Abbacchio scottadito is Rome's spring-lamb dish: milk-fed Lazio lamb chops grilled on a wood fire and eaten hot with the hands, the namesake scottadito meaning burns-the-fingers.
Abbacchio is the milk-fed Lazio lamb of the Roman Easter tradition, slaughtered at around 30 days old and weighing 8 to 10 kilos. The scottadito (burns-the-fingers) preparation is the cutlets, dipped briefly in olive oil with rosemary, salt and pepper, then grilled hot on a wood fire and eaten with the hands as the lamb is too hot for cutlery. The dish is the staple of Roman Easter lunch and runs on bistro menus from March through May. Felice a Testaccio, Armando al Pantheon and the city's trattoria canon all serve canonical versions; the lamb-bone gravy on the plate is part of the dish.
4 editor picks for Abbacchio scottadito in Rome, ranked by editorial score. All Rome signature dishes · Abbacchio scottadito across every city.
Armando al Pantheon ★ 4.6
centro-storico · Salita dei Crescenzi 31, 00186 Roma
Armando al Pantheon in Rome has cooked the four Roman pastas and the quinto quarto canon since 1961, a few steps from the Pantheon. The Gargioli family still runs the dining room.
Felice a Testaccio ★ 4.5
testaccio · Via Mastro Giorgio 29, 00153 Roma
Felice a Testaccio in Rome has served the Testaccio working-quarter cucina since 1936. The tonnarelli cacio e pepe is tossed table-side; the saltimbocca alla romana is the late-lunch order.
Trattoria Pennestri ★ 4.5
ostiense · Via Giovanni da Empoli 5, 00154 Roma
Trattoria Pennestri in Rome's Ostiense, opened 2017 by Tommaso Pennestri, runs the Roman canon with farmer-named meat sourcing. The rigatoni alla gricia is the lead order.
Perilli ★ 4.3
testaccio · Via Marmorata 39, 00153 Roma
Perilli in Rome's Testaccio has cooked the rigatoni con la pajata and the bucatini all'amatriciana since 1911. The pajata is the dish that defines the room and the quarter.