Rome is home to delicious everyday pasta dishes, from Carbonara to Amatriciana. Rather than trying a different one every day, we decided to focus on just one – Cacio e Pepe. That way, we could truly find the best one to suggest to you, and to go back to next time we visit Rome.
Did we manage to find one that we can call the best cacio e pepe in Rome? Indeed, we did, and since then I have been dreaming of eating it every day. You surely have to try it!
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How I Shortlisted These 3 Cacio E Pepe Restaurants
My choice was not random, although the actual winner was not on my list. Those are the joys of spontaneity, I guess.
There was a lot of research and planning involved as I wanted to make sure we were choosing restaurants that locals would recommend, not tourist traps.
After reading several Italian articles recommending Roman restaurants, and others rating a cacio e pepe, I made a list of my top restaurants.
Next, I vetted each restaurant by checking the Google rating and pictures, reading the reviews, visiting the website, and checking out the menu.
Only the ones that gave me a very good impression made it on my final list, but this list wasn’t short.
There were 13 restaurants on that list, so we couldn’t try them all. I mean imagine eating thirteen cacio e pepe in 6 days.
That’s how I settled on trying three or four, and in the end, we went for three.
You can see the full list below. Feel free to research and try those other restaurants as these are all great ones. Among them, there are a few takeaway shops too.
- I Vitelloni
- Osteria Cacio e Pepe
- Osteria da Fortunata in Pellegrino (4 locations)
- Osteria Fratelli Mori
- La Carbonara in Campo de Fiori (2 locations)
- Osteria da Zi Umberto
- Salumeria Rosciol
- La Bottega Pastificio con cucina
- Pastificio Guerra (takeout)
- La Pasta Fresca Egidio Michelis in Mercato Centrale
- Pasta E Vino Come ‘Na Vorta
- Maccarone Il Pastificio
- Pastasciutta
The ones in bold are the ones I set out to try, but we only tried two of them because those fitted into our itinerary the best. These three also happen to be centrally located, so you won’t have any issues reaching them.
PS: Speaking of itinerary, if you’d like to take a look at our 5 Day Rome Itinerary, feel free to do so.
First Cacio e Pepe Rome At Pasta E Vino Come ‘Na Vorta
We are starting with the first one we tried on our third night in Rome.
Pasta e Vino restaurant was on our list for the third night, but we were initially going to go to the one in Trastevere. Luckily, they have 5 different locations, so we found a closer one to the bus stop we were going to use for getting back home.
Location & Interiors
The location we chose was the one in Torre Argentina, opposite the Largo di Torre Argentina, which houses ruins of 4 Roman temples and Pompey’s theater. That area is gorgeous both in the morning and at night, and is not as busy as other central parts of Rome.
The other locations are these:
Via della Pelliccia, 12 in Trastevere
Vicolo del Cinque, 40 in Trastevere
Via Florida, 23
Largo Arenula, 14
The outdoor area was nicely divided into two sections, with a passage to the inside of the restaurant in between. Both sections were covered with an umbrella, which had twinkly lights hanging off of it.
The tables were small but large enough for two. They were a little bit too close to each other, but once you start talking and eating, you don’t really notice.
Service & Price
The service was great. As we approached the entrance of the restaurant, we were quickly asked to be seated and we were told there were the last 2 tables outside, so we took one of them.
For your reference, it was a Sunday evening on an April night, and it was past 7.30 pm. We didn’t book the restaurant and we were lucky we had come just in time to get the last table.
Those that came just a couple minutes later had to wait 15 to 30 minutes for one of the tables to be freed. It was too hot inside, and since people were sitting outside, they didn’t bother turning on the AC. So everyone was waiting to sit outside.
After being seated, the server came fairly quickly to take our order. He was very friendly and chatted with us, asking about our nationality.
Our order only took 15 minutes to arrive, so it was very quick. It was nicely served on plates which showe the name of the restaurant.
