This is the ultimate Italian fast food tour, and today I’m hunting down the best fast food in Italy. From iconic local chains to global giants, I’m finding out what Italians really eat when they want something quick, affordable, and delicious.
We’re trying everything from Autogrill and La Piadineria to Alice Pizza, along with Italy’s versions of McDonald’s and KFC. Along the way, we visit one of the most beautiful McDonald’s restaurants in the world, a location that feels more like a Roman museum than a fast food restaurant, and one of the most high-tech KFCs ever built.
This is Italian street food, cheap eats, fast food culture, and local favorites all in one epic food adventure. We’re comparing prices, flavors, and seeing how global brands adapt to Italian tastes while discovering local fast food gems tourists rarely try.
Fast food in Italy.
We're going to be doing everything.
Alice Pizza, Alto Grill, KFC, McDonald's,
and you know how much I love my KFC.
I've done it in Nigeria, Jamaica, Trinidad, Suriname, Guyana.
I mean, I've basically tried it in almost every country,
and this is the most high-tech KFC in the world.
Here in Rome, literally steps away
from the Fontana dei Trevi.
All right, guys, ready?
Let's go inside.
Oh, wow.
Look at this.
This is high-tech?
Let's see what they got.
Anything interesting?
Nostri Perutti Kebab.
Let's see.
In Nostri Perutti.
So this is their menu.
All the different things.
So what do we got?
This is the most sold stuff, Ipivondutti.
And then I think I'm going to go with, wow,
boxed milk, Kentucky cheese, and bacon.
I don't know about that.
We're looking for something unique.
So we're going to go over here, Menu Panini and Twister.
Oh, wow.
Look at this.
So they have a Menu Crispy Kebab.
I mean, this is more like a panini
with fried chicken inside.
I think I'm going to go with the spicy one.
That looks amazing.
Let's see.
Picante.
You can also do it with falafels on the side.
That's amazing.
All right, guys.
So I'm going to go with the medium.
Not bad in terms of price.
Come on, let's go.
All right, so we're going for the regular fries
for comparison.
And then just regular water.
That's it there.
Perfect.
No grazie.
Pay al pagamento right there.
Yeah, so here you just put a number.
I guess I'll just put like five, five.
Confirma.
Pagan carta.
Okay, let's go.
Here we go.
10 euros.
Interesting how AI, you know, super technology,
they are the most complicated things.
Very annoying.
55.
By the way, it gave me a two-year-old discount.
Pretty good.
And here we go.
I'll see you in Kentucky.
Grazie.
The best looking KFC I've ever been to.
The other ones I've been to are not like this.
This is so cool.
It's modern.
Look at this stairway.
What is this?
Yeah, modern art.
Very nice signage.
Guys, sorry, guys.
Bene, bene.
Okay, let's go here.
Oh, this is cool.
Let's see.
Oh, and that's it.
Maybe over here, Nate?
And the first KFC that has San Benedetto frizzante.
Wow, that's good.
Right here, the fries.
Just gonna try one.
Mm, these actually look nice and crispy.
KFC fries are usually soggy.
Not my favorites.
Mm.
Oh, that's nice.
A little salty.
Not too crispy.
But you know what?
Not too bad.
I actually am enjoying it.
Oh my gosh, what is this?
This is like their panini kebab.
So it's fried chicken.
Look, guys, this ain't no zinger,
but this is the most unique thing they got on the menu.
So I'm gonna see how I eat this.
Oh, wow.
This is actually, look at this.
It's a big panini.
In terms of weight, I'd say probably a pound.
No, a half pound.
It's spicy fried chicken.
You have some lettuce in there.
You have two different sauces.
That one looks like garlicky sauce.
The other one looks more like a,
I don't know, like a garlic sauce.
Nice bite.
McDonald's CEO?
Hell no.
Mm, spicy, creamy.
I actually do like the panini.
Yo, this might be the zinger.
Maybe.
Hey, depends where I go.
