When in Rome: Eat, Drink and Be Merry.

Rome is one of the great Eating Cities of the world. Sure, Paris and San Francisco and Hong Kong serve up some seriously delicious competition. But not only does everything taste (and look) better here, but the scenario in which it is enjoyed – a third-generation trattoria, an outdoor café, or grazing through a neighborhood market – will always promise a moment of high drama or comical relief – enough to remind you it doesn’t get any better.

You’ll need a late afternoon snack so you can make it to a 9pm dinner reservation if you want to adhere to the when-in-Rome approach to dining. Unpretentious and informal eating spots and watering holes are easily found: seek out those full of happy looking Romans.

Caffè Sant’Eustachio

Follow the aroma to this local shrine, always packed with locals who stream in for what many call the best espresso in Rome — something about the water, they say. Or is it the fresh beans roasted on the premises? Home of the city’s most delicious cappuccino, never ever ordered after 11 a.m. except by innocents abroad. Where: Piazza Sant’Eustachio.

Da Checco er Carrettiere

Pronounced “Da Kekko,” this is one of the last of Rome’s classic trattorias. Half the joy of a stroll through the former artists’ quarter of Trastevere, now well on its way to gentrification, is winding up with a coveted table on Checco’s outdoor patio, with a sampling of its well-known antipasti. Where: Via Benedetta.

Da Fortunato al Pantheon

A local favorite for decades and perfectly located just two steps from the imposing Pantheon. Simple, well-prepared Roman cuisine is served by jacketed, bow-tied waiters to a well-heeled crowd of regulars. Hours are spent lingering over some of the best meals in town — does no one work in Rome? For your after-dinner café, head to Pantheon Square. Where: Via del Pantheon.

Der Pallaro

Typical, authentic, no-frills, and in the characterful neighborhood of the Campo dei Fiori (whose daily market is one of Rome’s great experiences) — who doesn’t love this place? The flowers are plastic and there’s no menu to speak of: Whatever simple four-course menu Signora Paola is cooking up in the kitchen that day arrives at your table. (Try for one outdoors.) Mailmen and film directors share the love. Where: Largo del Pallaro.

Giolitti

The city is awash with gelaterias, but this is its oldest gelateria, so you won’t be the only one standing in line to sample their fifty-some homemade flavors. Where else will you find Champagne ice cream? Stake out a table and order the preposterously oversized Copa Olimpico, a sampling of just about everything they offer (or so it will seem). Where: Via Uffici del Vicario.

La Rosetta

A small and chic eatery, where much of the reliably fresh seafood is flown in daily from the talented chef’s native Sicily. Expensive – but fresh fish excellently prepared generally is. But La Rosetta is worth it - by now a beloved institution with a strong following of locals and in-the-know out-of-towners. Where: Via della Rosetta.

Trimani Wine Bar

A wood-paneled, family-run operation in the unlikely neighborhood of the train station. Simple but sophisticated meals are the perfect complement to dozens of excellent, mostly Italian wines by the glass. The selection is even more prodigious at the Trimani family’s enoteca around the corner. Where: Via Cernaia. www.trimani.com.

What's your favorite place to wine and dine in Rome?

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Patricia Schultz is the author of 1000 Places To See Before You Die (Workman) and 1000 Places to See in the USA & Canada Before You Die (Workman)