TAVERNS

Arancia Blu
St: 65, dei Latini
Ph: +39/06/4454105

Arancia Blu was born under the star of pleasure and the search for combinations of non - meat dishes with excellent wines.

Da Felice
St: 29, Mastro Giorgio
Ph: +39/06/5746800
Closed on sunday and in august.

Without a sign and without lights. Only a door made of anodized aluminium that you will go through only if you are not afraid of the distrustful and grouchy owner. In fact, he chooses his guests. On all the tables you'll find a card saying "reserved". If he likes you, he takes the card away and welcomes you.

Enoteca Corsi
St: 87/88, del Gesù
Ph: +39/06/6790821
Closed on sunday and in august

Don't be put off by appearances. Behind this old and rather run down winery you can enjoy simple dishes that are perfectly prepared. the tablecloths are paper, the menu on the blackboard, everyone relates on a first name basis but you won't feel left out.

Gemma alla lupa
St: 39, Marghera
Ph: +39/ 06/491230
Closed on sunday

There is a fixed menù, if you choose, complete and plentiful. Then, during this 30 years a pair of classics has remained the favorite of the clientele: homemade fettuccine and breast of veal. Very simple desserts and house wine presented as "dei Castelli".

Il dito e la luna
St: 47 - 49 - 51, dei Sabelli
Ph: +39/ 06/4940726
Closed on sunday

It is the Mediterranean flavor, Sicilian to be exact, of the populous quarter of San Lorenzo. Three well furnished rooms, each with a small blackboard indicating the menù of the day. The atmosphere is that a Parisian bistro with embroidered curtains on the French doors opening out onto the street and small tables. The wine list is almost as complete as those of wine cellars.

La cicala e la formica
St: 17, Leonina
Ph: +39/ 06/4817490
Closed on sunday and three weeks in august.

The cuisine is "semi - mediterranean" with plenty of vegetables and no fish.

Matricianella
St: 4, del Leone
Ph: +39/ 06/6832100
Closed on sunday and two weeks in mid-august.

Right behind the parliament building, in the midst of the shopping district, this locale moves right along judiciously, insisting on a legitamate Abruzzese - Roman cuisine without following prey to seductions of the sirens of fashion. Wine list compiled with expertise.

Osteria al Vecchio Pegno
Vicolo Montevecchio 8
Ph: +39/06/68807025
Closed on Wednesday at lunch

Osteria del Gallo
Vicolo Montevecchio 27
Ph: +39/06/6873781

Osteria dell' Antiquario
Piazzetta di San Simeone, 26
Ph: +39/ 06/6879694
Closed on sunday, monday at lunchtime, two weeks in august and in january.

On nice days the tables outside this locale in the refined Baroque square, cut in half by Via dei Coronari, you will find elegant and secluded tranquillity. regarding the cooking, it is not fancy but skilled and covers all the fashionable Roman dishes. Wine list well completed.

Osteria del Velodromo vecchio
St: 139, Genzano
Ph: +39/ 06/7886793
Closed on sunday, in august and in Christmas time.

This small joint in the outskirts is eager to recover lost Roman recipes. The menù is written on a small blackboard at the entrance, on the walls there are photographs of Fausto Coppi, frescoes of the Appian Way and Piazza di Spagna. Fair choice of wines.

Pommidoro
Piazza dei Sanniti, 44
Ph: +39/ 06/4452692
Closed on sunday e in august.

Piazza dei Sanniti is the hub of the plebeian quarter of San Lorenzo, and in the center of the hub is tis locale. Always the same, faithful to three generations of inkeepers and restaurant managers. In the driver seat we have Anna and Aldo Bravi, experts in making their dishes, most of which are made with the home - grown ingredients of the family farm. Reassuring, genuine Roman cooking. That is why Pasolini, De Chirico and Guttuso were regular customers here.

Ponte della ranocchia
Circonvallazione Appia, 29
Ph: +39/ 06/7856712
Closed on sunday and in august

This is a small plain restaurant, but the cuisine is full of ideas concerning the clever revitalising of the Roman tradition, including the Jewish version of it. Wine cellar stocked with good ideas.

Sahara
St: 43, Ippocrate
Ph: +39/ 06/44242583
Closed on wednesday and for vacation in mid august.

This restaurant is located in a cosmopolitan and densely populated quarter of the edges of the University area, the right place to look for stimulating foods and different cultures of the world. As you reach the top of a flight of stairs, you arrive at an unsuspected terrace. Here you can dive into the flavors of the easternmost tip of Africa. the vegetables are good, the desserts are are fair, the table settings are very simple. Beer and limited choice of wine.

Sora Margherita
Piazza delle Cinque Scole, 30
Ph: +39/ 06/6864002
Closed on saturday, sunday and in august

In the heart of the Roman Ghetto, a tavern with a sign written in felt - tip pen on a page torn from a notebook, taped to the door. The furnishing is minimal: two rooms, paper table cloths, and "diehard" habituès for whom lunch is like a date with the cook.

Tram - Tram
St: 44/46, dei Reti
Ph: +39/ 06/490416
Closed on monday and in august.

Very close to the tram lines, from which it gets its name, this is a small fashionable restaurant that attracts both intellectuals and workers. The service is courteous and friendly, with a menù that includes all the traditional dishes. The wine list is very interesting and the markup reasonable.