Mm, not so bad.
I mean, it's definitely a bomb,
if you know what I mean.
So I think my favorite KFC ever,
I don't know, between Jamaica and Trinidad,
there's a battle there,
but I'll have to go back and see which one's the best.
But this is good.
You know, it's unique.
They don't have the zinger.
They have the classic.
They have fried chicken, of course.
So it's like a garlicky, creamy sauce.
And then the other one is like an aioli.
The chicken is a little spicy.
Got a nice crunch from the onions.
The bread is, it's pretty good.
It's almost like a pita bread, I'd say.
Not too crispy, not too doughy.
Yo, it's not so bad.
I'm gonna give you my ranking with value and taste.
Value, you know, it's 10 euros.
I've had way better sandwiches for less,
so I'd probably give it a five.
Probably should spend less than this.
And then in terms of taste,
on my fast food scale, I'll give it like a 7.5.
Maybe one more bite, because I enjoy it.
Try this one.
It's unique.
And on my world KFC ranking,
I will rank this probably number four.
Four out of like 15 or 20.
It's pretty good, actually.
That's not bad.
I mean, I love the location.
This tastes really good.
What else can I tell you?
I love Rome, so I give it number four.
It's like Trini in Jamaica, number one.
I got Antigua.
Maybe St. Vincent?
And then Rome.
And of course, in last place, we all know, America.
Tu bene?
Yes, selfie, please.
I'm continuing my fast food tour here in Rome,
and we're next to the Spanish Steps,
and here we have the most incredible McDonald's
of all time, built upon Roman ruins.
Very McDonald's and American of them.
They have amazing dishes,
a little different from what you get in the States.
We're gonna go inside right now.
It's gonna be exciting.
I've seen it online like crazy.
Let's go.
Okay.
As soon as you walk in,
it's like a mini bakery over there with some pastries,
but you keep walking,
and then over here, we have a beautiful Roman statue.
Over here, we have some incredible mosaics.
Look at this.
Wow, look at this over here.
All right, let's keep going.
All right, another advanced fast food.
Let's go right here.
Oh, that's cool.
It's beautiful, though.
It's nice, man.
Damn, in America, they had to step it up.
So we have our automated menu here.
Let's go in here.
Let's see if they have anything unique.
All right, so we're gonna sit down.
Let me see, panini and menu.
Okay, panini menu.
Let's see this.
What do they got different?
See, they got the McCrunchy chicken.
All right, so I think I'm going with this one,
which is five croquettes,
one spinach and Parmigiano.
So it's spinach and cheese.
Parmigiano cheese, I'll just go with that.
Regular, let's go.
So we definitely have to get at least one fries.
So we're gonna go with the McShaker Fried Spicy Medio.
So let's go with that.
Okay, we added it to the menu,
so we're already at our $9.
So definitely value-wise going up.
Let me see.
Maybe we'll go with the Spicy Grand Christian McBacon.
Who likes bacon?
Let's do the sweet onion bacon jam, regular.
Let's go.
16 euros, let's go.
Let's confirm it.
Then they add all this.
If you want anything, you can get a nice coffee espresso,
but we're going with no grazie.
So we got this, this, and this, total price.
Let's go with it.
Oui.
Seccione.
Carta.
One, two, three.
All right, it's gonna be good.
It's gonna be good, guys.
I'm excited for this.
It's pretty amazing.
They got the donuts over there, macaroon.
Ciao.
Tutto bene?
Bene, bene, grazie dio.
All right, let's go find a seat.
All right, so we've got the five croquettes right here,
croquettas.
These have spinach and pecorino, look at that.
Beautiful.
I'm gonna open it up here.
They look pretty good, actually.
All right, let's try one of these.
Oh yeah.
This is definitely a unique croquette.
I've had a lot of croquettas in my life.
This one with spinach and, did it have pecorino?
No, parmigiana, parmigiana.
Oh yeah.
Crispy.
Lots of flavor.
