al42 by Pasta Chef rione Monti — Restaurant in Rome

We came in the evening on a weekday 5 min before opening times. There was already a small queue, about 4-5 groups in front of us. The serving went speedy and quickly and we barely had to wait any longer, the cooking after ordering also went quite fast.

In the beginning, the chef came out to greet us and explain a little about how it will work; you wait until called in, order and get a number, find a place to sit and wait until called, then grab your food. He was a man with a certain charisma and definitely a little showman, having learned several phrases in other languages, a little circus for the tourists. He was of course quite friendly and informed us about the saltiness of the carbonara that we ordered.

Here I must say, I've seen a lot of reviews say the carbonara is too salty to eat and inedible. For me this was NOT true! Yes, it is salty because of the cheese, and it was saltier than other places I've tried carbonara. But it was definitely not too salty or inedible! Maybe if you're not used to spices or the european tongue it will be too salty, but if you have a well developed taste used to natural flavors instead of artificial, it will be edible and also taste very good! I really enjoyed this original recipe. The only thing I must say, is that the guanciale was a bit too thin maybe? With the strong flavor of the pecorino in the sauce, the guanciale flavor didn't come through as much. I would have liked a stronger taste/bigger pieces to be able to taste over the sauce, but it worked if i portioned a super small amount of noodles and ate the guanciale a bit later. My boyfriend ate the bolognese which had a very interesting and fresh taste and during eating, the chef informed us that the black dots were not pepper but instead juniper berries. My boyfriend liked it a lot.

The restaurant is of course a little small and simply furnished, but that is the atmosphere I expect, it added authenticity and all is well. There are many flies, "herzmücken" in german, google says sink or drain flies in english. They are not harmful and don't necessarily mean the restaurant is not clean! From what I could see, they might be coming out of the drain out on the street and might not be in the restaurants control! I'm just saying this because they did down my experience with the atmosphere a little bit and it is something I think you should know. Just also be aware that overall, the restaurant gave a clean and well maintained impression and the flies might come from the street, not the restaurant itself.

Overall, definitely go here if you want to eat real and good pasta at a nice price point, away from...

This is THE hidden gem of Rome!!! Me and a friend stumbled upon this place while walking around trying to find somewhere good for lunch before heading to the Colosseum…we ended up coming back the next day for dinner because of how good it was (and I almost never go to the same place twice while on vacation!)

Before we ordered, the host told me to forget any other carbonara I’d had in my life prior to that day, because they likely weren’t authentic. Very bold words (especially since I grew up in a Canadian-Italian household and eat pasta all the time), but I took it as a sign to order the carbonara.

And just…WOW!!! I was completely blown away by how much better it was than any pasta dish I’d recently had. I told the same host it was the best carbonara I’ve ever had, and he told me that it was just the first carbonara I’d ever had…it sure felt that way!

For my second meal I switched things up and had a lasagna, which was also one of the best I’ve ever had. My friend I was travelling with had a ragu the first day and an alfredo the second day, I tried a few bites of both and they were great as well! If you care about dessert, their tiramisu is as good as you’d hope for too.

The carbonara is in my opinion the best dish here, BUT considering what else I tried, I think there’s something for everyone to enjoy here. Didn’t have to break the bank either, most dishes were ~12 euros.

Finally, as a former server and bartender, great hospitality all around. Everyone working there genuinely seemed to enjoy what they were doing, and like other great restaurants I’ve been to, it leads to better food and a better experience.

In conclusion: I had plenty of great pastas during my week in Italy (and avoided tourist traps almost the entire time)…but al42 is a whole tier above the competition, ESPECIALLY at their price range. I’m not sure when I’ll return to Rome, but I’m absolutely coming back here when I do, and will be recommending this place to anyone I know that comes to Rome as well. I’d give this place 6 stars if I...

Extremely overrated. The staff was unpleasant, making comments showing their superiority. The carbonara was pretty good but very salty, the pesto pasta was just simply untasty and finally, the tiramisù also disappointing. Unrecommended. There are many better places in Rome.

Responding the comment of owner: I think that your answer clearly shows what I meant through the words "unpleasant" staff. But ofc, I can quote some of your words from my stay in the restaurant too. "Hey, forks, do you want to eat with hands?" "What are you doing?! You can't stand here, you are disturbing the people who are eating!" - when we were just standing closer to front door of the restaurant and before, for 5 min the Italian family before us was standing exactly in the same place without getting any bad comment about it. "For sure, you haven't ever eaten the real carbonara." - Really? So ignorant? Do you think you are the only place in Italy that serves carbonara? Pretty delusional. I would like to highlight that I travel to Italy frequently. I love eating quality food and I can distinguish the good one. Moreover, my Italian friends cook for me and I really know how good pasta and tiramisù can taste. Sorry, but your tiramisù has the cream that taste pretty artificial and is too sweet. Your pesto for me had strangely smoky taste and was too liquid. I recommend you a trip to Genova to try a good one. ;) Maybe then you will see the difference. I didn't tell you some of those things in the restaurant because I didn't want to loose more of my day in your restaurant. :D Would be nice if you can have more respect for your clients in the future because my stay in your restaurant really disturbed my day in...