Pantera

Pantera, a small shop in Garbatella selling pizza by the slice, was opened by the team behind Trecca and has no seating indoors: outside there are benches and tall tables, near the white bridge in the neighbourhood. Most of the attention goes to the crust, crisp and generous with oil, which carries toppings such as a vivid red pizza finished with fresh herbs or potato slices thin as paper, roasted alongside rosemary, and crunchy supplì are sold as well. The queue mixes people working locally, families and students, and they tend to eat outside on the benches before going back in for more.

Order the marinara before anything else: its topping is nothing but parsley, oil and tomato, spread over a base thin and crackly enough to nearly break apart. People who live in Rome open with it because, with so little on top, the slice is a direct test of the crust, which is what Pantera is really about, crisp and slicked with oil. Once you have eaten it, the rest of the counter makes immediate sense, and you will know what kind of pizza shop you are standing in.