I mean, if you like spinach and cheese together,
it's phenomenal.
I like it a lot.
To all my friends in India, you'll like this one for sure.
It reminded me almost like a falafel
in the sense of the shape.
And then when you open it, look at this.
Oozing out.
Okay, I'm gonna put that away.
I like it too much.
And over here, we have the fries.
I'm not a huge fan of McDonald's fries.
For me, the best fries in the fast food game,
checkers, Five Guys,
and that's basically it.
Cajun Five Guys.
Let's try this.
You gotta try it, like a few of them together.
Mm, mm.
They're not soggy.
They're crispy, but thinner than the usual ones.
I need to dunk it in some sauce,
but we're good with that.
And now we're gonna try the Grand Crispy McBacon.
Now that's a burger, my friends.
What's inside, it's incredible.
Like, it looks like aioli.
So you have two patties, the sauce on top.
In between it, there's a cheese, and then bacon,
and there's some bacon jam.
And I don't make the rules that McDonald's CEO does,
so here we go.
Oh my God, I got all the flavor, the entire thing.
Shut up, here we go.
Mm, mm, it's sweet.
It's cheesy.
It's not so bad, not so bad.
In terms of value, I would say,
definitely more on the pricey side in terms of fast food.
It's like 16-year-old, I'd say 20 US dollars for me to eat.
Not fast food anymore.
But, you know, this is definitely interesting.
Might need another bite to really get the flavors.
Crispy bacon, honestly, my favorite burger on earth.
But it's not bad.
I don't love it, I don't love it.
So I'm gonna give my rating scale,
in terms of value, definitely on the lowest,
probably a one or two.
I could eat the best sandwich in Rome for seven euros,
and it's like the size of the dam of this plate, you know?
So value, lowest, one.
And then in terms of taste, fries,
I give it like the mid-range, a six.
This, I'd say it's burger-wise, maybe a three.
I'm not a huge fan of McDonald's burgers, none of them.
And then in terms of this, definitely this is a 10.
Go with the veg versions, the veg stuff, the veg items.
It's fire.
Cleanest McDonald's I've ever seen.
It has the history aspect, it's in the center of Rome,
so that gives it a little more.
You know, so I'd say definitely,
like I'd say it's an eight out of 10,
8.2 out of 10 in terms of the location and what the place is.
But again, the value, taste, it's okay.
Not my favorite.
I'd rather eat, you know, something on the street,
just a quick pizza, or some auto grill.
All right, so let's go back to the front
so I can show you the little bakery they have there.
They have some great items.
It's actually pretty amazing,
because this is like a little deep in here.
You know, they put it through like this huge tunnel system.
Is this real?
Somebody let me know in the comments, is this real?
Is that gonna actually touch the wall?
Most of the Roman ruins,
they have some plexiglass or something, you know?
This looks good.
Got like, what, tiramisu, cheesecake, torta, tiramisu.
I've never seen a McDonald's tiramisu.
Is that the most beautiful McDonald's in the world?
I think so.
Food though, not so good.
Italian fast food in Rome, we're at La Pianeria.
And this place has paninis, they have fries, they have salads.
Looks pretty good.
I heard this place is pretty great.
Let's go inside.
Okay, so let's go with panini.
All right, so let's see this.
It's basically panini, it's like their sandwich.
Let's see.
Lagrindosa.
Yeah, that's new.
All right, so we're probably gonna go with this one,
La Legenda.
No, classic.
Let's go.
Since 1994.
Yeah, it's definitely cheaper if you get the fries,
the combo pack, right?
Senza questo.
All right, so regular water.
You can have the baby con nutella panini.
You know what, let's do that.
That's dessert.
It's gonna be good.
11.40, not a bad deal.
So you gotta put your number in, let's put 55.
Let's go.
Confirma.
I'm sure they have a way to do it in English.
I've been doing it all in Italian.
They have it in English as well.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Pretty awesome.
A lot of paper.
All right, so the total price is 11.40.
