rome pasta

Capo di Ferro - (Piazza San Cosimato in Trastevere) Dense, rich and meaty rigatoni alla coda vaccinara was awesome.  They also make a good bucatini all’ amatriciana.  It's just north of the piazza with few tables outside and several inside.

  

Ai Spaghettari –(www.aispaghettari.it- Piazza San Cosimato 58 in Trastevere) All the classics and the amatriciana and carbonara are exceptionally good.  Plenty of outside tables to lunch and watch the end of market day in Piazza San Cosimato.

  

Agustarello – (Via Giovanni Branca 98 in Testaccio) Carbonara is one of the best, if not the best, in Rome.  The rigatoni con pajata and amatriciana are also very good. It’s also one of the best spots for classic offal dishes of Rome.

  

Felice a Testaccio - (www.feliceatestaccio.it- Via Mastro Giorgio 29 in Testaccio ) First time there, I tried to walk up and get seated.  I was alone and clearly a foreigner, so they didn’t seat me, even though there were plenty of empty tables—all with reserved signs.  My next attempt was successful, probably because my Roman friend called to make reservations and joined me.  All the pasta plates are fantastic, especially the cacio e pepe.  They have an award-winning tiramisu’ that is a decadent end to a great meal.

  

Il Miraggio – (via della Lungara 16A in Trastevere) They make a delicateamatriciana with penne, which is great on a date. (Bucatini is definitely not a date-night dish.) It’s north of the bustling center of Trastevere.  They have just a few outdoor tables that fill up fast with locals, but there is plenty of room inside the large high-ceiling space.  Tables are covered with red-and-white checkered cloth.  The setting is old-fashioned but many dishes are a twist on classics.  The mussels amatriciana (amatriciana con le cozze) is as good as the penne.

  

Il Fico Ristorante -  (www.ilfico.com - via di Monte Giordano 49 between the Tiber and Piazza Navona) House-made tonnarelli pasta combines with a creamy and peppery Cacio e Pepe.  Antipasti are also great, especially the zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta and baked.

  

Settimio al Pelligrino (via del Pellegrino 117 near Campo dei Fiori ) Family-owned restaurant where you must ring the doorbell to enter.  They make Roman dishes in acasalinga (homemade) style, and every Thursday mamma makes pillow-likegnocchi.

  

Bucatino (via della Robbia Luca, 84/86 in Testaccio ) This casual corner trattoria was near my apartment, and I went there many times for the bucatini all’ amatriciana. My first time there, they gave me a bib to eat the bucatini, and were shocked when not one drop of sauce landed anywhere on the table, me or the bib.  The waiters look like a cast from Grumpy Old Men, but their hearts are as big as their stomachs.  Therigatoni con pajata is also very good.

  

Roma Sparita - (www.romasparita.com- Piazza Santa Cecilia in Trastevere) I was told by several Romans this is the place for Cacio e Pepe in Rome, and it is.  The trattoria is in a piazza in a quiet part of Trastevere.

  

Da Gino - (Vicolo Rosini 4 north of the Pantheon ) Gnocchi on Thursday are one of the best I had in Rome.  They also make a great carbonara with house-made tonnarelli, and the house dish of tonnarelli alla ciociara is Gino's most popular dish.  The place is hidden away in an alleyway but packed with locals.  I think I was the only American in the place. You dine under murals and on cloth covered tables, banging elbows with those jammed next to you.