Post-industrial gasometer quarter south of the city, where Eataly, Doppiozeroo and the Marco Martini fine-dining room sit alongside the new trattoria wave.
Trattoria Pennestri in Rome's Ostiense, opened 2017 by Tommaso Pennestri, runs the Roman canon with farmer-named meat sourcing. Priced at €€.
Signature: Rigatoni alla gricia, Pajata, Tonnarelli cacio e pepe
Order: The rigatoni alla gricia, pajata when it's on, and any seasonal antipasto from the chalkboard.
Tip: Closed Monday all day, Sunday dinner. Lunch is much easier to book than the 20:30 dinner seating.
Marco Martini's Aventino-edge room holds a Michelin star for the chef's modern reading of Roman pastas, with a tasting menu that runs both omnivore.
Signature: Carbonara reinterpreted, Pigeon, Tasting menu
Order: The carbonara reinterpreted with smoked egg, then any of the seasonal pigeon courses.
Tip: Lunch tasting is €95 vs €150 dinner. The vegetarian carte runs the same number of courses.
Doppio Zeroo in Rome's Ostiense district is the all-day pizza-and-aperitivo room with a long deli counter, the city's most generous aperitivo bar at 19:00.
Signature: Pizza al taglio, Aperitivo, Tasting plates
Order: The aperitivo buffet from 19:00 with a glass of Lazio white, plus slices of pizza al taglio.
Tip: Open daily 07:00-02:00. The 19:00 aperitivo is the value entry; book the rooftop in summer.
Casa Manfredi Teatro in Rome's Ostiense district by Piramide is Giorgia Proia's modern pasticceria-cafeteria with the city's defining almond croissant.
Signature drink: Specialty espresso, cappuccino
Tip: Open daily from 07:30. The 1.50 euro cornetto at the counter is the value entry; arrive before 11:00 for almond croissants.
Andreotti Pasticceria in Rome's Ostiense district has run since 1931 as the working-quarter cornetto-and-cappuccino bar, with a long counter of Roman classic.
Tip: Open 07:00; the morning cornetto sfogliato is the breakfast steal at 1.50 euros.
Worth the queue: Cornetto, sfogliatella
Hopside Roma in Rome's Ostiense district runs about a dozen craft taps with a homebrewing laboratory, the burger-and-beer carte and an IPA-heavy programme.
Tip: Open daily; the homebrew lab lets visitors brew and bottle a batch to take home. The IPA tap rotation is the lead-order.
Chiara Caruso's Cafe Merenda in Rome's Ostiense district by the Gazometro is the French-style bakery and brunch room with three-day croissants.
Order: Three-day croissant plus avocado toast on house pan bauletto with a poached egg.
Tip: Open Tue-Sun from 08:00. The brunch set with coffee and viennoiserie is 22 euros; the corner terrace seats 12.
Doppio Zeroo in Rome's Ostiense district runs a weekend brunch buffet at €22 per head with rotating savoury and sweet plates, the city's most generous.
Order: The all-you-can-eat weekend brunch buffet with rotating savoury and sweet plates.
Tip: Book the rooftop terrace from May to September. The 12:00 buffet refresh is the freshest of the morning.
Casa del Jazz occupies a confiscated villa and 2.5 hectare park behind Porta Ardeatina, run by the City of Rome since 2005 with a 150 seat auditorium, a documentation centre and a year-round programme of Italian and touring jazz acts.
Tip: The park is open during the day and the summer terrace programme moves shows outside. Buses 714 or 30 from the centre drop you close; allow a ten minute walk through the grounds.