Rome's Best Travel Routes

If Rome had a crown, pasta would be its jewels. There are four recipes you simply cannot leave without tasting. Each is deceptively simple but demands precision.

• Cacio e Pepe: This dish features homemade fresh Tonnarelli pasta tossed with a simple yet flavorful combination of Pecorino Romano cheese and black pepper. It’s a quintessential Roman pasta dish that’s both rich and comforting. Just three ingredients, but perfection lies in balance. Creamy, peppery, humble yet noble. 📝 Local Tip: The trick? The sauce is created by the starch of the pasta water emulsifying with cheese. Don’t expect cream—if you see it, it’s not authentic.
• Carbonara: A Roman classic, this pasta is made with eggs, pancetta or guanciale (pork cheek), Pecorino Romano cheese, and black pepper. The creamy sauce is created by mixing eggs and cheese with the hot pasta, no cream, no onion, no pancetta. True Roman carbonara is silky, salty, and deeply satisfying. 📝 Local Tip: If you spot cream on the menu—it’s a tourist trap.
• Amatriciana: Named after the mountain-top town of Amatrice but fully adopted by Rome, this dish includes a sauce made from guanciale, tomatoes, and Pecorino Romano cheese. It’s a flavorful and savory option that’s a sweet, smoky, tangy staple in Roman cuisine. Served with bucatini, thick spaghetti with a hole through the center.
• Gricia: The forgotten sister, rustic and underrated. Essentially carbonara without eggs or amatriciana without tomato. The purest guanciale and pecorino.

Other popular first courses

• Rigatoni con Pajata e Coda alla Vaccinara: This dish features short rigatoni pasta served with two distinct Roman specialties: pajata (the intestines of young calves cooked in a tomato sauce) and coda alla vaccinara (oxtail stew). 
• Gnocchi alla Romana: Semolina dumplings baked with butter, Parmesan cheese, and sometimes cream. They are different from potato gnocchi and offer a rich, comforting flavor.
• Fettuccine all’Alfredo: Though more commonly associated with Roman-American cuisine, it’s worth noting. It’s a creamy pasta dish with butter and Parmesan cheese, originating from a Roman restaurant, not at all typical. If you are serious about tasting it, you need to reach the place it was invented, the renowned restaurant Alfredo in Piazza Augusto Imperatore.

🕒 Time check: Pasta dishes are usually served as primo piatto (first course), after antipasti but before meat or fish. Don’t order pasta and expect it to be the only course—it’s just one part of a full Roman meal. Also keep in mind that it takes about 15-20 minutes to be cooked.