Verified in Rome.
Cacio e pepe is Rome's three-ingredient pasta: tonnarelli or spaghetti tossed in a creamy emulsion of grated pecorino romano, pasta water and crushed black pepper; in Italy we have verified places to eat it in Rome. Start with where to eat Cacio e pepe in Rome.
Cacio e pepe is Rome's three-ingredient pasta: tonnarelli or spaghetti tossed in a creamy emulsion of grated pecorino romano, pasta water and crushed black pepper. Nothing more.
Cacio e pepe predates carbonara by centuries. Shepherds in the Lazio mountains carried pecorino romano, black pepper and dried pasta on long transhumance routes from the 1700s onward; the three ingredients kept and combined into a hot meal at any inn. The Roman bistro form emerged in the 19th-century working-quarter trattorias. The dish has only three ingredients and zero margin for error: the emulsion must be glossy, not lumpy. Tonnarelli (Lazio's egg-pasta cousin to spaghetti) is the canonical shape. Da Cesare al Casaletto serves the famous fried-cup variation; Felice a Testaccio's table-side toss is the classic Roman service ritual.
Where to eat in Rome:
Where to eat Cacio e pepe in Rome: the editor picks
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