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One of the most important reasons to visit Rome is to eat your weight in pasta. The Eternal City is filled with excellent pasta restaurants, from hole-in-the-wall local trattorias to fancier ristorantes. Some places focus on the traditional pastas of Rome, while others are evolving to feature new flavors. With so many potential options, it can be tough to decide where to eat! This list of my favorite places for the best pasta in Rome could never be comprehensive, but it’s a nice selection of where I’ve enjoyed eating. I hope you will agree.
Love pasta? Why not take a Rome food tour that includes pasta or even take a pasta-making class?
The Four Traditional Roman Pastas
Before you venture out to pasta restaurants in Rome, you should first become acquainted with the most famous Roman pasta dishes.
Some combination of these four most traditional Roman pastas can be found at almost every trattoria. However, each restaurant will typically have a house specialty or two. Which place has the best is the sort of thing that can lead to arguments, but that’s the case with most food in Italy.
These four pastas of Rome are all related, containing similar ingredients in different combinations. I recommend trying all four to find your favorite, especially by visiting restaurants specializing in each one. Then, you will be ready to join the arguments yourself.
Book your hotel in Rome now!Cacio e Pepe
The most basic of Roman pasta dishes is cacio e pepe. This beloved sauce is made from Pecorino Romano cheese and black pepper (hence the name cacio e pepe). As is the case with most pasta sauces, hot pasta water is vital to the emulsification of the dish.
Cacio E Pepe is typically made with tonnarelli or spaghetti.
Gricia
Pasta alla gricia takes the simple ingredients of cacio e pepe and adds guanciale (cured pork cheek or jowls) to the party. It’s believed to be the oldest of the four Roman pastas.
Carbonara
Carbonara is also made from Pecorino Romano cheese, black pepper, and guanciale. However, it also includes the addition of eggs.
Carbonara is generally made with spaghetti, rigatoni, or bucatini, but other pasta, such as mezze maniche, may also be used.
Of the most popular pasta dishes of Rome, carbonara is perhaps the most widely found outside of Italy.
Preparations and quality can vary worldwide, but while adaptations of carbonara might draw scorn, it’s not as if it’s some dish dating back to the ancient Romans. That said, the traditional preparation doesn’t include cream, peas, mushrooms, or anything like that.
In reality, there are no historical mentions of carbonara before World War II. Some believe the dish was inspired by and beloved by American troops in post-war Italy, who then spread the word of the pasta back home. You’ll be doing the same after you visit Rome.
Amatriciana
Amatriciana is the only one of Rome’s main pasta dishes that includes tomatoes. The dish includes tomatoes, Pecorino Romano cheese, guanciale, and black pepper. It may also include onion and/or white wine, but this is up for debate.
The most popular pasta shapes for amatriciana in Rome include bucatini and rigatoni.
The Best Pasta In Rome
SantoPalato
Chef Sarah Cicolini is famous for her modern take on Roman dishes. Her Appio-Latino restaurant, SantoPalato, has a menu based on what’s in season, including a board with daily specials.
The patrons at SantoPalato are a mix of locals and visitors who are in the know. Appearances on TV shows such as Stanley Tucci’s “Searching for Italy” have put the trattoria on the global radar.
SantoPalato also features classic Roman pasta dishes like carbonara and amatriciana.
While I was, of course, there for the pasta, I also enjoyed the luxurious chicken liver frittata, as well as a local Roman craft beer.
Sarah Cicolini’s carbonara is stunningly rich. The sauce, which clings to mezze maniche pasta, is bright yellow from the egg yolks and has big, crispy pieces of guanciale.
Sticking with the bright yellow theme, I concluded my meal with the delicious citron tart.
Address: Piazza Tarquinia, 4 a/b, 00183 Roma RM, Italy (map)
Website
La Tavernelle
The streets of Monti are lined with al fresco restaurants spilling out onto the streets. There are so many options in the area that it can be challenging to know which are legit and which are tourist traps. In general, the further you go from major Rome sights such as the Colosseum, the better off you are.
One of the best neighborhood pasta restaurants in Monti is La Tavernelle.
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Since 1870, locals and visitors have flocked to the Rome trattoria, including many celebrities.
La Tavernelle specializes in seafood, pasta, and other Roman dishes.
Even if La Tavernelle’s cacio e pepe was served normally, it would still be one of my favorite pasta dishes in Rome.
But it’s served in this crosta di parmigiano, taking the cheese levels to an extra dimension.
Address: Via Panisperna, 48, 00184 Roma RM, Italy (map)
Website
al42 by Pasta Chef Rione Monti
While most trattorias in Rome serve much more than just pasta, this next entry on my list specializes in a simple pasta menu (though they do serve a few other things, too).
Al42 By Pasta Chef Rione Monti is a bit different than most other Rome pasta restaurants, where you might sit down for hours and enjoy a leisurely meal.
We queued along the street before being invited inside by the friendly host when it was our turn. We ordered and picked up our food from the counter.
There’s some seating on stools at small tables and counters, but it all is in such a way that encourages eating quickly and then moving on. As long as the queue isn’t too bad, it’s an excellent quick lunch option near the central landmarks of Rome.
The tonnarelli alla carbonara was one of the richest I’ve ever had, with perfectly cooked fresh pasta.
Be sure to check out the daily specials. The gnocchi in a light white sauce with lamb was also excellent.
