Carbonara at Luciano, cacio e pepe tossed in a wheel of Pecorino at Da Danilo, and all four Roman pastas at €13 each at Lo Scopettaro: 13 places for pasta in Rome, with prices, bread or service charges, booking and closing days.
The short answer: for carbonara, book Luciano Cucina Italiana behind Campo de' Fiori, where chef Luciano Monosilio earned the nickname King of Carbonara. For cacio e pepe with a show, go to Trattoria Da Danilo in Esquilino, which tosses fresh tonnarelli inside a wheel of Pecorino Romano at the table (€14). For all four Roman pastas at €13 each, eat at Lo Scopettaro by the river in Testaccio.
Rome has four pastas of its own, and they're closely related. Carbonara is pasta with egg, guanciale (cured pork cheek), Pecorino Romano and black pepper. Cacio e pepe is just Pecorino Romano and black pepper, made creamy with the pasta's cooking water. Amatriciana is guanciale, tomato and Pecorino, named after the mountain town of Amatrice. Gricia is guanciale, Pecorino and pepper, an amatriciana without tomato. The places below follow the same order, then fresh pasta made by hand.
Classic trattorias such as Armando al Pantheon, Felice a Testaccio and Checchino dal 1887, all good for the four pastas, are in the best restaurants in Rome. Plan the rest of the day with things to do in Rome, and see what a trip to Rome costs for a daily food budget.
Carbonara. Carbonara is pasta tossed off the heat with egg, crisp guanciale, Pecorino Romano and plenty of black pepper, so the egg turns into a glossy sauce without scrambling. No cream: a Roman carbonara never has it. Luciano Cucina Italiana, on Piazza del Teatro di Pompeo behind Campo de' Fiori, is chef Luciano Monosilio's restaurant. His own site says a New York Times journalist named him the King of Carbonara when he cooked at Rex, and describes his method: two different cheeses, and eggs gently cooked over a water bath for a creamier sauce.
Order: the carbonara; the rest of the menu is regional Italian dishes. Spend: the restaurant doesn't publish a menu or prices online. Book: online from its website. The catch: with no menu online, you won't know the bill until you sit down.
Chef Luciano Monosilio's own restaurant, behind Campo de' Fiori, with tables outside on the piazza.
Roscioli Salumeria con Cucina is also on our best restaurants list, and it's carded again here because the four Roman pastas are what it's best known for. It's a deli with tables on Via dei Giubbonari, run by the family behind the Antico Forno Roscioli bakery.
Order: La carbonara (€18), made with mezze maniche, crispy pork cheek, Paolo Parisi eggs, 30-month Pecorino Romano and the house pepper blend. Then try Stefano's gricia with rigatoni (€17) or the cacio e pepe, which mixes three cheeses (€16). Spend: about €22 a head for a pasta and the €4 bread basket. Book: online. Open: daily. The catch: it's tight and busy, and €18 is at the top of the range for a carbonara.
Also on our best restaurants list; carded again here because the four pastas are its best-known dishes. Two minutes from Campo de' Fiori.
Trattoria Da Danilo on Via Petrarca in Esquilino, near Piazza Vittorio, is the pick for carbonara and cacio e pepe at a fair price, and for a bit of theatre. Its menu calls the carbonara Sua Maestà, Her Majesty: spaghettone from Gragnano with organic eggs, both pancetta and guanciale, pepper and Parmigiano rather than Pecorino.
Order: the carbonara (€14) and the tonnarelli cacio e pepe (€14): fresh egg pasta finished inside a wheel of Pecorino Romano at your table. The amatriciana (€16) is made with lardo rather than guanciale. Spend: about €17 a head for a pasta with the €3 service charge. Book: online or by phone. Closed: Sunday, and Monday lunch. Metro (subway): Vittorio Emanuele (Line A), 5 minutes. The catch: it's away from the main sights, and purists will note the Parmigiano in the carbonara.