So this is their menus.
Pretty big.
I mean, you got like, what, 25, roughly, paninis?
And then these are the classics.
Legusti.
This is the legate.
So, and then this is the ones with chicken.
And then over here they have vegetarian option
and they have salad.
But I have to do the panini with nutella
because why not?
And here we go.
This is Legenda.
Look at this beautiful panini.
Oh, I love this.
This is their sandwich.
It has the prosciutto.
It has some arugula and some amazing cheese.
Let's do this.
That was good.
Here's the bread.
Definitely nice and crispy.
I love how you have the arugula in there.
Gives it some nice flavor.
The cheese is fantastic.
Nice and creamy.
Also the prosciutto.
I mean, this is as basic as it gets,
but also as delicious as it is.
And it's definitely affordable.
This is nice.
Umami panini.
When I think of fast food in Italy,
this is what I want.
This or pizza.
All right, let me try the fries first
before I give it a full rating.
Let's see those fries.
They're good.
A little crispy on the outside, doughy.
Why I came here?
For the Legenda.
In terms of value,
we got an entire meal here.
Full for $11.40.
I'd say that's a great value.
I'd give it like an 8.5.
In terms of taste,
I'm gonna give it even higher.
Give it like a 9.
9.2 in terms of panini.
In terms of fast food,
I get paninis here and there,
but this was really, really nice.
Definitely better than just going
to some random spot on the street.
And in terms of the fries,
I'd give it lower, like a six.
Over here, we have the panini nutella.
This is why my kids would love to come here.
Look at that.
Look how much nutella they gave me.
Oh my gosh.
So what's the right way to eat this?
Just like, let it like ooze out like that.
Crazy how nostalgic this is for me.
You know, I grew up with this.
My grandmother,
she would put just like a little piece
of bread toaster with nutella.
My kids are growing up with it.
My mom always has nutella at home.
It's just an Italian thing.
Ooh, and it's nice and hot.
It's freaking good, Nate.
Like, as a dessert,
I'd put it up to two.
Say 7.5 on the taste.
It's nutella on bread.
I mean, what can you do here?
Oh, I'm happy.
This place is great.
So now you know when you're in Rome, come here.
Wow, and it's packed now.
People are coming like crazy.
Italian fast food,
and we're here at Alice Pizza,
but there's no crabs here.
It's all about the pizza.
This chain is 30 years old from Rome,
and we're on the outskirts.
We're going to try it for the first time.
I've never tried it.
Come inside.
All right, so how does it work here?
Very simple.
As soon as you walk in,
they have like 20 different styles of pizza,
and then it goes by weight.
So you get a piece,
they heat it up for you,
and then they weigh it,
they heat it up for you,
and that's it.
They also have beer,
some soft drinks,
and they also have some paninos.
Hey, let's eat here.
Yes.
Look, look how beautiful this is.
Eat.
Do you want hot or cold?
Yes, yes, yes, hot.
It's beautiful.
Yes, yes, the same as me.
Yes, look, look,
she's going to cut it right there.
You want it hot or cold?
Yes, yes, hot, hot.
She's going to push,
she's going to weigh it right here.
Perfect.
So this is like,
whatever it is,
four euros,
and she heats it up,
and that's it.
Yes, water is cold for me.
And you?
Natural, natural for him.
They're making the pizza right there.
I love it.
Even for a simple pizza,
they put it on this nice board.
So I got,
I got zucchini,
bacon basically,
and stracciatella,
which is my favorite type of cheese.
She's cutting it.
Perfect.
She's cutting it in two pieces.
That looks so good.
Yours looks amazing.
What'd you get?
You got the,
the basil,
pesto.
Fast food in Italy is amazing.
Look at this pizza.
It's incredible.
Nice,
thin,
crust
on top of the stracciatella,
the zucchini,
that bacon,
can't wait.
No matter where you go in Italy,
the pizza beats every pizza in America.
This is phenomenal.
