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Agata e Romeo
A match made in heaven: Agata's serious food and Romeo's veritable wine cellar. Agata specialises in finding new takes on traditional dishes. Frequent crowd-pleasers include meaty coda alla vaccinara (oxtail) and exquisite filetto di tonno con semi di sesamo (tuna fillet with sesame seeds). Her millefoglie ( millefueilles; literally 'thousand leaves', small iced cakes made of puff pastry and filled with jam and cream) are legendary.
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Al Bric
Intimate and renowned, especially for its wine list, this place has several rooms in a 16th-century building, all lined with wine bottles and the lids of wooden wine boxes. Cuisine is creative and designed to complement the wines, with dishes such as grilled tomato with pecorino di fossa (sheep's cheese aged in caves) and spaghetti with figs, white prawns and Roquefort.
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Al Moro
This one-time Fellini haunt feels like a step back in time with its picture-gallery dining rooms, Liberty wall lamps, cantankerous buttoned-up waiters and old-money regulars with nicknames such as la Principessa (the Princess). Join faux royals for soothing classics cicoria al brodo (chicory in broth) or melt-in-your-mouth veal liver with crusty sage and butter.
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Babette
An atmospheric mix of soaring warehouse ceilings, 1930s alley-style lamps, eclectic art and tranquil courtyard, Babette loves sexing-up Italian classics, whether it's brioche stuffed with baccalà (salted cod) or a seafood soup with couscous. Simpler options dominate the brunch menu (around €10 Tuesday to Friday; around €25 Saturday to Sunday), and dinner is best booked.
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Boccondivino
This 'Divine Mouthful' is surprisingly good value. A modernist marriage of steel, Roman columns, fake zebra skin and contemporary art, the design fits the largely successful fusion fare. Typical dishes include coda di rospo con caponata di melanzane e cipolla di Tropea stufate (angler fish with aubergines and Tropea onions), and there's a bargain lunchtime set menu.
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Camponeschi
Elegant, elitist Camponeschi is the place to eavesdrop on Rome's high-level gossip. In a romantic setting on Piazza Farnese, it's a favourite of politicians, diplomats and rich industrialists. Inside it feels like a refined wedding reception, complete with floral decorations. The cuisine is a mix of French and Mediterranean, with game in the hunting season, lobster, black truffles and fish, and a lengthy wine list to satisfy its quaffing clientele.
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Cecilia Metella
Near the catacombs of San Callisto, the outside seating here is great, set on a low hill under a vine canopy and with glimpses of the jewel-green countryside. Inside resembles a wedding-reception room, but it's attractive, if formal, and the food is good too, including polenta ai porcini (polenta with porcini mushrooms).
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Città del Gusto
Foodies shouldn't miss a trip to Città del Gusto, a six-storey shrine to gastronomy run by Italy's premier food organisation, Gambero Rosso. Stock up on cookbooks in the bookshop watch top world chefs in action in the culinary 'theatre'; take a cooking course; or get wine savvy at one of the tasting sessions. Show off your newly acquired expertise at the wine bar or in the lip-smacking restaurant, Osteria del Gambero Rosso.
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Difronte a
Difronte a is colourful, funky and fun. A bright jumble of bare brick, yellow-and-red walls, wrought iron and protruding lights, it's good-looking and surprisingly good value. It caters to most tastes: there's bruschetta, pasta (including a lip-smacking orecchiette with prawns, pesto and cream), grilled meat, pizza and salad. An excellent option for a light lunch or a lively night out.
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Donati
Termini district is full of second-rate tourist traps, but this is a straightforward traditional restaurant serving up competent takes on dishes such as fried seafood or spaghetti with mussels and clams. You can eat inside, in the high-ceilinged hasn't-changed-for-years interior, or outside on the cobbled street.
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Estrobar
Designer denizens head to this slinky restaurant/bar/gallery to deconstruct the likes of Claudio di Carlo over a bottle of Brut or a cocktail benessere (fruit- or veggie-based cocktail). Fuelling the cultured conversations are chef Francesco Bonanni's Italo-fusion flavours - from sake and soy beef carpaccio (raw beef) to a spicy chocolate tart - and a wine list spanning 200 Italian drops.
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Ferrara
In whitewashed, elegant cellars that offset a glamorous crowd, this restaurant/ enoteca /cellar/shop is a temple to wine, and even well-informed amateurs might need the waiters' friendly help navigating the two-volume (one for red, one for white) 1000-label wine list. The food is modern and on the whole manages to keep up. Try orecchiette with courgette and ginger-scented prawns, or taglioni with white truffles.
