Cacio e Pepe

Not over-​rated in the least. Amazing pasta, reasonable prices. Every pasta dish as good as the others. We arrived early because the place fills up. The staff clearly loves tourists and will really welcome you with open arms. I should have eaten there every night of my Roman visit, it really was that good.

Just amazing food. No menus. The severs tell you what they have. Obviously the Cacio e Pepe is perfect. Every visit to Rome should include a stop here. Beautiful outdoor setting.

Cacio e Pepe hasn’t let us down yet. This was our third trip to Rome and we visit every time. I love the fresh pasta paired with good olive oil, cheese and pepper. Everything is always fresh and perfectly cooked. It’s ones of the best cacio e pepes in the city. The service is always good. The only difference we noticed on this trip was that the place is normally full of locals but this time it was all tourists. The food quality and service have not suffered, we will still eat here, but it has lost a little of the Italian charm it had when you only heard Italian spoken. Part of the Anthony Bourdain recommendation influence. It’s still a great place to eat.

My absolute FAVORITE restaurant in Rome. This is a local Italian restaurant that many native Romans love. It was recommended to me by my friend and her mom. I kept coming back to this place time and again… it’s addicting, what can I say? I highly recommend the spaghetti carbonara and any other specials that they offer that day. (Everyday, they have different specials.) This place is truly unique because menus are nonexistent. The waiters/​waitresses tell you what they have that day and it’s usually about four different pasta dishes.

Yes, this is the dish Anthony Bourdain was raving about, but this is NOT the restaurant. I made a mistake stopping here before heading to Vatican City. I ordered the cacio e pepe for 8 euros and was charged another euro for the bread I didn’t even request or eat. The pasta was just edible… I get Italians are all about quality ingredients and simple recipes, but there was nothing special about this dish. Another Unilocaler mentioned this place had «military style cooking,» which does not sound surprising as they did appear to churn out the dishes extremely fast. From the minute I sat down to the moment I finished eating, I think 20 minutes had passed. This restaurant was underwhelming, and I would not recommend it.
Check out Roma Sparita if you’re set on eating the cacio e pepe Anthony Bourdain praised.

Hubby and I were on a mission during our honeymoon — to get lost in each of the cities we visited and find a hole-​in-​the-​wall place that the locals recommend.
Well, in Rome, we were traversing through the streets and ended up in Piazza Trilussa. We saw the tray of fresh pasta displayed at the doorstep and decided to give this place the try.
They don’t offer table service, so you just walk in, order your food, and find yourself a table. What’s great is that you can choose the type of pasta and sauce you want to create your own pasta dish.
I found the pasta to be too doughy — not al dente. Doughy. I was especially disappointed with the gnocchi. I’ve tried plenty of gnocchi in LA that were beautifully fluffy and melted in your mouth.
This was NOT that kind of gnocchi. The hubby didn’t know better so he just commented that his pasta was «different».
Hubby: Hmmm, this pasta different.
Me: How???
Hubby: I don’t know… I think it’s because I chose the gnocchi. It’s just chewy.
Me: What???
I take a bite off his plate.
Sigh… I was sad. It was the one disappointing meal I had during our entire trip to Italy.

This is the best pasta I have ever eaten. So simple and yet so complex. The red table wine and the pleasant atmosphere only add to the experience. They charge for the bread (1 €) but it is definitely worth it to clean your plate. A must have when you are east of the Vatican.

This is off the tourist path .
Food is good. Prices are reasonable with OK service. Seemed to be in a big hurry to just get rid of the English speakers. No patience to discuss the entire menu –gave us three choices and looked annoyed when we asked questions. We came only because it was a two minute walk from our hotel.
I certainly would not make any special trip to come here. THIS IS NOT A DESTINATION RESTAURANT!!! There are far better restaurants with better menus, atmosphere and service in the touristy areas .
What everyone is raving about is simply beyond me. Bring cash.

