The Best Pasta in Rome, Ranked
2024-11-25 · 5 min read
Rome's pasta tradition revolves around four canonical dishes: cacio e pepe, carbonara, amatriciana, and gricia. Every Roman trattoria serves them, and the variation in quality between a good version and a transcendent one is the difference between dinner and a religious experience. The best places treat these recipes not as formulas but as rituals.
Roscioli in the Centro Storico straddles the line between deli, restaurant, and wine bar, and the carbonara is frequently cited as the best in Rome. The egg yolk is rich and glossy, the guanciale is crisp, and the pecorino romano is sharp enough to cut through the richness. The wine list, heavy on natural Italian producers, pairs beautifully with every pasta on the menu.
Felice a Testaccio has been serving cacio e pepe since 1936, and the tableside preparation is theatrical and precise. The waiter tosses the tonnarelli in a wheel of pecorino, adding pasta water incrementally to build the cream sauce from nothing but cheese, pepper, and starch water. There is no cream, no butter, and no shortcut. It is alchemy performed with a fork.
Da Enzo al 29 in Trastevere is the neighborhood trattoria that every food writer recommends because it earns the recommendation every single day. The amatriciana, with its sharp tomato sauce and thick-cut guanciale over rigatoni, is definitive. The line forms before the doors open, and reservations are not accepted, which means arriving early is a non-negotiable requirement.
Trattoria Da Cesare al Casaletto in Monteverde is the locals-only pick that food obsessives seek out. The gricia, the lesser-known fourth pillar of Roman pasta, is made with guanciale, pecorino, and black pepper in a sauce that demonstrates how three ingredients in expert hands can produce something that tastes like it took a hundred. The neighborhood location means fewer tourists and more Romans.
