Gambero Rosso ate twenty-one Roman carbonare in four days and printed the pasta brand, the egg producer, the guanciale maker and the pecorino dairy behind every one of them. Nabil Hadj Hassen's at Roscioli came first, off a Benedetto Cavalieri spaghettone and Paolo Parisi eggs with most of the white thrown away. Ten to fifteen euros buys most of the field.
Carbonara.
product · The whole city, and no two kitchens buy the parts the same way
What it is
Eggs, cured pork jowl, sheep's cheese and black pepper, emulsified onto pasta off the heat. Gambero Rosso ate twenty-one Roman versions in four days in 2020 and its finding was not that most of them were wrong: "We found no wrong carbonara, and the ranking turned entirely on nuance. 1 The same page names the pasta brand, the egg producer, the guanciale maker and the pecorino dairy behind every room on it, which is why a 2020 ranking is still worth reading. The placings age. The buying does not.
Why it matters here
The thing to notice is what the plate costs against the sourcing behind it. Nine euros at Cesare al Casaletto, ten at Trecca and Trattoria Pennestri, eleven at SantoPalato, twelve at Hosteria Grappolo d'Oro, fourteen at Armando al Pantheon, fifteen at Roscioli Salumeria con Cucina, all in 2020, against thirty-two at Pipero Roma, where the Graziano pasta works makes the mezze maniche for that kitchen alone. 1 That spread is the argument, and the cheap end wins it more often than not. Katie Parla, who has eaten in this city for two decades and sells paid walking tours in it, writes that "you'd be hard-pressed to find a better carbonara than that at Roscioli". 3
How it is done
Nabil Hadj Hassen had cooked sixteen years beside Alessandro Roscioli when that ranking put his first. The build is a Benedetto Cavalieri spaghettone, eggs from Paolo Parisi with most of the white discarded for consistency, and pecorino romano cut with a percentage of thirty-month Vacche Rosse parmesan. 1 Manuel Treccastelli went a step further back up the chain: he asks the Pulicaro farm to feed certain hens a specific diet so the eggs come back fatter and suit this plate better than the farm's standard ones. 5 At Hosteria Grappolo d'Oro Antonello Magliari browns the guanciale in squares, drains a Giuseppe Cocco spaghetto al dente and adds yolk alone. 1 At SantoPalato Sarah Cicolini runs seventy per cent yolks to thirty per cent whole egg and brings the sauce together over a bain-marie, leaving the spaghetti al chiodo. 1 At Armando al Pantheon the pepper is cubeb, toasted and coarsely crumbled, which no other kitchen on the list does. 1
Who does it
Two kitchens say something useful by disagreeing. Gambero Rosso placed Cesare al Casaletto fourth equal and printed its reservation in the same paragraph: the guanciale was tasty and not over-salted, "though the egg is rather liquid and tends to sit at the bottom of the plate". 1 Katie Parla eats there monthly anyway and sends readers to the gricia instead. 3 The sharper objection comes from a kitchen. Trattoria Sora Lella will not cook one at all, and puts the reason on its own front page: "You will not find carbonara here, but dishes of the real Roman kitchen that most of the trade has forgotten. 4
On the list
best version at
Roscioli Salumeria con CucinaThe shop came before the kitchen, and the carbonara is what that buying does to one plate.
“For the pasta the choice fell on the Benedetto Cavalieri spaghettone. The base cream comes from Paolo Parisi's eggs, most of the white discarded to get the right consistency, together with pecorino romano and a percentage of thirty-month Vacche Rosse parmesan.”
Gambero Rosso, La migliore carbonara di Roma, 15 September 2020 [1]
best version at
TreccaManuel Treccastelli has hens fed a particular diet so the yolks come back fatter for this one dish.
“Manuel asks Pulicaro, the breeder and supplier of farmyard birds, to feed certain hens for Trecca on a specific diet, so they give fatter eggs better suited to the carbonara.”
Dissapore, 28 July 2020 [5]
best version at
Trattoria PennestriTommaso Pennestri buys the four parts by name and the kitchen opens on all four Roman sauces.
“Tommaso Pennestri's carbonara rests on a serious search for raw materials, starting from Lagano rigatoni, Deroma Pecorino Romano DOP, eggs from free-range hens at the Peppovo farm, guanciale from the Sano salumificio and black pepper ground to order.”