Super leckeres Essen zu einem absolut fairen Preis. Wir kommen auf jeden Fall wieder!

The best restaurant we had in Rome by far. While dinner is truly an experience in Italy, easily lasting hours, we had yet to feel like we were eating at someone’s house until we came here. The owners had huge smiles on their faces and were working just as hard as the waiters. The older gentleman came by several times to check up on us and playfully correct my pronunciation for the ordered dishes. Taking the first bite into the meal, I immediately felt the pride for their food and was just glad we had stumbled into this little restaurant.
The bruchetta with ricotta cheese, tomatoes and beans were awesome. The sausage was awesome. The cacio e pepe with guanciale was awesome. Oh, and the eggplant lasagne (no pasta and it wasn’t fried) was also awesome. I could easily go on but I my hands would cramp up and the carpal tunnel would flare up. Truly simple food that made a lasting impression on me.

I will not forget you Cacio e Pepe!

Yum! I’ve never had cacio e pepe before, but apparently it’s a thing in Rome! So, I came here to try it, and what better place to try cacio e pepe than a restaurant named Cacio e Pepe?! The noodles are extremely chewy and delicious, and the pasta is dry without sauce. There’s olive oil I think, and it’s the most simple pasta I’ve had. Cheese and pepper on top of amazingly chewy noodles, what could be better? It’s a bit salty from the cheese, but it’s delicious. At € 8, they give you an extremely big plate of noodles, so filling. It’s great! I think maybe personally I don’t like cacio e pepe as a past too much because there’s no sauce and it’s dry, but objectively judging the cacio e pepe here, I can’t imagine this dish to be any better!

This is place surpassed the hype. All I had was the signature dish (cacio e pepe) and a jug of wine, and it was ridiculously good enough, with obvious risk of recency bias, to have secured a spot in one of the top 5 meals I’ve ever eaten in my life. The hand made pasta is prepared in such a way that the textures you taste are unlike any other pasta you’ve ever had — Not too firm, not too mushy. Spot on. Simple dishes are the best kind in Italian food, I’ve noticed. When you start to get too complicated, you lose some of the importance in the base of the dish — Which in this case, is the pasta. The ambiance was extremely local, but they were more than welcome to people who were mediocre at Italian (myself) and people who didn’t speak any at all (my family). This place is an absolute must-​go when in Rome. It’ll be the best pasta you’ll (probably) ever eat.

Best pasta I’ve ever had!
This place is fantastic, they have good food at a low price, seems like a very local place and definitely not a tourist trap. Definitely recommend if you visit Rome.
They didnt have a menu but the waitress is fluent in english. They don’t have alot of food options but enough.
1^st course: Pastas
Cacio e Pepe — its a simple pasta with parmesan and peppery spices. It sounds simple but it is absolutely delicious. It has an initial peppery taste and also an cheesy after taste.
Carbonara — similar to pepe but has eggs and bacon included, it is less dry and has a more wet texture.
Pasta with tomato sauce — we didnt order this
2^nd course
Meatballs: it is premade and microwaved, its decent but not very special
Meatloaf — on the menu, didnt order
Eggplant — on the menu, didnt order
We went around 7:30 and it wasnt very busy, after a few minutes it got crowded quickly.

Sehr nettes und, trotz oder wegen, der Sprachprobleme bemühtes Personal. Die Speisen sind (meist) frisch, ändern sich wohl täglich und es gibt viele typisch römische, Italienisch Gerichte. Leider scheint doch das ein ein oder andere in der Microwelle erwärmt zu werden.

If you all think this is the place where Anthony Bourdain came, you’re wrong. Where’s the Parmesan bowl people???
It seems like a place for locals. It’s not bad, but it definitely isn’t the restaurant from the show.
The carbonara was definitely better than the cacio e pepe. It’s also very reasonably priced.
I bet the people who work here and who own the joint must be wondering why all these tourists come all the way here… Free fake advertising works like a charm!