Leave room for dessert, too. Al42 has excellent tiramisu. The flavors and fresh, rich cream are well-balanced in the tiramisu, making it one of my favorites in Rome.
Address: Via Baccina, 42, 00184 Roma RM, Italy (map)
Website
Rione 13
There are tons of great restaurants serving pasta in Trastevere, the neighborhood just across the Tiber River from central Rome. I went on a Trastevere food tour and visited a few nice spots, including Rione 13 and Da Enzo al 29.
We had a pasta feast at Rione 13. Our group sat out on the massive outdoor patio on a lovely Rome evening, where we were served excellent cacio e pepe and amatriciana directly from the pan.
The restaurant serves all of the classic Roman pastas, pizza, and other favorites.
Here, we learned that al dente pasta is healthier since it produces less of a blood sugar spike. Since this is how pasta is cooked properly in Italy, you can eat more of it without worrying so much about it being unhealthy.
Address: Via Roma Libera, 19, 00153 Roma RM, Italy (map)
Website
Trattoria Antico Falcone
The best trattorias in Rome are often the little neighborhood places that have depended on generations of reliable customers.
I first found out about Antico Falcone from a friend who said their tiramisu was the best she’d ever had. I can confirm that their tiramisu is excellent, but so is everything else.
It’s a no-frills neighborhood pasta restaurant north of the Vatican. It’s very much a local spot, one where old men gather for lunch either at outside tables or in the spacious, bright dining room.
The history of food at this national monument goes back to 1480 when a historic inn opened on this spot. Today, the tradition continues with excellent pasta and other traditional Roman dishes such as fried artichokes.
We enjoyed outstanding servings of gricia and carbonara.
The bread was also fantastic, which can be hit or miss depending on the restaurant.
How good was the pasta? I got a notification on my Fitbit that I was earning Zone minutes for how much of a workout I was getting while shoveling pasta in my mouth.
Address: Via Trionfale, 60, 00195 Roma RM, Italy (map)
Website
Sciuè Sciuè Cucina
Not every Rome pasta restaurant serves the traditional Roman pastas. Some, like Sciuè Sciuè Cucina, demonstrate that fresh pasta can be served in many other delicious ways beyond the same dishes everyone else specializes in.
Sciuè Sciuè Cucina is located in Monti, just far enough from the touristy restaurants to be where both locals and visitors eat for a reasonable price. The menu changes seasonally with local, fresh ingredients.
I especially enjoyed this fettuccine with guanciale, pumpkin cream, fried black cabbage, and pecorino romano cheese.
Address: Via Urbana, 56-57, 00184 Roma RM, Italy (map)
Website
Osteria Kosher Casalino
If you’re a fan of good food and history, no visit to the Italian capital is complete without visiting the Jewish quarter of Rome.
The streets are lined with Kosher restaurants and bakeries. It can be tough to decide which one to visit, but Casalino Osteria Kosher being listed on Eater’s list of the 38 best restaurants in Rome made the decision easier. The sign saying “Granny’s Homemade Pasta” sealed the deal.
Their Jewish-Roman menu includes local favorites such as fried artichokes and pasta dishes.
While you won’t find guanciale here, of course, the alternate ingredients, such as tuna, demonstrate how cultures can work together for culinary inspiration.
The cacio e pepe with fried artichokes is great, as is the ravioli stuffed with burrata and fresh truffle.
Address: Via del Portico d’Ottavia, 1e, 00186 Roma RM, Italy (map)
Website
Saltimbocca Ristorante
As I mentioned above, finding a quality spot for pasta in Rome can be a minefield when there are so many options near touristy areas.
Saltimbocca is a dependable trattoria in Centro Storico, just a few short blocks from Piazza Navona. The well-reviewed restaurant serves a mix of both locals and visitors along a lively street.
Whenever I visit a new restaurant, I quickly check the most commonly mentioned dishes in Google reviews to get a sense of the place’s specialty. In the case of Saltimbocca, everyone was raving about their carbonara, so I went with that.
I can confirm it’s tasty.
Also tasty are the drinks at Saltimbocca. There aren’t many trattorias in Rome that offer good drinks in addition to good pasta, but their cocktails use homemade syrups and infusions. It’s a nice place to stop in for some pasta and cocktails in central Rome.
Address: Via di Tor Millina, 5, 00186 Roma RM, Italy (map)
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Da Roberto E Loretta
Da Roberto E Loretta is a spacious neighborhood restaurant in Appio-Latino.
The restaurant is known for traditional Roman classics. Many of the antipasti dishes include anchovies. In addition to the pasta, I recommend the fried zucchini flowers stuffed with mozzarella and anchovies.
The go-to Roman pasta dish at Da Roberto E Loretta is cacio e pepe.
Their sauce might not cling to the pasta quite as well as the cacio e pepe at some other places, but it works perfectly with the lovely, fresh bread, which you can use to sop up any remaining sauce. This practice is known as “fare la scarpetta” and is a beloved Italian culinary tradition.
Address: Via Saturnia, 18, 00183 Roma RM, Italy (map)
Website
If you love food and you’re visiting Rome, why not take a food tour? Check out these excellent food tour options. There are even classes where you can learn how to make pasta, pizza, tiramisu, gelato, and more!
You can’t have pasta without dessert. Read my recommendations for the best gelato in Rome and the best tiramisu in Rome.
Here are some great Rome tours & my favorite things to see & do in Rome.
If you’re looking for a place to stay, check out these Rome hotels.
