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Pizzeria da Vittorio
One of the few pizzerias in this neck of the woods to serve thick-crust Neapolitan-style pizzas, backstreet Vittorio is a consistent crowd-pleaser. The tiny interior is decorated with murals depicting appropriately Neapolitan scenes such an erupting Vesuvius, and heaves with happy eaters. There are also a few outside tables.
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Pizzeria Ivo
One of Trastevere's - if not Rome's - most famous pizzerias, Ivo's is perennially popular. It has been slinging pizzas for some 40 years, and still the hungry come. With the TV on in the corner and the tables full, it's a noisy and vibrant place where the crispy, though not huge, pizzas are made with conventional toppings (exceptions include an unorthodox Gorgonzola and apple combo) and the waiters fit the gruff-and-fast stereotype.
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Pizzeria La Montecarlo
La Montecarlo, another true-Roman pizzeria full of raucous charm, is ideal for sightseers exploring the centro storico (historic centre), but is also crammed with pizza-hungry locals. Expect paper-thin, wood-charred pizzas, paper tablecloths, celebrity photos on the walls, milling queues and supercharged waiters.
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Pizzeria Remo
Not a place for a romantic tête-à-tête, Pizzeria Remo is one of the city's most popular pizzerias, busy with noisy hordes of young Romans. Expect to queue if you arrive after . The pizzas are among the biggest and thinnest in Rome, sizzling with toppings on the crisp, charred base. Place your order by ticking your choices on a sheet of paper slapped down by an overstretched waiter.
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Pommidoro
A much-loved local institution, Pommidoro is a great century-old trattoria, with high star-vaulted ceilings, a huge fireplace and outdoor conservatory seating. It's a focus for local intellectuals, including controversial film director Pier Paolo Pasolini. Celebs still stop by - from Nicole Kidman to Fabio Cappello - but it's an unpretentious place with superb-quality traditional food, specialising in magnificent grilled meat.
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Primo
Slick Primo is new-school Pigneto cool. Start with a spritzer at the bar, then slide in beneath low-slung lamps for adventurous revamps such as fried calamari and artichoke in a limoncello (sweet lemon-scented liqueur) sauce, or vanilla semifreddo (frozen dessert) with Chinese mandarins and balsamic vinegar.
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Récafe
On perhaps the chicest square in Rome (it's overlooked by the new Ara Pacis museum), this is Rome's chicest pizzeria. Take your food outside, or dine inside under twisted globelike chandeliers in an airy wood-floored space. Roman thin-crust pizzas are the name of the game, but it's also a good place for a drink.
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Red
Hobnob with artistic Romans in this snazzy bar-restaurant at Renzo Piano's grey podlike Auditorium Parco della Musica. It's a glamorous place with curvaceous wicker furnishings and red interior, and live jazz every Thursday night. The food is duly modern and sees old ingredients given a contemporary makeover in dishes such as giant prawns with balsamic vinegar, or pork fillets with cranberries. There's also aperitivo (around €10 ).
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Renato e Luisa
A favourite among vivacious young Romans, this backstreet new-style trattoria is always busy. The cooking is more complex than the norm, with a buttery French twist. Try dishes such as the delicious goat's cheese and honey starter. Service can be haphazard.
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Riccioli Café
The brainchild of Rome's sultan of seafood, La Rosetta's Massimo Riccioli, this perennially chic oyster bar and restaurant specialises in seafood, mostly raw. There's superfresh sushi and sashimi, oysters (from Brittany) and a range of Mediterranean shellfish. You eat on blue-velvet banquettes under twisted modernist chandeliers, and there's aperitivo and occasional DJs. If none of this takes your fancy, you can take away between and .
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Ripa 12
Whether or not it's true that carpaccio di spigola (very fine slices of marinated raw sea bass) was first served at this graceful, wood-beamed Calabrian restaurant, the seafood here is top-notch. On the menu you'll find a mix of dishes playing on traditional themes - gnocchetti con fagioli e cozze (small gnocchi with beans and mussels), for example - as well as Calabrian specialities such as fiery-hot salami. There are some streetside tables but unless you want your fish smoked by traffic fumes you're better off inside.
