Dining Time Pizza The city's pizzaioli have always been proud of their thinner, flatter pizza romana, but recently the fickle public has started to defect to the puffier Neapolitan variety. Whichever you choose, make sure it comes from a wood-fired brick oven (forno a legna); pizzas from electric or gas-fired ovens just don't have the same flavour. So orthodox is the range of toppings in Roman pizzerie, so eyebrow-raising any departure from the norm, that it's worth learning the main varieties by heart. For these, and for the various gap-fillers that it is customary to order while you're waiting for the pizza to be baked. Takeaway pizza – generally referred to as pizza rustica or pizza a taglio – is not prepared while you wait, but the best outlets (including all those listed) have a fast turnover and take quality seriously; some adhere to the 'slow rising' method pioneered by award-winning Roman pizzaiolo Angelo Iezzi, which produces a more digestible base that stays fresh longer. Note that sit-down pizzerias are usually open in the evenings only, but they generally begin serving early by Roman standards, from 7pm onwards.

Restaurants Wine bars Neighbourhood enoteche (wine shops) and vini e olii (wine and oil) outlets have been around in Rome since time immemorial, complete with their huddle of old men drinking wine by the glass (al bicchiere or alla mescita). For a selection of places in which drinking is the main point of the exercise. But recently a number of upmarket, international-style wine bars have also sprung up, offering snacks and even full meals to go with their wines. Such is the Roman predilection for eating over drinking that some – Il Brillo Parlante , Ferrara , Il Simposio – are best thought of as restaurants with great cellars.
Snacks The Roman habit of sitting down to two full meals each day is fast disappearing, and as a result places designed for eating on the run are mushrooming. Roman snack culture, though, lurks in unlikely places. Few new arrivals, for example, consider stepping into a humble alimentari (grocer's) to have their picnic lunch prepared on the spot – and yet for fresh bread and high-quality fillings this is invariably the best option. Favourite casing is the ubiquitous white Roman roll, la rosetta, or a slice of pizza bianca (plain oiled and salted pizza base, eaten as is or filled); fillings are generally ham, salami or cheese, as alimentari do not sell fruit and veg. The other traditional snack stop is the neighbourhood bar. Some will only have a few uninspiring sandwiches sitting limply on a plate; but others are lunchtime meccas, with full-scale tavole calde (buffets).
International If you don't like Italian food, you're in the wrong town: Rome is not a good place to indulge in a gastronomic world tour. True, Chinese restaurants abound, and Indian, Thai, Korean and Mexican food can be tracked down, but the standard is far lower than in London, Paris or New York. The one exception to the rule – a consequence of Italy's murky colonial history – is the range of good Eritrean, Somali and Ethiopian cuisine on offer.
Vegetarians The city has only two bona fide vegetarian restaurants – Arancia Blu and Margutta RistorArte – but the number looks set to increase in the wake of the BSE scare. And even in traditional trattorias, waiters will no longer look blank when you say non mangio la carne (I don't eat meat). They'll just assume you're a mad cow worrier – and press you to try one of the good range of meatless dishes that Roman cuisine has always specialised in, from penne all' arrabbiata (pasta in a tomato and chili sauce), through tonnarelli cacio e pepe (thick spaghetti with crumbly sheeps' cheese and plenty of black pepper), to carciofi alla giudia (deep-fried artichokes, a Roman Jewish speciality). But never assume that it is enough to tell the waiter that you are vegetarian (sono vegetariano); most have only the vaguest concept of what this means, and they may offer seafood, chicken and even ham as an alternative to that T-bone steak. If you are at all unsure about the ingredients of any dish, ask. For vegetarian options on the standard Roman menu. Average restaurant prices listed below are based on three courses, and do not include drinks. For pizzerias, the prices given are for a standard pizza, a beer, and one extra, such as a bruschetta. Wine bar and gastropub averages are based on two courses and a glass of wine or beer. No average prices are given for snacks: how much you'll pay depends on how much you consume.