Gambero Rosso, La migliore carbonara di Roma, 15 September 2020 [1]
best version at
Armando al PantheonThe pepper here is cubeb, toasted and coarsely crumbled, which is nobody else's move on this list.
“cubeb pepper, toasted and coarsely crumbled”
Gambero Rosso, La migliore carbonara di Roma, 15 September 2020 [1]
best version at
Hosteria Grappolo d'OroAntonello Magliari sears the guanciale in squares and finishes with yolk alone.
“Antonello Magliari, chef and patron, uses a medium spaghetto from Giuseppe Cocco, drained al dente and finished in the pan with Re Norcino guanciale browned and cut into well-seared squares, to which he adds yolk alone and Deroma Pecorino Romano DOP.”
Gambero Rosso, La migliore carbonara di Roma, 15 September 2020 [1]
best version at
SantoPalatoThe spaghetti are left al chiodo and the egg is brought together over a bain-marie.
“The egg, at seventy per cent yolks to thirty per cent whole eggs, and pure pecorino make a fine amalgam reached through a bain-marie.”
Gambero Rosso, La migliore carbonara di Roma, 15 September 2020 [1]
best version at
Cesare al CasalettoLeonardo Vignoli works to two yolks and one whole egg per two portions, and the guide had a reservation about the result.
“The carbonara is good, the guanciale especially tasty and not over-salted, though the egg is rather liquid and tends to sit at the bottom of the plate.”
Gambero Rosso, La migliore carbonara di Roma, 15 September 2020 [1]
best version at
Pipero RomaThe mezze maniche are made for this kitchen by the Graziano pasta works, and the plate is priced accordingly.
“mezze maniche rigate that the Graziano pasta works produces expressly for Pipero's kitchen”
Gambero Rosso, La migliore carbonara di Roma, 15 September 2020 [1]
best version at
RomanèThe pasta comes at a full 130 grams, which changes what a plate of carbonara is for.
“alongside the classic pasta dishes of amatriciana and carbonara, served in a substantial format of a full 130 grams”
MICHELIN Guide Italy, Romanè, inspector's text stamped 19 November 2025 [6]
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Da Enzo al 29The Trastevere queue orders carciofi alla giudia and then this.
“start with the crispy artichokes and stracciatella with cherry tomatoes, followed by the silkiest rigatoni alla carbonara you'll ever taste”
The Infatuation, The 24 Best Restaurants In Rome, Annie Replogle [7]
Where to get it
Roscioli Salumeria con Cucina is the one MICHELIN's trattoria selection also
calls among the best in Rome
, and it is a booking rather than a walk-in.
2
Trecca sits four metro stops from the Colosseum and is the cheaper version
of the same obsession. Da Enzo al 29 is the Trastevere queue, and the order
The Infatuation gives is the artichokes first and then "the silkiest rigatoni
alla carbonara you'll ever taste".
7
If you want volume rather than nuance, Romanè serves the pasta "in a
substantial format of a full 130 grams".
6
Sources & mentions
- [1]Gambero Rosso, La migliore carbonara di Roma, 15 September 2020, on its own method
“We found no wrong carbonara, and the ranking turned entirely on nuance.”
“Chef Nabil Hadj Hassen has worked for sixteen years alongside Alessandro Roscioli.”
“The rigatoni are from the Lagano pasta works, the eggs come from Livorno hens raised by the organic Pulicaro farm, and the guanciale is Porchetteria Giorgini's, two small producers inside the Brigata Agricola.”
“Chef Sarah Cicolini, Abruzzese by birth and Roman by adoption, cooks with enthusiasm in this fine young trattoria.”
“The carbonara has excellent silkiness in the cream, well balanced across every part, a decided note of egg calibrated by the salt of the pecorino and the sweetness of the crisp guanciale.”
- [2]MICHELIN Guide, The Best Trattorias in Rome, on Roscioli
“The carbonara served at this restaurant ranks among the best in Rome, and the menu also features other authentic Roman specialties worth checking out.”
- [3]Katie Parla, Where to Eat & Drink & Shop for Food in Rome, 6 June 2024
“you'd be hard-pressed to find a better carbonara than that at Roscioli or more exciting twists on offal than chef Sarah Ciccolini serves at Santo Palato”
- [4]Trattoria Sora Lella (venue site), on what it will not cook
“You will not find carbonara here, but dishes of the real Roman kitchen that most of the trade has forgotten.”
- [5]
- [6]
- [7]