Rigatoni alla pajata is milk-fed veal intestine and it is on trattoria menus all over this city. Annie Replogle calls the quinto quarto 'the discarded animal parts that are I can't believe I'm eating this and actually enjoying it kind of delicious', and The Infatuation sends you to Trecca for it. Sarah Cicolini built SantoPalato on the same cuts and Gambero Rosso made it one of two Tre Gamberi rooms in the region.
The quinto quarto.
how it is eaten · Testaccio first, then Ostiense, Appio-Latino and Trastevere
What it is
Rigatoni alla pajata is milk-fed veal intestine, and it is on trattoria cards across this city. Annie Replogle gives the category its working definition at Trecca: the quinto quarto, "the discarded animal parts that are 'I can't believe I'm eating this and actually enjoying it' kind of delicious". 1 The fifth quarter is the name, and in Rome it is not a novelty section of the menu. It is half of it. MICHELIN's inspector at Romanè puts it plainly: "Here the offal takes centre stage, from fried brain to trippa alla romana." 9
Why it matters here
The cuts turn up at every price. Mordi e Vai sells them inside a roll in a market that shuts after lunch. L'Osteria della Trippa holds a Bib Gourmand and MICHELIN's trattoria selection says "tripe takes pride of place on the menu". 10 Domenico dal 1968 recites tripe, sweetbreads and coratella off a blackboard in the Appio-Latino. 11 And Zia carries the same tradition onto a MICHELIN-starred tasting menu in Trastevere, where Antonio Ziantoni serves an oyster with nervetti and brassicas and an artichoke dressed as alla giudia and cooked another way. 15
How it is done
The cuts each get their own treatment and the names are worth learning before
you sit down. Coratella d'abbacchio is spring lamb offal, and it is on the card
at Armando al Pantheon beside the fish and the sour-cherry tart.
10
Trippa alla romana is the tripe dish the city argues about, and it is what
Gambero Rosso held up when it made Cesare al Casaletto a Campione della
tradizione was that one: "The trippa alla romana is exceptional, a dish not to
be missed by anyone who loves the genre."
12
Coda alla vaccinara is oxtail, and Sarah Cicolini describes the one at
Armando al Pantheon as slow-cooked with plenty of celery and tomatoes
.
5
At Trecca the same instinct goes to poultry: regaje di pollo e patate is
"lusciously tender chicken innards sauteed with rosemary and white wine, served
in a pan alongside small cubes of the crispiest potatoes you'll ever taste".
1
Who does it
Sarah Cicolini came from Abruzzo and built SantoPalato on these cuts, buying from farmers and breeders who work the ones nobody asks for. 3 Katie Parla's line is that you will not find "more exciting twists on offal than chef Sarah Ciccolini serves at Santo Palato"; she sells paid walking tours in Rome. 4 In November 2025, eight months after she moved the room to Via Gallia, Gambero Rosso promoted it to Tre Gamberi, one of two rooms in the whole region, and said the move earned it. 8 The Esposito family came at it from the other end. They were butchers before they ran box 15 in the Mercato di Testaccio, which is why Mordi e Vai fills a roll with picchiapò, boiled-beef meatballs and tongue: "Former butchers, today dispensers of rustic good things inside ciabattine." 14 Sergio Esposito has died and his son works the counter now. 7
On the list
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TreccaManuel and Nicolò Treccastelli run the whole kitchen off the offal end, four metro stops from the Colosseum.
“But for us, Trecca shows it's all about the quinto quarto, or what's known as offal, the discarded animal parts that are "I can't believe I'm eating this and actually enjoying it" kind of delicious.”
The Infatuation, The 24 Best Restaurants In Rome, Annie Replogle [1]
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SantoPalatoSarah Cicolini buys from farmers and breeders who work the forgotten cuts, and the whole kitchen is organised around them.
“in the change of premises it managed a leap forward in room, kitchen and cellar, reading a new idea of the trattoria with intelligence”
Gambero Rosso, I migliori ristoranti di Roma e del Lazio, Antonella De Santis, 24 November 2025 [8]
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RomanèFried brain and trippa alla romana open the card in a quarter behind the Vatican that tourists cross rather than eat in.
“Here the offal takes centre stage – from fried brain to trippa alla romana – alongside the classic pasta dishes of amatriciana and carbonara”
MICHELIN Guide Italy, Romanè, inspector's text stamped 19 November 2025 [9]
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L'Osteria della TrippaThe sign says tripe and the inspector leads on it.
“Wooden furniture, a warm welcome and a convivial atmosphere make this Trastevere fixture a perfect example of a Roman neighborhood trattoria. Here, tripe takes pride of place on the menu.”
