Taverna dei Mercanti, Rome

This beautiful restaurant, with huge candles on every table and its 17th-century feel, is the perfect place for a romantic dinner (period dramas are often filmed here.) There's a classic pizzeria menu: fried antipasti, delicious bruschette, pizzas and desserts. The freshest mozzarella, extra virgin olive oil and dough are used to create such masterpieces as the fontina e tartufo pizza and the classic margherita. The desserts are homemade - the tiramisù, pannacotta and the torte della nonna are very good. Prices are only slightly higher than in other pizzerias. The ancient walls and the beams overshadow the rest of the furnishings. However, there are always new details to catch the eye: garlic, onions and peppers hang from the beams, as well as antique oil lanterns. People from centuries past have written along the high walls and their words are still visible; meat hooks and antique nails and cracks also ooze history.