This dish won the 2024 Campioni della Tradizione award from Gambero Rosso. The guanciale is sourced from Re Norcino, aged and cured for clarity. San Marzano tomatoes are hand-peeled. Pecorino is grated fresh. Reviewers and food media call out the sauce-to-pasta ratio as the difference-maker — most restaurants undersauce amatriciana, but Del Duca builds the sauce thick and clinging.
Tips from diners
This won the Gambero Rosso Champions of Tradition award in 2024. It's worth the trip just to taste how much detail goes into the sauce.
The guanciale is noticeably different from lesser versions — aged, salty, complex. Don't skip this.
Cicoria ripassata is Roman greens done simply — bitter, earthy chicory is sautéed with garlic and a whisper of chili. It's a traditional side to meat or polpette, but also stands alone as a vegetable course. The chicory is cooked until the edges crisp but the center stays tender.
Tips from diners
Order this alongside polpette di bollito. The bitterness and crispness of the cicoria balances the richness of the meat.
Polpette di bollito is an old Roman recipe: boiled beef is ground, mixed with breadcrumbs and pecorino, formed into balls, and gently braised in tomato sauce. The texture is different from the common pan-fried meatball — softer, more delicate, tasting of the beef rather than the pan. Often served as a second course or side.
Tips from diners
This is old Roman home cooking. Order it as a second course after pasta, or pair with cicoria ripassata (sautéed chicory).
Mozzarella in carrozza — mozzarella 'in a carriage' — is a fried sandwich of sorts. Fresh mozzarella is layered with bread, breaded, and shallow-fried until the mozzarella melts into the bread. The crispy exterior gives way to creamy interior. Reviewers call it decadent in the best way.
Tips from diners
Eat this while it's hot and the cheese is still pulled in the center. It cools fast and hardens.
Mezze maniche — half-tubes of pasta — are wider than spaghetti and hold more sauce and crispy guanciale shards. The egg-and-cheese emulsion is silky, not heavy. Some pasta experts argue mezze maniche might be better than spaghetti for carbonara because of the surface area.
Tips from diners
The wider tubes catch more crispy guanciale bits than spaghetti. Worth trying alongside the amatriciana for comparison.
Chef Davide Del Duca launched Bianca Trattoria in May 2023 near the Mercato Trionfale with a singular mission: master Roman classics. The Bucatini all'Amatriciana earned a 2024 Campioni della Tradizione (Champions of Tradition) award from Gambero Rosso — it's made with DOP San Marzano tomatoes, Benedetto Cavalieri bucatini, and guanciale from Re Norcino. The menu also includes polpette, gricia, and seasonal dishes that explore tradition without copying it.
Book ahead, especially for dinner after 19:30. The restaurant is small and fills quickly with locals and food media.
Lunch service is 12:00-15:00 and less crowded than dinner. Best to arrive between 12:30 and 13:30.
The menu changes seasonally. Specials might include seasonal vegetables, innovative riffs on carbonara, or beef tartare with hazelnut and raspberry.
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