Book online or on 06 7720 0111. Metro (subway): Vittorio Emanuele (Line A), about 5 minutes. No pets.
Cacio e pepe. The simplest Roman pasta and the hardest to get right: grated Pecorino Romano and cracked black pepper, whisked with starchy pasta water into a smooth sauce. Badly made, it turns into clumps of cheese. Rome's most famous cacio e pepe is at Felice a Testaccio, which is on our best restaurants list; here are two more.
Roma Sparita sits on the quiet piazza in front of Santa Cecilia, in the eastern part of Trastevere. Order: the tagliolini cacio e pepe (€16), or the carbonara or bucatini all'amatriciana (€15 each). Spend: about €19 a head for a pasta with the €3 bread and service charge. Book: by phone. For more places to eat nearby, see our Trastevere guide. The catch: the menu online is from May 2026, so check prices when you order.
Book on 06 580 0757. On the quiet piazza in front of Santa Cecilia, in the eastern part of Trastevere. Pizza from 7:30pm.
Amatriciana. Amatriciana is guanciale, tomato and Pecorino Romano, sometimes with a little chilli, and it takes its name from Amatrice, a mountain town north-east of Rome. In Rome it's often served with bucatini, thick spaghetti with a hole down the middle. Da Bucatino in Testaccio is named after exactly that: a trattoria and pizzeria since 1979, whose homepage line is 'amatriciana, the way we like it'.
Order: the bucatini all'amatriciana (€15). The carbonara, with rigatoni, and the tonnarelli cacio e pepe are €15 too. Spend: about €17 a head for a pasta with the €2 service charge. Book: by WhatsApp or phone; the table is confirmed when they reply. Closed: Monday. Metro: Piramide (Line B), 9 minutes. The catch: bucatini splash, so don't wear white.
Book by WhatsApp or phone; the table is confirmed when they reply. Metro: Piramide (Line B), about 9 minutes.
Trattoria Sora Lella is on Tiber Island, the boat-shaped island in the middle of the river, and has cooked Roman food since 1940. It's a family trattoria named after Nonna Lella, and it makes a point of not serving carbonara, so come for the amatriciana and the gricia.
Order: the potato gnocchi all'amatriciana (€22), which the menu calls a classic of the house, or bombolotti alla gricia (€22). There's a gluten-free amatriciana (€28) and a six-course tasting menu (€100). Spend: à la carte is a minimum of two dishes each, so the gnocchi and the coda alla vaccinara, oxtail stew (€30), come to €52 a head before the 10% service charge. Book: online (with a card pre-authorisation per person) or by phone. Closed: Sunday. Dress: no flip-flops, open sandals, beach shorts or cropped trousers. The catch: it costs more than the other trattorias here, and the 10% service charge is added on top.
Dress code: no flip-flops, open sandals, beach shorts or cropped trousers. It doesn't serve carbonara.
Matricianella, on Via del Leone in the lanes between the Spanish Steps and Palazzo Borghese, takes its name from the dish: it was founded in 1957 by a family from Amatrice. Siblings Giacomo and Grazia Lo Bianco have run it since 1995, keeping to traditional Roman recipes, and the wine list runs to nearly a thousand labels.
Order: the bucatini all'amatriciana; the carbonara and the rigatoni with pajata or oxtail are also on the menu, and Thursday is gnocchi day. Spend: prices aren't published online. Book: by email. Open: Monday to Saturday, 12:30 to 3pm and 7:30 to 11pm; closed Sunday, and from 7 to 27 August. The catch: without prices online you won't know the bill until you sit down.
Book by email (prenotazioni@matricianella.it). Gnocchi on Thursdays. Close to Piazza San Lorenzo in Lucina, about 7 minutes' walk from the Spanish Steps.
