Roman cooking is a cuisine of few ingredients: guanciale, the air-dried pork cheek, Pecorino Romano, black pepper and eggs carry the city’s four classic pasta dishes (carbonara, gricia, …
Roman cooking is a cuisine of few ingredients: guanciale, the air-dried pork cheek, Pecorino Romano, black pepper and eggs carry the city’s four classic pasta dishes (carbonara, gricia, cacio e pepe and amatriciana). Then there is the quinto quarto, the ‘fifth quarter’: offal and humble cuts that, according to tradition, were once given as wages to the workers of the Testaccio slaughterhouse and today bring oxtail, tripe and pajata to the menus.
In Rome, haute cuisine has settled mainly in hotels and palazzi, for instance on Monte Mario or around the Colosseum. The trattorias with long family histories, by contrast, lie close together in the Centro storico between the Pantheon, Campo de’ Fiori and Piazza Navona. People eat late, rarely before 8pm in the evening. In August many family-run restaurants close for a few weeks; if you travel then, check opening times in advance.
Tip: The Roman artichoke is in season in spring. That is the time for carciofi alla romana, braised with mint, and carciofi alla giudia, the fried version from the Jewish quarter.
Rome’s only three-star restaurant: Heinz Beck has cooked on Monte Mario since 1994, with a terrace and views over the city.
The roof garden of the Palazzo Manfredi with a view of the Colosseum, and Roman classics with Campanian touches at starred level.
A Roman family trattoria since 1961, a few steps from the Pantheon: classics, quinto quarto and a wine list of native grape varieties.
A delicatessen with a kitchen near Campo de’ Fiori: salumi, cheese, a carbonara praised by the Guide MICHELIN and more than 2,800 wines.
Information as of October 2026. Please check opening times and reservations directly with the restaurant.
