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WHAT I LOVE ABOUT
San Francisco
The city by the bay has a string of museums that will leave you spellbound, writes Rahul Jacob
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1. Checchino dal 1887
The premier restaurant of Testaccio since 1887 boasts Rome's largest wine cellar. Working-class dishes - this is the place that invented coda alla vaccinara - and more elegant fare are prepared divinely, with the best selection of Italian and French cheeses in town.
- Via di Monte Testaccio 30
- 06 574 6318
- Closed Sun - Mon
- €€€ (€40 - 50)*
2. Agata e Romeo
Romeo Caraccio runs the dining room in this Liberty-style temple to creative Roman cuisine near Santa Maria Maggiore. His wife Agata Parisella reigns in the kitchen, preparing rich and highly original concoctions of meat, fish and fresh vegetables. Don't miss her heavenly desserts, including the millefoglie - puff pastry filled with cream.
- Via Carlo Alberto 45
- 06 446 6115
- Closed Sat - Sun, 2 weeks Jan & Aug
- €€€€€ (over €60)*
- Disabled access
3. Alberto Ciarla
The quality of the cooking at Trastevere's famed fish restaurant has gone up and down over the years, but when it's good it can be outstanding. Prices are stratospheric, even for simple seafood, and the darkened atmosphere of the modern rooms is somewhat overbearing, but it has loyal fans.
- Piazza di S Cosimato 40
- 06 581 8668
- Closed L, Sun
- €€€ (€40 - 50)*
4. Sabatini
One of Rome's most famed restaurants, favoured by the likes of Fellini in the days before it became too hyped for its own good. Killer location on the piazza, but terribly steep prices. The cuisine is refined Roman and seafood.
- Piazza S Maria in Trastevere 13
- 06 581 2026
- €€€€ (€50 - 60)*
5. Relais Le Jardin
The location, inside one of Rome's most exclusive small hotels, and the chef's renowned ability to turn both Italian classics and inventive new dishes into works of art, keeps this elegant restaurant on the A-list - and makes it a great place for celebrity-spotting.
- Via G. de Notaris 5, Hotel Lord Byron
- 06 322 0404
- Closed Sun
- €€€€€ (over €60)*
6. Da Cesaretto
This osteria ignores its high rent location, acting as if little has changed since it opened in 1886. Prices are low and dishes are solid Roman specialities. There is no phone and no reservations; come early or expect to queue.
- Via della Croce 39
- Closed Sun
- €€ (€30 - 40)*
- No credit cards
7. Piperno
The best Roman Jewish cooking in the Ghetto since 1856 (although also the priciest). Hosts of TV shows have been seen sneaking in to try and unlock the chef's secrets. Service can be slightly off-hand, but the artichokes can't be beat.
- Via Monte de'Cenci 9
- 06 686 1113
- Closed Mon
- €€€€ (€50 - 60)*
8. Da Augusto
Archetypal Trastevere trattoria. Block-style wooden tables and butchers' paper mats form the decor; the menu is recited by the busily indifferent waiters rather than printed. Good table wine and the food comprises excellent, simple traditional dishes. In fine weather there is seating on the tiny piazza-cum-car park out front.
- Piazza de' Renzi 15
- 06 580 3798
- Closed Sun
- € (under €30)*
- No credit cards
9. 'Gusto
The latest see-and be-seen restaurant, kitschily installed in one of Mussolini's pompous travertine buildings lining the piazza. Glass walls and outdoor tables overlook Augustus's Mausoleum. Several dining choices, each excellent: cucina creativa is served in the restaurant proper, and there's a pizzeria (open until 1am), and a wine bar (open 11am to 2am) serving Thai cuisine. Booking is recommended.
- Piazza Augusto Imperatore 9
- 06 322 6273
- €€ (€30 - 40)*
10. Birreria Peroni
Local businessmen regularly take their lunchtime discussions to this 1906 beer hall sponsored by Italy's biggest brewery. The buffet snacks and scrumptious main dishes cross Roman and Germanic influences, and the Art Deco murals feature cherubs playing sports and promising "He who drinks beer lives to 100".
- Via San Marcello 19/Piazza SS Apostoli
- 06 679 5310
- Closed Sun
- € (under €30)*