The bottle of water we ordered was brought in a nice clear bottle of water with the restaurant’s branding on. I guess they pick their water from the fountain. That was nice, so no complaints.
The cacio e pepe price on the menu was €12.50, which I think it’s a good price considering we are in Rome, in a nice central location, and the portion is good sized.
Was it good, though?
The pasta was really nice. I had a taste test, but my husband was the one who ate it all. The only complaint was that it was a touch too peppery, but that’s the recipe after all.
We chose tagliolini in case you are wondering. It’s a type of long pasta wider than spaghetti but not too thick.
It was cooked nicely al dente and it came dressed with a creamy pecorino sauce with lots of black pepper dotted throughout the dish. It was also finished with more grated pecorino on top.
The pasta was creamy enough but not liquid. I hate it when restaurants serve a cacio e pepe that looks like it’s surrounded by liquid on the sides. It looks gross to me, and it also shows they don’t know how to make it.
My husband enjoyed eating it till the last bite. Luckily, he didn’t mind having to try a second and a third cacio e pepe in the next days. That only means one thing – the pasta was good.
Was it the best though? No, it wasn’t.
Roman Cacio e Pepe in a Pastificio: Maccarone Il Pastificio
On our fourth night, we decided to have a larger aperitivo at L’Elementare (large for us since we don’t eat huge portions). You can find what we had in this Trastevere Foodie Guide.
I was full, and I planned to have the biscuits I bought earlier (I shared where in that guide I just mentioned), so for me, that was going to be it that night.
My husband had some room left in his belly, so he was keen on testing another Cacio e Pepe pasta, which is what we did next.
Location & Interiors
From l’Elementare the walk to Maccarone was very pleasant. We crossed the Ponte Sisto bridge, walked straight through Via Giulia, and then turned right twice. It took us just 15 minutes.
Maccarone is located in a nice area of Rome, just a corner away from one of our favorite breakfast spots (more on that in my Rome Breakfast article), and the perfect spot to have a casual pasta lunch while you are shopping in the city.
For reference, here’s the distance from these key attractions in Rome:
Piazza Navona – 6 minutes walk
Castel Sant’Angelo – 9 minutes walk
Pantheon – 14 minutes walk
The place inside is really nice. You can see the fresh pasta behind the counter where you can order takeout and pay. And you see the area where they make the pasta during the day. They also have their own products on display.
At night, the pasta-making section is closed, but if you go for lunch you’ll likely see someone making pasta behind the glass.
Service & Price
The service at Maccarone was equally good. You can obviously sense the vibe is different, from the way the table is set to how the pasta is served.
The pasta comes in a round cardboard container, and even the cutlery is single use.
In terms of price, it will cost you €8.50 for a regular option or €10 for a larger one.
We chose the regular, and as you can see it’s fairly small, so I would say this spot is a little pricier than the first one we tried when considering the casual vibes and service.
However, Maccarone is located in a more central and expensive area of Rome, so overall I think the price is good for what you get and where you get it.
Was this Cacio e Pepe better than the first one?
No, it wasn’t. The first was creamier and also came into a larger portion. And because this one contained less pasta, we felt like there was too much pepper for the quantity of tonnarelli.
The pasta we chose this time was tonnarelli.
PS: Neither tonnarelli nor tagliolini are local Roman pasta shapes; the first comes from Piedmont and the second comes from Abruzzo.
They both have the same width, but tagliolini has a square cut while tonnarelli is rounded and much thicker.
Both pasta are great choices when paired with a cacio e pepe sauce.
While Maccarone’s version is still a good cacio e pepe option, I would suggest it only as a quick lunch, when you are in the area and can’t bother to find a restaurant, wait to be seated, wait to order, etc etc.
Here, you can still go through all those steps, but the service is very fast because of the nature of the restaurant. It’s mainly for takeaway, with a few tables dotted inside the Pastificio.