MICHELIN Guide, The Best Trattorias in Rome [10]
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Armando al PantheonThe offal sits on the same card as the fish and the sour-cherry tart, a few metres from the Pantheon.
“All the classic regional favorites are served here and cooked to perfection, such as quinto quarto (offal, including lamb coratella d'abbacchio), a few fish dishes and some recipes inspired by ancient Rome.”
MICHELIN Guide, The Best Trattorias in Rome [10]
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Domenico dal 1968Tripe, sweetbreads and coratella arrive in a spoken menu with no printed card behind it.
“The menu arrives verbally, as tradition dictates, and alongside a few fish offerings it is impossible to resist the most forthright repertoire of Roman cuisine: carciofi alla romana and alla giudia, eggplant polpette, tripe, sweetbreads, coratella.”
MICHELIN Guide Italy, Domenico dal 1968, inspector's text stamped 19 November 2025 [11]
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Cesare al CasalettoGambero Rosso's award for this room named the trippa alla romana rather than any of its pastas.
“The trippa alla romana is exceptional, a dish not to be missed by anyone who loves the genre.”
Gambero Rosso, Campioni della tradizione, Roma e il meglio del Lazio 2024, 30 November 2023 [12]
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Piatto RomanoKatie Parla's reason for coming is that the vegetable list and the offal sit on the same menu.
“I also love Piatto Romano in Testaccio, which is especially good for vegetables, though they serve offal, too, so it is perfect when you're craving fibre but also want pajata.”
Katie Parla, Where to Eat & Drink & Shop for Food in Rome, 6 June 2024 [4]
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MazzoFrancesca Barreca and Marco Baccannelli reopened in San Lorenzo and the fried tripe is the first dish Eater names.
“Culinary power couple Francesca Barreca and Marco Baccannelli reopened their landmark restaurant Mazzo after a five year hiatus, and this time around, a relatively central location in San Lorenzo makes it considerably more accessible to many residents.”
Eater, The 38 Best Restaurants in Rome, Katie Parla, updated 26 March 2026 [13]
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Mordi e VaiThe Esposito family were butchers, which is why the fillings are the cuts a sandwich counter does not usually bother with.
“Mordi e Vai, the Esposito family's, which makes rolls filled with some of the most typical recipes of the tradition: picchiapò, boiled-beef meatballs, tongue. Former butchers, today dispensers of rustic good things inside ciabattine.”
Gambero Rosso, the Testaccio guide, 22 March 2025 [14]
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ZiaAntonio Ziantoni puts an oyster with nervetti on a one-star tasting card, which is the offal tradition wearing a different jacket.
“On elegant via Mameli, here is the room that sits at the top of Rome's creative cooking, riding the crest of the wave.”
Gambero Rosso, Dove mangiare a Trastevere, 24 January 2024 [15]
Where to get it
Trecca first, because the room is built for it and the trip is four metro
stops. SantoPalato if you can get the booking, which Gambero Rosso says is
not straightforward. Piatto Romano in Testaccio for the version Katie Parla
describes as the answer when you're craving fibre but also want pajata
, since
the vegetable list and the offal share one menu; she sells paid walking tours in
Rome.
4
Mazzo in San Lorenzo for the fried tripe, and Mordi e Vai for the
cheapest plate of it in the city, standing up.
Sources & mentions
- [1]The Infatuation, Annie Replogle, on the two dishes to order at Trecca
“Or their rigatoni alla pajata, which might just make you suddenly crave milk-fed veal intestines.”
“lusciously tender chicken innards sauteed with rosemary and white wine, served in a pan alongside small cubes of the crispiest potatoes you'll ever taste”
- [2]MICHELIN Guide, Affordable Restaurants in Rome, updated 30 April 2026, on L'Osteria della Trippa
“Expect lamb offal and pasta served with the renowned Roman trifecta of sauces: carbonara, amatriciana and cacio e pepe.”
“Must-tries include tripe, sweetbreads, offal and artichokes cooked Roman- or Jewish-style.”
- [3]
- [4]Katie Parla, Where to Eat & Drink & Shop for Food in Rome, 6 June 2024, on Cicolini
“more exciting twists on offal than chef Sarah Ciccolini serves at Santo Palato”
- [5]Sarah Cicolini, chef-owner of SantoPalato, interviewed by Tyla Shur in The Relisher, 1 April 2025, on the oxtail at Armando al Pantheon
“One of the standouts is coda alla vaccinara, a classic Roman oxtail stew. It's slow-cooked with plenty of celery and tomatoes, creating a rich, hearty dish.”
- [6]Katie Parla, Cesare al Casaletto, The Perfect Roman Trattoria, 30 August 2024, on the oxtail sauce
“never ever skip the pasta with sugo di coda (oxtail sauce)”
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