Carbonara appears as a signature dish in 1 Italy cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
Carbonara · Rome
Carbonara is Rome's defining pasta: spaghetti or rigatoni tossed in a creamy emulsion of raw egg yolks, grated pecorino romano, black pepper and crisp guanciale (cured pork jowl). No cream, ever.
The carbonara took shape in Rome between 1944 and 1950, the most-told origin story crediting the Allied troops who arrived in the city with bacon and powdered eggs that Roman cooks blended with their black pepper and pecorino tradition. The first written recipe was published in La Cucina Italiana in 1954 by Renato Gualandi. From the 1960s onward, the dish replaced guanciale (cured pork jowl) for the bacon, and the rule against cream was codified by the Accademia Italiana della Cucina in 1985. Felice a Testaccio, Roscioli and Armando al Pantheon all serve canonical versions; modern fine-dining rooms like Marco Martini reinterpret the egg-and-cheese emulsion as a smoked custard.
Where to eat in Rome:
- Salumeria Roscioli
- Felice a Testaccio
- Armando al Pantheon
- Da Enzo al 29
- Antico Arco