Gricia. Gricia is the oldest of the four: guanciale, Pecorino Romano and black pepper, with no egg and no tomato. Good gricia depends on the guanciale, crisp outside and soft inside, and its fat making the sauce. Lo Scopettaro, on the riverside road at the edge of Testaccio, is the cheapest place in this guide for all four Roman pastas: each is €13.
Order: the gricia, with mezzi rigatoni or tonnarelli (€13), and try a second Roman pasta on the side; the carbonara, amatriciana and cacio e pepe are €13 too. Spend: about €14 a head for a pasta and bread (€1). Open: daily, lunch and dinner. Metro: Piramide (Line B), 12 minutes. The catch: it can't serve gluten-free dishes, and the menu on its homepage still shows older, lower prices (€10 to €11), so expect the €13 on the digital menu.
No gluten-free dishes: the restaurant says it can't guarantee against cross-contamination. Metro: Piramide (Line B), about 12 minutes.
La Taverna dei Fori Imperiali is on Via della Madonna dei Monti, a few minutes from the Roman Forum, which makes it the easy pasta stop after the Colosseum. It's a Roman trattoria in Monti, and its website names carbonara, gricia and cacio e pepe as the dishes it's known for.
Order: the gricia, or any of the four Roman classics, all €14; each can be made gluten-free for €2 more. Spend: €14 for a pasta, before drinks. Book: online. Metro: Cavour (Line B), 5 minutes. The catch: it's popular, so book, and call ahead to check opening hours.
Book online through Quandoo from its website. Metro: Cavour (Line B), about 5 minutes; the Roman Forum is round the corner.
Fresh pasta. The four Roman classics are often made with dried pasta, but Rome also has places where the pasta is rolled by hand every day. Osteria da Fortunata, on Via del Pellegrino near Campo de' Fiori, has cooked Roman food since 1921, and its menu says the pasta is made fresh through the day and night with flour still milled on stone.
Order: any of the hand-made pastas (€17 each): egg tagliolini cacio e pepe or gricia, strozzapreti carbonara, or fettuccine all'amatriciana. Gnocchi are €18 to €19. Spend: about €19 a head for a pasta with the €2 per-person charge. Book: online. Open: every day. The catch: it's very popular and now has five Rome branches plus others in Milan, Bologna, Florence and Miami, so it can feel busy, and bills aren't split.
It has five branches in Rome with the same menu; this is the one on Via del Pellegrino. It doesn't split bills.
Alfredo alla Scrofa, on Via della Scrofa between Piazza Navona and the Pantheon, says it has been the home of fettuccine Alfredo since 1914. The real dish is fresh egg fettuccine tossed at length with butter and Parmigiano Reggiano until it turns creamy, with no cream and no chicken.
Order: the fettuccine Alfredo (€26), made with 24-month Parmigiano Reggiano and mountain butter; black truffle adds €25. The Roman classics are here too: tonnarelli cacio e pepe (€17), amatriciana and carbonara (€18 each). Spend: about €33 a head for the fettuccine with the €4 bread basket and the 10% service charge, before drinks. Book: online. Open: lunch and dinner. The catch: at €26 it's the dearest plate of pasta in this guide, apart from Sora Lella's gluten-free amatriciana, and the 10% service charge goes on top.
Book online from its website. About 5 minutes' walk from both Piazza Navona and the Pantheon.
Sora Margherita, on Piazza delle Cinque Scole in the Jewish Ghetto, has been a family trattoria since 1927. The menu is written each day by what's in season and follows Rome's weekly traditions, such as gnocchi on Thursday and tripe on Saturday.
Order: the hand-made fettuccine or agnolotti (filled pasta, also made by hand), with meat sauce or cacio e pepe; the three guanciale pastas are on the menu too. Spend: prices aren't published online. Book: by phone; lunch bookings are for 12:30. Open: lunch daily; dinner Monday and Wednesday to Saturday, at 8pm or 9:30pm. The catch: no dinner on Tuesday or Sunday, and no prices online.
