If you want to go big when in Rome, this is your spot. The only three-star Michelin restaurant in Rome, the views alone from the top of the Rome Cavalieri hotel make it a must on any list. But the cuisine from Heinz Beck, who has run the restaurant since 1994, is enough to make anyone swoon and forget the steep price tag. Choose between the prix fixe 10- or 7-course tasting menu, which currently features duck foie gras with berries, white asparagus with seaweed pesto and squid, and rabbit tortellini.

Eat pizza like the original Romans: standing up and straight from the oven. This takeaway spot makes pinse, a flatbread which is often touted as the first kind of pizza and one that only exists in Rome. Pinsere is a quick stop for something a little different from the constant barrage of typical Roman pizza. There are a variety of toppings to suit any taste, including some veering from the traditional — ricotta, figs, and honey, for instance — but you won’t go wrong with a pinse topped with anchovies or zucchini flowers.

If you want a traditional trattoria that’s been open for nearly a full century, then you have to stop into this institution. Don’t come in with a set idea about what you want to eat: The menu comes from the kitchen daily and you’ll want to try whatever they tell you to. (But note: If your Italian is rough, it’s best to visit with someone who speaks the language.) Expect old-school Italian comfort food in the best possible way, with a homey setting to match.

Gelato is a necessity in Rome. And when one of the best shops has multiple locations, it means you are never too far from perfection. Fata Morgana has an unimaginable number of fresh ingredients and innumerable choices of gelato to choose from. Go for classic chocolate or get an in-season fruit varietal.

You have to have thin-crust Roman-style pizza when in Rome, and this spot has a wood-burning oven along with a boisterous, fun, crowded atmosphere. Order up a traditional margherita pizza, topped with bufala mozzarella or wurstel, or try the house specialty with mushrooms, eggplant, and sausage. Aside from the pizza, you can also try Roman staples, like arancini (rice balls).

Far away from the tourist crowds is Trattoria Perilli, serving classic Roman dishes in a room with murals lining the wall and white tablecloths at the ready. If you like meat, then this is your spot because they happen to specialize in offal. But locals also say the carbonara is the best in the city. So get meats or pasta, or both — you can’t go wrong.

Those who say that Antico Forno Roscioli is an institution aren’t exaggerating, The bakery has been running in the family for four generations, and they have perfected the traditional styles of Roman pizza: pizza al taglio (rectangular and sold by weight) and pizza Romana tonda (round, thin, and crisp). You can order al taglio (by the slice), or better yet, pick up a pizza bianca — crispy dough brushed with olive oil and topped with salt — with a bottle of wine, also sold at the bakery.

Although the butcher is about an hour’s trek outside of the city, it’s for a good cause: mouthwatering porchetta from butchers that have mastered the art of meat for centuries. How do they do it? The owner, Vito Bernabei, seasons the porchetta “trunk” with salt, pepper, garlic, and fennel, and then slow roasts it for six to seven hours. The result is unlike any other porchetta you’ll try in Rome. Eat it with a crusty loaf of bread and a bottle of wine before heading back to the city. (Also worth snacking on? The capicola, coppa di testa, and salami.)