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Il Bacaro
You'll have to book, as Il Bacaro is the size of a postage stamp and always busy. It might be small but it's perfectly formed: the primi (first courses) are imaginative - try spaghetti con gamberi, porcini, pecorino e tartufo (spaghetti with prawns, porcini mushrooms, cheese and truffles) - the meat dishes are beefy and the wine list is well chosen. Summer seating spills out under a vine-covered pergola.
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Il Palazzetto
Take a light lunch on the terrace (with views of the Spanish Steps), or dine on new-school wonders in the old-school library room (think chestnut tagliolini pasta with whelks and black truffle). Wine buffs take note: the International Wine Academy of Roma awaits downstairs.
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Imàgo
The Hassler Hotel's revamped rooftop showcase is hot - we're talking seamless city views (request the corner table), sexy mirrored tables, lush velvet chairs, and bold mod-Italian creations from culinary star Francesco Apreda. Book ahead.
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l'Altro Mastai
L'Altro Mastai is a graceful, special-occasion place, with an interior that manages to be both grand and intimate. Service is fabulous and Fabio Baldassare's cooking expert and innovative. His creations include cod dressed with caviar and John Dory fillet with artichokes and liquorice, but he never lets creativity get in the way of balance and flavour.
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L'Arcangelo
Local foodies are quick to recommend this elegant gem, where Italian classics undergo perfect make-overs - think chilled tomato soup with Roman dumplings, or hazelnut mousse with grappa-infused gianduia chocolate.
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L'Archeologia
Near the Basilica and Catacombe di San Sebastiano, this baronial-esque dining den - complete with elaborate flower arrangements, velvet drapes and Europe's oldest wisteria in the garden - is a safe bet for authentic regional grub and is a hit with perfectly preened Italian families out for Sunday lunch. The spaghetti primavera (spaghetti with zucchini, fresh tomato, basil and prawns) is sublime, and service is refreshingly friendly.
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La Cicala e La Formica
A charming, hip restaurant, 'the cicada and the ant' serves up simple Italian food with a smile. There's a good selection of pasta, meat and seafood dishes, including a delicious carpaccio di pescespada (delicate slices of raw swordfish). It has a barrel-vaulted, arty interior decorated with Schiller-style paintings, and a few outside tables.
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Osteria del Gambero Rosso
Lip-smacking restaurant at Città del Gusto, a six-storey shrine to gastronomy run by Italy's premier food organisation, Gambero Rosso.
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Papa Baccus
To breed your own hogs to ensure a ready supply of quality meat requires a passion verging on obsession. But it's exactly what the owner of this refined Tuscan restaurant does. Meat rules here, with pride of place going to the succulent Chianina beef, but there's plenty else besides, including panzanella (a summery starter of bread with salad, herbs and oil). Reservations are preferred, and you can sit outside on the quiet cobbled street.
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Piperno
Veritable Roman-Jewish Piperno, tucked away on a cobbled corner, is a wood-panelled restaurant of the old school, where white-clad waiters serve some of Rome's best deep-fried food, such as filetti di baccalà , carciofi alla Guidia (Jewish-style artichokes) or fiori di zucca ripieni e fritti (cheese-and-anchovy-stuffed courgette flowers). It's formal without being stuffy and perfect for family occasions. Booking is essential on Sundays.
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San Teodoro
Both ancient and cutting-edge (it's set on a medieval piazza, with vaulted ceilings and paintings by contemporary Roman artists), San Teodoro's sophisticated takes on traditional dishes keep this upmarket restaurant at the top of Rome's dining charts. Although it offers a hit list of Roman classics, it's best known for its delicious seafood creations, including baked sea bass served coated in artichokes.
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Sora Lella
You can't beat the romance of Sora Lella's setting, on the River Tiber's tiny island. Ring the doorbell to gain entrance to this timeless institution, named after the owner's mother, who was a Roman TV star. The classic Roman menu has some twists, like aubergine parmigiana with added nuts, ricotta and honey, as well as crowd-pleasers such as amatriciana with gnocchi (ideal for a winter's night).
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Spirito Divino
Spirito Divino is in a medieval building that once housed the oldest synagogue in Rome - the walls date to 980, while the wine cellar is even older. The menu is not just traditional; some of the recipes are ancient, such as pork Mazio-style, which dates back around 2000 years. More modern dishes, all delicious, include linguine with seafood, lamb with pepper and peach chutney, and a sublime crème brûlée .