Book by phone on 06 687 4216; lunch bookings are for 12:30, with a waiting list from 13:30. The table is held for 15 minutes.
Colline Emiliane, on Via degli Avignonesi near Piazza Barberini, isn't Roman: it cooks the food of Emilia-Romagna, the home of egg pasta, and has done since 1931. The Latini family has run it since 1967, and its website says the pasta is rolled with a rolling pin every morning.
Order: tortellini in brodo (in broth), tagliatelle alla bolognese or the green lasagne. Spend: prices aren't published online. Book: by phone. Open: Tuesday to Saturday, lunch and dinner; closed Sunday and Monday. Metro: Barberini (Line A), 3 minutes, and the Trevi Fountain is about 7 minutes away. The catch: it's small, with tables close together, so book.
Book on 06 481 7538. Fresh pasta to take home can be ordered by phone or WhatsApp. Metro: Barberini (Line A), about 3 minutes; the Trevi Fountain is about 7 minutes.
Carbonara: Luciano Cucina Italiana for the famous one; Lo Scopettaro (€13), Da Danilo or La Taverna dei Fori Imperiali (€14) for a classic at a fair price; Roscioli (€18) for the deli version with crispy pork cheek.
Cacio e pepe: Da Danilo (€14, finished in the Pecorino wheel), Roma Sparita (€16), Fortunata's hand-made tagliolini (€17), or Felice a Testaccio from our best restaurants list.
Amatriciana: Da Bucatino (€15), Sora Lella's gnocchi all'amatriciana (€22) or Matricianella, founded by a family from Amatrice.
Gricia: Lo Scopettaro (€13), La Taverna dei Fori Imperiali (€14), Roscioli (€17).
Fresh pasta: Osteria da Fortunata (€17), Alfredo alla Scrofa for fettuccine Alfredo (€26), Sora Margherita's agnolotti, Colline Emiliane for tortellini and tagliatelle.
Near the sights: Taverna dei Fori Imperiali after the Forum, Alfredo alla Scrofa between Piazza Navona and the Pantheon, Colline Emiliane by the Trevi Fountain, Luciano, Roscioli and Fortunata around Campo de' Fiori.
On a Sunday: Da Danilo, Sora Lella, Matricianella and Colline Emiliane are closed; Roscioli, Lo Scopettaro, Fortunata and Da Bucatino open.
Pasta is a first course. On a Roman menu it's the primo, after starters and before a meat or fish secondo. You can order just a pasta, though a few places set a minimum: Sora Lella asks for two dishes a head à la carte.
Shapes matter. Each place pairs each sauce with a shape: tonnarelli (square fresh spaghetti) for cacio e pepe, bucatini or rigatoni for amatriciana, rigatoni or mezze maniche for gricia and carbonara. Order it the way the menu lists it.
Bread and service charges. A coperto (cover charge) isn't allowed in Rome; restaurants may charge for bread or service only if it's printed on the menu before you order. Most of these menus list one: €1 at Lo Scopettaro, €2 at Da Bucatino and Fortunata, €3 at Da Danilo and Roma Sparita, €4 for the bread basket at Roscioli and Alfredo alla Scrofa. Sora Lella and Alfredo alla Scrofa add 10% service to the bill. Tipping isn't expected.
Book dinner at the well-known places, especially Thursday to Saturday, and check closing days: Da Danilo, Sora Lella and Matricianella close on Sunday, Da Bucatino on Monday, and Colline Emiliane on Sunday and Monday.
Roman hours: lunch from about 12:30 to 3pm, dinner from about 7:30pm.
Want to cook it at home? Colline Emiliane sells its hand-made pasta to take away (order by phone or WhatsApp), and Roscioli sells kits for the Roman pastas in its shop. For the wider food scene, see our best restaurants in Rome and Rome's Michelin-starred restaurants, and to stay near the trattorias, our guide to where to stay in Rome.
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