Oh, I like how it's a little salty,
little fatty,
but at the same time,
super creamy with the cheese,
plus the nice crunchy,
look at the bottom,
you can see it,
crunchy and doughy.
What I love about Italy is that literally
wherever you go,
you eat good food.
I mean,
even gas stations.
Seriously,
Alice Pizza,
you know this place,
you can find it throughout Rome.
We're in the outskirts.
I like the concept,
very simple,
just pizza.
You can try like 10 different ones.
It's by the pound,
so,
that is so good.
But,
forget Miami slice,
Roma slice,
baby.
I think I'm gonna invite Alice over here.
Alice,
we'll throw some crabs on here.
There's something so special about stracciatella.
For the value,
cost me four euros.
Super value,
10 out of 10.
Taste,
I still didn't give it up there.
I'd probably say it's seven out of 10.
Pretty good.
I mean,
it's not the best pizza I've ever had in my life,
but it beats almost every pizza I've had in America,
for sure.
They make the pizzas right here,
so you know it's fresh.
I'm not gonna say it's better than some of the best
pizzas I've had in America,
but just for a quick bite,
this is part of the best you're gonna get.
Sorry,
Pizza Hut.
Last bite.
Italian fast food.
We're here at the Alto Grill.
Whenever you're driving around Italy on the highways,
you're gonna find this place.
There's a few other ones
that are not so good.
Alto Grill is the best.
Good coffee,
good paninos.
They have pizza.
Come inside.
They have everything.
Let's go.
They got everything.
They have croissant.
What else?
Bornetta.
These look really good.
They also have some salads.
And everywhere you look,
there's cookies and chocolate and wine.
Oh, they have souvenirs here too.
Look.
No souvenir?
Lady in there wasn't happy we were filming,
but it's all good.
We got the Reginella.
And this one is mortadella.
You have stracciatella cheese
and we have some pistachio cream.
Plus focaccia bread.
It's so amazing.
Nice and soft.
A little crunchy.
Guys, the cheese is so freaking delicious.
It falls apart in my mouth.
It melts.
And the mortadella has a great contrast
with the pistachio as well.
Nice and crunchy.
A little nutty.
You know what's great about this place?
It's on the way to either Florence, Rome, Umbria.
Infinite food.
They have a lot of wine.
So you want to stock up
before you get to wherever you're going.
You can do that here.
Also a great place to get a bathroom break.
It tastes like an Italian road trip in a bite.
Foods like music.
It's not just the flavors.
It's what it takes you back to.
This gives me nostalgia.
I've stopped at this place
probably 20 times in my life.
My mom, my dad, my kids now.
And every time we have coffee
and a quick little bite,
this is it.
My memories right here.
And I have that song.
♪ Mode operator. ♪
So for the Reginella,
I'd say in terms of value,
this was like eight euros.
So I'd give it like a five.
It's a little more on the pricier side.
Obviously this is convenience.
You're on the highway.
You don't have to get off.
Taste-wise, pretty amazing.
I'd say it's definitely up there
like a seven or eight.
It's the stracciatella, guys.
The stracciatella and this amazing focaccia bread.
So good.
Nice and creamy.
It's giving an eight.
You know, I love eating in Italy.
I'll eat forever, guys.
I won't stop eating.
So we did five fast foods here in Italy.
La Piadineria, KFC, McDonald's, Alto Grill,
and Alice's Pizza.
I'm gonna give you my top.
I might have to start off with this guy.
This might be the top in terms of taste
and affordability.
I mean, this is it.
Number two.
Yeah, yeah, Alice's.
Alice's is good.
It's good pizza.
Number three.
Yeah, man, Alto Grill.
I say KFC and then McDonald's.
McDonald's, not the best.
Yeah, I mean, that's in terms of taste and value.
So guys, if you're in Italy,
definitely check these all out.
Three of them were right here in the center of Rome.
The other ones are on the road.
And yeah, that's fast food in Italy.
I hope you guys enjoyed it.