2 Best Restaurants in Esquilino and Environs, Rome

Opened in 1929, this bakery and tavola calda sells both sweet and savory items, including more than 70 types of bread. Line up for the pizza al taglio (by the slice) at lunchtime, or sit down at one of the outdoor tables for a cappuccino and cornetto or an aperitivo replete with mini sandwiches made on homemade buns. There's also a small location inside Termini Station where you can grab a quick espresso on the way to catch a train. 

There is just a handful of wooden tables crowded into the upstairs and downstairs dining rooms at this family-run trattoria, where the walls are festooned with photographs and soccer jerseys. Owner Danilo Valenti presides over the dining room, while his mother, Pina, whips up Roman classics, including an excellent carbonara, carciofi alla romana, and cacio e pepe that gets tossed tableside in a wheel of pecorino cheese.