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Ristofer
Technically Ristofer is a railway-workers' canteen, but it's open to the public and is cheerily welcoming and completely institutional. Just go through the massive wooden doors, grab a tray and choose whatever looks good on the day. It's not gourmet food, but if you want a cheap, belly-filling meal, at around €7 for a primo, secondo and dolce it's just the ticket.
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Rouge
Local artists, academics and labourers can't get enough of this place, with its kooky caged parrot, op-shop glassware, and soul-glow specials such as spicy lentil soup and pappardelle pasta with liver and truffle cream. It's like a communal retro living room, complete with Portishead tunes.
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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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Sapori della Persia
Cheap, friendly and packed with students, Reza's tiny Iranian eatery sports just a few chairs and benches, the odd Iranian postcard, and two counters lined with his wife's perfect Persian cooking. Mix and match winners such as rice with orange rind, pistachio and saffron; veal meatballs with potato and onion; and smooth Persian halva - all piled high on humble disposable plates.
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Sciam
For something entirely different, head to this sultry eatery, its ceiling thick with coloured-glass lanterns and walls hung with kilims. Nestle around the little wooden tables and recline on cushions and low seats. You can eat meze and sip mint tea (no alcohol is served) and pretend you're on another continent. There's a glass-bead, lamp and tile shop next door.
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Sergio alla Grotte
A flower's throw from the Campo, Sergio's is what a proper Roman trattoria should look like: red-and-white chequered tablecloths, bustling waiters, steaming plates of pasta, and not a frill in sight. A loyal following enjoys classic hearty Roman pastas - cacio e pepe , carbonara, - and large steaks grilled over hot coals. In the summer there are tables outside on the cobbled, ivy-hung lane.
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Settembrini
Media types from the nearby RAI television offices adore this slinky wine bar/restaurant; its contemporary lines make a suitable backdrop for celebrity bitching. Fuelling the conversations is a sassy Italo-Gallic wine list, new-wave rustic dishes, and a five-course degustation menu paired with five different wines.
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Settembrini Vino E Cucina
A pared-down, new-style wine bar, Settembrini offers an excellent wine list and a small but imaginative vegetarian-friendly menu. Inside is ash-wood and slate décor with dramatic blown-up black-and-white photos on the walls; there are also outside tables. Join the media lovelies taking time out from the nearby RAI headquarters who come to enjoy its degustation menu (around €45 ) or its new-wave rustic dishes. There's a lunchtime buffet ( €12 ).
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Shanti
Deservedly popular, this small Indian and Pakistani restaurant has delicately spiced dishes (tandooris, daals and the like) served in an appealing setting - an intimate room, dimly lit, with lots of intricately carved wood and eastern decoration.
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Siciliainbocca
Lemon-yellow and lined in dazzling southern ceramics, this trattoria is sunny in demeanour and colour. It's a great place to sample sumptuous seafood, Sicilian specialities like caponata (browned vegetables, anchovies and capers), and the island's legendary desserts, such as cannoli (fried pastry tubes filled with ricotta) accompanied by pantelleria , the great muscatel. There's another branch in Flaminio (06 324 01 87; Via Flaminia 390; ;Tue-Sun).
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Sisini
Spot it by the crowd. Locals know where to come for the best pizza rustica in Trastevere, and you'll need to jostle with them to make it to the counter. Here, simple styles reign supreme - try the margherita or marinara and you'll see what we mean. It's also worth sampling the supplì and roast chicken.
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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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Sora Margherita
Rough-and-ready Sora Margherita started as a cheap kitchen for hungry locals, but word has spread. Expect dog-eat-dog queues; cheap, hearty pasta; Roman and Jewish dishes slapped down on Formica table tops; and a rowdy Roman atmosphere. Service is prompt and you're expected to be likewise. It's closed weekends in summer as, according to the sign, 'tutti al mare' (everyone's at the beach).
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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 .
