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Ciampini 2
Hidden away a short distance from the top of the Spanish Steps, this graceful café has a garden-party vibe: it's the green wooden latticework surrounding the outside tables that does it. There are lovely views over the back streets behind Spagna, and the ice cream is renowned (particularly the truffle).
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Clandestina
Opposite one of Rome's historic centri sociali, the intimidatingly muralled No 32, this is a chic little, spartan yet stylish wine bar where San Lorenzo hipsters come to while away the night until it's club o'clock.
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Coming Out
Crowds of young men spill out of this vivacious gay bar onto the narrow street outside. In the shadow of the Colosseum, Coming Out is an easy-going place that's as good for a late night beer as it is for a dawn pick-me-up. The service is cordial, there's pop on the stereo, and on Thursday nights it has live music.
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Crudo
Crudo is an easy-going yet uberchic bar and restaurant. It's a great place for a designer drink, whether it's a mojito or a vegetable shake. The interior is arty and contemporary, with streaky walls and flickering projections, and it's almost too cool for school. That goes for the easy-on-the-eye patrons and the food because everything served here is raw, from sushi to sashimi to salami.
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Da Vezio
You might find conversation falters as you enter this flag-festooned, tiny coffee bar, but it's worth a look out of curiosity. Vezio Bagazzini has turned it into a crammed-full shrine to Communism - inside all things red line the walls and ceiling. Don't wear your Forza Italia T-shirt.
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Del Frate
Locals love this attractive, upmarket wine bar, and it's a great escape from the Vatican. The tall yet small brick-arched rooms have wooden tables and large barrels, while bottles of wine line the walls. Interesting cuisine includes some delicious crudo (raw) dishes, such as beef tartare, as well as great primi . Aperitivo is available from every evening.
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Di Marzio
For ringside seats on Trastevere's most entertaining piazza, take a table at this otherwise unexceptional cafe. At the prices they charge, you probably won't want to stay here all night, but for a late-night liqueur or an after-dinner coffee it's an enjoyable spot.
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Distillerie Clandestine
One of Rome's umbrella venues, this funky place hauls in the hipsters. Apart from a bass-thumping club, there's a swing room: an American bar with what look like light sabres suspended above the bar. Then there's the dark, neon-lit R & B room with a house and dance soundtrack, and - gasp - a smoking room.
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Divinum
In the corner of this enchanting square, you can sit outside and overlook the worn columns of the Tempio di Adriano. During the day try the caffè completo (around €3 /around €1 seated/at the bar) - it's served with cream in a cup lined with chocolate. At night the tables are white draped and candle lit, and it's more of an eatery (pasta, salads etc) but still good for a drink.
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Doney H Club
A former dolce vita hang-out on swinging Via Vittorio Veneto, the Doney has been revamped and relaunched. Housed in the plush Westin Excelsior Hotel, it's a classy joint in red and black with candelabras and artistic baubles. Frequented by wealthy Romans, out-of-towners and tourists, it's open all day but generally heats up around aperitif time.
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Doppiozeroo
Fashionable Romans flock to this easy-going, trendy bar that is all things to all people. Sleek and modern, it serves coffee and pastries for breakfast, pizza by the slice or snacks for lunch; tea in the afternoon, and aperitivo between and .
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Druid's Den
A smoky Irish nook of a pub, the Druid's Den attracts a crowd of young expats and Roman Anglophiles. The atmosphere is convivial and although there are no great surprises - walls are wood-lined and covered with Celtic paraphernalia - it's a laid-back spot for a pint or two.
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English Theatre Of Rome
The English Theatre of Rome stages a mix of contemporary and classic plays, stand-up comedians, and bilingual productions, mainly at the Teatro L'Arciliuto, near Piazza Navona, and occasionally other venues.
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Enoteca Piccola
Despite being in one of Rome's most touristy areas, this wine bar retains an old-fashioned, unaffected feel. A local said dismissively, 'the fridge is small', but the selection of Italian wines is good if limited, and well accompanied by cold cuts and cheeses.
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Enoteca Trastevere
A popular, unusually spacious enoteca in Trastevere, with little painted tables and chairs inside and out. A glass of wine starts at around €4 and there are over 500 from which to choose, with a long menu of good if overpriced snacks to accompany them.
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Etablì
Chilean-Italian brothers Massimo and Alessandro Aureli are the smiling hosts of this informal enoteca -lounge-bar-café restaurant in a 16th-century building. A new address on the itinerary of Rome's beautiful people, it's named after the antique work benches that the brothers brought back from Provence alongside the many other antique furnishings. Roman lovelies float in and out to have a drink or coffee, read the paper, and indulge in aperitivo or the restaurant's cucina creativa (creative cuisine).
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Faggiani
Some of the best coffee and cornetti (croissants) in Rome are served up here in old-fashioned style by waistcoat-wearing barristi . There are a few street-side tables, but most customers get their daily fix at the polished bar.
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Fake
Fake has gone through a few changes of hands over recent years but this venue has maintained its popularity for its laid-back atmosphere. The pop-art décor is looking a bit tired but it's having a refit, and the floaty harem-styled seating area makes you feel like you're on holiday. Although it's a club it's laid-back enough to go for a drink; there's no admission charge and cocktails are around €10 .
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Fanfulla 101
This raw'n'retro cultural centre (hidden behind an unmarked workshop door) keeps left-leaning loafers oiled with dirt-cheap drinks and anything from live indie, jazz and rock, to art-house films, and DJ-spun reggae, house and Jap-pop kitsch. The run-down shack on the corner across the street starred in Pasolini's Accattone .
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Femme
A hang-out just off Campo de' Fiori, Femme has all-women DJs, and a hip bar interior: you sit on silver cubes, leaning against wavy modernist banquettes.
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Ferrara
While the restaurant (open from to ) dishes can be hit and miss, the snug, softly lit wine bar is a constant winner. You might need the waiters' help to navigate the two-volume (one for red, one for white) 1000-label wine list. Relieve the exhaustion with the scrumptious selection of aperitivo snacks (from to ).
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Fiddler's Elbow
The granddaddy of Rome's Irish pubs, the Fiddler's Elbow sticks to the tried-and-true formula that has served it so well over the last 25 years or so: the winning combination of Guinness, darts and crisps. That's not to imply that the menu's limited - providing the beer chasers are more than 180 labels of whisky and rum.
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Finnegans
At first glance this seems like an Irish pub anywhere in the world, but look closer and it has some Italian twists. Many of the clientele are good-looking and there's table service. You can also order bellinis and snacks alongside the pints of Guinness. Popular with expats and young Romans, it's Irish-run and shows all the big football and rugby games.
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Fluid
A bit too try-hard, this is nonetheless popular and worth a try if you like a designer setting as a backdrop for a drink. Punters sit on illuminated ice-cube-style seating and the interior design is best described as cosmic-cave chic. Most clientele think they're too cool to look even vaguely interested in what they are doing.
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Freni e Frizioni
One of Rome's coolest bars, Freni e Frizioni (meaning 'brakes and clutches' - the venue was once a garage) is close to the Tiber. It's run by the same people as equally hip Société Lucète . Inside mixes vintage furniture and modern art, outside happening crowds fill the entire little piazza at night. Drinks are reasonable and aperitivo a bargain (beers/cocktails cost around €5 /around €7 from to ).