EXTRAORDINARY!!! We also heard about this spot from Anthony Bourdain. OH MY GOD… best pasta I have ever had in my life. From the first bite, I was like YESSSS!!!
You’ll probably be the only non-​Italians in there, and the staff doesn’t really speak English. Just order Cacio e Pepe (like the name of the place) or that with carbonara. They are worth going to Rome for.

Anthony Bourdain didn’t disappoint.
The menu is simple and portions are rather large so make sure you go on an empty stomach. My friend and I ordered cacio e pepe and carbonara. Both were simple, tasty and amazing.
The restaurant has al fresco dining and is about 7 – 10 minutes away from the subway station (sorry, I forgot which one). It’s a pretty quiet neighborhood so don’t be alarmed if you think it is unsafe.

Our waiter didnt speak english so I have to believe this is a very local spot. All tables were full shortly after open. Great cacio e peppe and vino!

This place is awesome! Keep in mind it’s Al Fresco dining! There are no indoor seats with AC!
Saw it on one of Anthony Bourdain’s shows, can’t remember which one. Also a friend went to try it last year and highly recommended it too.
They don’t have a menu, just a chalk board and what the waiters recommend. I read some other reviews and maybe they’ve changed some staff, but now almost all the waiters speak English.
We walked here, about a 20 min walk from the shopping district. In fact, we saw most people walking here. They open at 7:30PM for dinner and we got there at 7PM. Staff was kind enough to let us have a seat and give us water and bread until they opened.
We did a half order of the Carbonara, a full size order of meatballs, and a full size order of the chicken with zucchini. I got a small white wine and all of it was only 27 euros.
Unilocal says they don’t take reservations, but if you call the same day they’ll write it down on a list. My name got lost on the list, thanks to Visa Signature, but it didn’t matter since we arrived early.
The customers are a mix of locals and tourists. I wish we’d come back again, it was far from where we stayed. This was our favorite place to eat when in Rome. It’s affordable, staff are friendly and nice, and the food is simple and authentic!
There’s a tiny tiny bathroom upstairs if you need to use it. You pass the kitchen when going to the restroom and you’ll notice that everything in the kitchen is already pre-​made. They make it early in the morning or after lunch when they close for a few hours and prepare for their dinner. The only things that are cooked to order are the pastas. I didn’t mind this at all because the food was delicious.

Sigh I miss this place now that I’m back home. Our taxi driver dropped us off down the street since this place was on a one way street. The neighborhood was very quite, almost empty. I guess it was because it they had a national holiday. When we came upon Cacio e Pepe it was like an oasis in the middle of the emptiness. It was a beautiful sunny day in Rome so we sat outside in the sun. We got there a little after they opened, a normal timed lunch for us, but according to Italian’s it would probably be an early one. So it wasn’t very crowded at first. A few locals and one other table with tourists. Our waitress spoke english, but with a thick Italian accent. No menu, she just told us what they had. I, having watched Anthony Bourdain like the foodie I am, ordered the classic cacio e pepe. My Aunt got the artichoke lasagna and my Dad got the same as me. There was a little bit of confusion in our order because we weren’t sure if she got my Dad’s order. She didn’t ask Dad what he wanted so we thought she didn’t put the order in. We asked her a little later and she told us she got the order which was a relief. Just some communication problems, but it worked out ok in the end.
When our food came the place started to bustle. Lots and lots of Italians, it was overwhelming, they all just appeared seemingly at the same time. Our food, oh my god, it was the best pasta I’ve ever had. I blocked everything out, the beautiful day, the loud locals sitting inches away from us and just ate. Visually it was jaw dropping. Yellow gleaming noodles of perfection. It was so simple yet incredibly appealing. This is real pasta. You have never eaten pasta until you have eaten pasta here. The dish was so balanced and every bite felt like the first. I struggled at the end to finish my plate, but I couldn’t leave one crumb. I tried a bite of my Aunt’s lasagna as well. Melted bubbling cheese on top with a soft cheese and fresh artichoke filling. A seasonal savory dish.
We finished full. We saw that our Italian neighbors were getting more food even after their pasta. They also got some sort of beef dish. My Dad say that they had a nice jug of white wine so near the end of our meal he ordered a quart of white wine. I just had a couple sips of the wine because I couldn’t just have one. I’m normally not a white wine person, but this wine was somewhat sweet and refreshing. It went great with our cheesy pasta. Before we left I went to use their restroom which is up a narrow staircase. I passed the kitchen and saw they had a lot more dishes than what our waitress had told us. There were huge meatballs simmering in a molten red sauce and a whole row of hot trays filled with dishes I didn’t even know existed. I wished I wasn’t full so we could ask about them, but we left without trying them. By the time we left all of the outside seating was taken and there was a line of a couple parties waiting for their seats. I only saw a total of two small groups of people who seemed like tourists, which is a good sign to me that this place is totally authentic. If I’m lucky enough to come to Rome again, this will be my first foodie stop.

