Nadia Caterina Munno grew up in Rome eating around Trastevere and Campo de’ Fiore. She even had her first kiss near an iconic Roman trattoria in Piazza Navona. Though she now lives in the US, whenever she’s in town, Nadia makes sure to visit her favorite Roman restaurants, getting inspiration for the simple-but-delicious recipes she posts on Instagram and TikTok as The Pasta Queen (complete with a kingdom of two cookbooks and a new self-titled cooking show on Prime Video).
As a native Roman, Nadia’s had plenty of exposure to a very Italian situation—the mammone. A momma’s boy dialed up to a hundred, a mammone has lived at home their entire lives, with most of his meals cooked by his mother. “A mammone is a life-long situation,” Nadia says. “Boys are mom’s favorite and they run all their major decisions by their mom. My brother is a mammone and basically [so is] everybody I know.”
So what kind of spots are perfect for a mammone? “Family-run restaurants because they’re probably more accustomed to family-style cooking than gourmet,” Nadia says. Which means that you don’t actually need to be a mammone to appreciate her recommendations. Although definitely send this guide to the mammone in your life.
Dining and Cooking