From the outside, Roscioli Salumeria con Cucina looks like a bar. Or is it a deli selling cheese and cured meats that hang from hooks? Or is it an old wine dealer? The answer is all three. Located steps from Campo de’ Fiori, it feels more like a deli with tables than it does one of the best restaurants in Rome. But that’s part of the unique vibe of the Roscioli family’s masterpiece. Once you squeeze inside, you’ll find bartenders renowned for their Negronis (no small feat in Rome), thousands of wines, and seemingly just as many food choices, all inspired by products for sale at the counter, with dishes ranging from a buffalo-mozzarella tasting menu and spaghetti alla carbonara to the lasagna di Marco, which is so comforting I want to winter inside it next year. (If you find the wait too long, check out the to-go outpost, just up the street. It sells arancini as big as oranges.) —Michael Hainey

Michael Hainey is a Writer at Large at AIR MAIL