Absolutely the best dish Rome has to offer. Caccio e pepe cannot be more simple and basic for a pasta dish. It is basically cheese and pepper. My husband claims that it is the best dish ever. We came back three times to this place for caccio e pepe during our 6 days in Rome.
For a restaurant to name itself after a dish that is so simple, it better be good and it is. The carbonara was good and best we’ve had in Italy. Caccio e pepe is just perfect pasta texture (just a bit after al dente) and consistency. It is not too soggy or saucy. Overall love this place and caccio e pepe.

This was the best meal we had in Rome. Yes, the spaghetti carbonara was cooked perfectly (and with the most «American-​y» bacon we’ve had in Italy), the amatriciana was deliciously tomato-​y with a hint of spice, and the chicken cacciatore was tender and left behind a flavorful sauce that we sopped up with our bread. But what we talk about still to this day is the meatballs with black truffle and pine nuts. We had our second thoughts after ordering that dish but afterward we wondered why we didn’t have a full order of the dish.
Service was great. our server was gregarious, spoke English well, and up front about what to order – she told us to the cacciatore was amazing (it was) and suggested that we have a few half orders after seeing how much food we were ordering.
We were the first patrons at the restaurant and quickly saw the place fill up with both tourists and locals. That’s definitely a good sign. Cacio e Pepe is the real deal. Definitely give it a try (and don’t forget to bring cash – they don’t accept credit cards).

Ganz tolles Restaurant ganz am Rand vom Viertel Prati. Also nicht unbedingt in Laufweite vom Petersdom. Aber es lohnt sich. Man kann sich ganz herrlich draussen hinsetzen und dort die traumhaften Carbonara geniessen. La Dolce Vita;)

Excellent non-​touristy place. I only ate the carbonara but would go back any day. Nice, peaceful pavement terrace in quiet neighbourhood. Service friendly although my Italian requires patience and they were really busy. Good dish of pasta, a quarto of red wine, an espresso and bread, all for EUR 12. Not bad.

Cantine italienne de charme.
Une énorme terrasse est déployée le soir pour répondre à l’affluence dont dispose ce restaurant.
Né vous attendez pas à y voir des touristes, nous sommes ici loin de leurs lieux de fréquentation.
Vous y mangerez donc en compagnie d’italiens de la vraie cuisine romaine et italienne à des prix très raisonnables.
De plus, une des serveuses a un français parfait et pourra donc vous aider si, comme moi, vous né maîtrisez pas l’italien.

Génial!
Une trattoria fréquentée exclusivement par des Romains, à 40 minutes à pattes du Vatican, l’endroit vaut la marche forcée, je vous le garantis. Les pâtes sont simplement excellentes et les seconds plats de viandes magiques également. Ambiance très chaleureuse, produits frais, service très aimable, le pied…