The new Roman Dolce Vita

ALMOST half a century has passed since Anita Ekberg invited Marcello Mastroianni to share her Trevi Fountain soaking in Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita. The arch-satirist of Italian cinema is back in fashion; after the sell-out success of its recent Fellini season, the National Film Theatre is giving us another chance to see the newly restored print of La Dolce Vita until 30 December.

Things have changed in the Italian capital and the via Veneto is about as cutting-edge as the Champs-Elysees these days.

The new Roman Dolce Vita has moved away from the wide boulevards that stood for progress in Fellini's time and into the narrow streets and Baroque piazzas of the "centro storico", especially the tight maze of alleys to the west of piazza Navona. What follows is an essential Dolce Vita checklist for modern-day Marcellos and Anitas.

Bloom

Very distressed-jeans-and-Guccijacket, and so cool that you get the shivers. With its padded white leather banquettes, its aluminium claw-foot bar, its skewed glasses, Bloom samples design the same way the in-house DJ samples riffs. Food is tired fusion - so come for a drink before or after dinner.

via del Teatro Pace 30, 0039 06 6880 2029. Closed Tues.

La Maison

Nightclub of choice for Rome's "pariolini" - rich label-sluts (both male and female) from the Parioli neighbourhood. This was where Usher and Naomi Campbell partied after the MTV Europe Awards. The look is neo-Baroque, with huge chandeliers, Pompeii-red walls and vintage divans. Sunday night is best, when ethno-house DJ Flavia Lazzarini holds court. You get past the big guys on the door by being female or knowing someone.

vicolo dei Granari 3, 0039 06 6833

Fluid

The best new design bar in town.

Styled by Italo-American architect Michele Marchesi, Fluid is an object lesson in making the most of an unpromising space. From the video terminals set into the old wooden door, through the stonefilled gabbions that prop up the bar to the cascade of what looks like Harpic on the back wall, Fluid is edgy without taking itself too seriously. Come late for the best vibe.

via del Governo Vecchio 46/47, 0039 06 6832 361.

La Cabala

Rivals La Maison as a place to spot aspiring VIPs. But though Rome's sharp young groovers wouldn't be seen dead in a selfstyled "piano bar", this can be a fun place to end the evening, for a spot of people-watching with snacks from Gualtiero Marchesi's Michelin- starred restaurant Hostaria dell'Orso upstairs.

via dei Soldati 23c, 0039 06 6830 1192. Closed Sun.

Salotto 42

Along with Fluid, this stylish chill-out bar is the most alluring of the new arrivals. Host Damiano Mazzarella is a hip Roman New Yorker; his wife, Malin, is Swedish, which explains the smorgasbord menu and the Scandinavian retro vinyl wallpaper. It's cool but comfortable, fashionista but also cultured, with books strewn around for punters to dip into.

The scene, and music, changes from cappuccino classics in the morning to trancy electro-beats at night.

piazza di Pietra 42, 0039 06 6785 804. Closed Mon.

SBU

Serious shoppers head straight for Milan, but Rome has a couple of buzzy home-grown designers, including the Perfetti brothers, Cristiano and Patrizio, whose jeans label, SBU, has built an international reputation (customers include Tim Roth and Elle Macpherson). They sell out of the Library in London, but for the full range of jeans (made up in Italy from Japanese denim), a visit to the Rome mothership - housed in a 14th-century palazzo - is essential. Prices from e130.

via di San Pantaleo 68, 0039 06 6880 2547.

Societe Lutece

Laid-back and artsy, this new aperitivo-to-late bar has two things going for it. First, it's in a picturesque square that has only just made it on to the style map (the residents must be fuming).

Second, it is the most democratic and do-your-own-thing of any of the places listed here: clientele varies from white rasta to Pradaprat to ageing bohemian. Our tip is for a glass of wine to kickstart the evening.

piazza di Montevecchio 17, 0039 06 6830 1472. Closed Mon.

Trattoria

For the best part of a year after it opened, this designer restaurant near the Pantheon was style over content; but then the owners hired Sicilian chef Filippo la Mantia, and the balance tipped. La Mantia gives Sicilian dishes such as caponata (a sweet-and-sour ratatouille) a contemporary twist. Service can be uncertain, especially if you don't speak Italian.

via del Pozzo della Cornacchie 25, 0039 06 6830 1427. Closed Sun.

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