, extra virgin olive oil, wine, specialty foods. Also soaps and detergents.

La Mandragora – via Celimontana, 32 – Roma - www.la-mandragora.it

Orto Romano – Caffè&Cucina

A welcoming venue, in the Collatino area, a recent result of an evolution that has seen a modern fruit and vegetable shop with take-away kitchen transform in recent months into a bistro - café. The environment is spacious and modern, with spaces for shopping and those for comfortably sitting down to enjoy the dishes of the day, based on fresh and local raw materials selected in the store. There are also extracts, fruit salads, salads, also in convenient take-away packages.

Orto Romano Caffè&Cucina – via Cherso, 176/182 – Roma - facebook.com/ortoromanoroma

PizziCàrola

Carola Calò is a well-known talent in the Roman scene: with a background in catering, she has created a valuable place for shopping, not only for fruit and vegetables, with her shop in Monteverde. The selection is exquisite and careful, also in terms of cured meats, cheeses, bread, coffee, wines. The venue is beautiful, centered around a central table that hosts the products, but also the people who want to sit down for a high-quality lunch break or an aperitif. From soft-boiled egg with green sauce to sautéed Romanesco broccoli, from escarole with olives and lemon zest to stuffed focaccias, every item on the small daily menu deserves a taste.

PizziCàrola – v.le di Villa Pamphili, 143 – Roma - pizzi-carola.it

Ruma Bottega & Agricultural Kitchen

In the heart of the historic center, not far from Piazza Navona, a bistro-shop linked by the same ownership to La Maremmana, an agricultural company from Grosseto from which all the raw materials used in the kitchen come and which are also for sale in the small shop, such as vegetables, cheeses, and buffalo meats. The right address for breakfast with buffalo yogurt, ricotta, and fruit preserves, but it is also ideal for enjoying a tasty lunch, with seasonal and fresh dishes; brunch is available on weekends. A courteous service.

Ruma Bottega & Cucina Agricola – via di Parione, 13 – Roma - rumabottegaecucina.com

Rumi Organic Shop

An oasis in Trastevere, especially for those who want to indulge in a veg break. In the shop, you can buy good things (especially vegetables and fruits, but also bread, cheeses, wines) and you can sit down to enjoy one of the daily preparations. Vegetarian and seasonal dishes, including salads, rustic cakes, desserts, together with freshly made extracts, kombucha, beers, and wines, all accompanied by a smiling welcome. Many themed events are organized, including tastings, workshops, and special aperitifs.

Rumi Bottega Organica – via San Francesco a Ripa, 133 – Roma -  www.rumibottegaorganica.it

Ruralis

The new adventure at the Testaccio Market by Silvia Rotondo is open from 10 am to 3 pm, a selector of good and genuine things for a long time, in her shop/delivery in Vicolo degli Orti Portuensi, in Monteverde. From the many organic and biodynamic companies with which she has been collaborating for a long time, come the products used in the ready-made dishes offered at box 3, many vegetables, such as potato and fennel pie with wild fennel and fiordilatte, lentil soup with maltagliati. There is also a selection of cured meats and cheeses.

Ruralis – via B. Franklin, 12e Mercato di Testaccio – Roma - www.ruralis.eu