Felice a Testaccio

The cacio e pepe of Testaccio

Felice opened in Testaccio, the district of the old slaughterhouse, and became famous for its cacio e pepe: the tonnarelli arrive at the table and the waiter mixes them in front of you with the pecorino and pepper until the sauce is creamy. The house is still at Via Mastro Giorgio, 29, with exposed-brick dining rooms and copper lamps, although it now has branches in Milan and Turin and a takeaway counter on Via delle Carrozze, next to Piazza di Spagna.

The menu is Roman from start to finish: carbonara, amatriciana, meatballs in sauce, oven-baked abbacchio with potatoes, artichokes, puntarelle and, for dessert, the ricotta and sour cherry crostata.

Open every day

It is one of the few classics that does not close: it opens at lunchtime from 12:30 to 15:30 and in the evening from 19:00 to 23:30, every day of the week and also in August. That makes it a good option for a Sunday in Rome. Book on its website; the house warns that it does not accept cancellations by phone, email or social media.

Getting there

Metro B to Piramide and ten minutes' walk, or trams 3 and 8 in the area. Take the chance to see the Testaccio market, Monte Testaccio, the hill of amphorae, and, on the other side of Porta San Paolo, the railway station for Ostia Antica.