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.
5 editor picks for Cacio e pepe in Rome, ranked by editorial score. All Rome signature dishes · Cacio e pepe across every city.
Salumeria Roscioli ★ 4.7
centro-storico · Via dei Giubbonari 21, 00186 Roma
Roscioli in Rome's Centro Storico runs deli, restaurant and wine cellar as one room. The carbonara and the buffalo mozzarella with Cantabrian anchovies still set the city benchmark in 2026.
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.
Santo Palato ★ 4.6
esquilino · Via Gallia 28, 00183 Roma
Sarah Cicolini's Santo Palato in Rome reads the quinto quarto offal grammar as modern technique. Trippa alla romana and the cacio e pepe make every Roma food list since 2018.
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.
Da Cesare al Casaletto ★ 4.5
trastevere · Via del Casaletto 45, 00151 Roma
Da Cesare al Casaletto in Rome's western Trastevere edge, run by Leonardo Vignoli, is the locals' Sunday trattoria. The cacio e pepe is fried into a cup of pecorino crust.