It’s a tasty option to have on the go, but if you have the time there’s much better out there.
Best Cacio e Pepe In Rome: Ivo A Trastevere
Ivo a Trastevere was always on our list, so much so that this was the restaurant I was most excited to dine at. If you ask me why, I can’t tell you; it’s truly a sum of all the positive signals I collected in my mind while doing the research.
However, it was not my plan to have a cacio e pepe here, as this was our last dinner in Rome, and by then we should have tried all the cacio e pepe options on our list.
Things went differently, and we skipped the restaurant on our second night, so we needed a third cacio e pepe to make it on this list.
Plus, when looking at the menu, Ivo had a unique Cacio e Pepe, which featured two of my favorite ingredients – gnocchi and pumpkin. So review or not, I had to try it! And I am so happy I did.
Location & Interiors
Ivo a Trastevere is located in the middle of Trastevere, close to the older part of this neighborhood but more so in the more modern area.
It’s also close to the famous Tiramisu Merisu and other great dessert options, so if you choose to dine here, you’ll be spoiled for choice.
Spoiler alert, I didn’t love Tiramisu Merisu. If you want to know why, and which one is my favorite tiramisu in Rome, read this article – Best Tiramisu in Rome.
The restaurant is very authentically decorated with wooden beams, arches made of bricks, and a very local shade of yellow on the walls. It also has a particular appreciation for football, which is evident from the wall decorations.
That’s because the founder and owner was the president of a local football team called that way. So expect to watch football while you dine if there’s a particular important game that night.
The table setting is simple and rustic, with the football theme continuing here as well. But when you come to Ivo, what matters is the food.
Service & Price
The service is an interesting one. When we arrived, the waiters seemed to be all grumpy (if it was morning you would say they woke up on the wrong side of the bed, but it was past 6 pm).
Things improved later, as they took our order and served our food, we could see the atmosphere lift up. As the room started filling with more and more people, the servers started joking and providing free entertainment. It was hilarious!
We concluded that their attitude was truly Roman, and that added to the authenticity of the restaurant.
The prices were great. The Cacio e Pepe we ordered was priced at €12 and it came in a very generous portion. I would say the portion was similar to the one at Pasta e Vino, with the only difference that I find gnocchi much more filling.
Why is this the Best Cacio e Pepe in Rome?
Keep in mind we only tried three, but while we might try more next time I am in Rome, I don’t necessarily feel the need to, as I know I will be coming here every time to get this same cacio e pepe. I pray they never take it out of the menu, and if they do I will just have to make it at home!
What’s so special about it?
Let’s start with the inviting name – Gnocchetti alla Ivo, cacio e pepe, fiori di zucca – translated to small gnocchi with pecorino, pepper, and pumpkin flowers.
This cacio e pepe was perfect. The gnocchi were cooked right, not too soft but not as hard as most al dente pasta. They were tiny but had a beautiful bite.
The sauce was cheesy, you could taste that pecorino, but there wasn’t too much pepper. I love pepper but the previous options were just too much for us.
It was also super creamy, and it came with the addition of those pumpkin flowers that added extra taste and texture to the dish.
As I said, the portion was very good, so much so that we shared it between two and we felt full, after that, and a couple starters.
Just try it and you’ll get it.
If you are wondering what else we ate at Ivo, you’ll find the full information in my Trastevere Food Guide.
PS: If you’d like my suggestions on where to try other authentic Roman pasta dishes, check out this Trastevere Food Guide. In that one, I list my favorite restaurants, along with details of what I ordered, or will order next time I visit.
More Tasty & Helpful Rome Info.
Other than cacio e pepe, you obviously need to also have breakfast in Rome, and also try other local dishes for lunch and dinner. If you found this article article useful, check out these other foodie articles:
Best Sandwich in Rome
Best Tiramisu in Rome
Click here for more information and resources about Rome and its surroundings.
