Non 'touristy' restaurants in Rome?

Rome's pretty huge. Where are you? Could you get to the Testaccio neighborhood? Lots of good restaurants there, and very few tourists.

Michael, I will be shuttling in from airport. Thanks for the advice I 'll try to find your suggested area.

Barb - agree that to truly get "non touristy" you have to get away from where the tourists are, which generally means getting away from the central districts.

However, since you're coming in from the airport, if you are happening to come by train to Termini station, we ate one night at La Pentolaccia, La pentolaccia which is just a few blocks walk from the train station. I"m guessing it was about 50/50 tourists and locals. And we enjoyed a very good meal.

And for desert, for a non touristy and the best gelato we had in all of Italy, just around the block from there is Come il Latte. Exceptional. Best Gelatto

In Testaccio, try either Enoteca Divinare or Lo Scopettaro.

Barb, Lee has guided you well. La Pentolaccia is a fine "normal" place with lots of Italian diners and Come il Latte is THE BEST gelato I have ever eaten. Nearby is Osteria 44, on Via Aureliana. Sergio will serve you a fine meal. Yes, there are English speakers there, and tourists, but it is not a touristy ripoff.

We also love Prati, away from the Vatican. Try Siciliainbocca, Osteria Della Forchetta, La Pratolina.

If you are truly adventurous, we are working our way through this list and have really enjoyed Pizzeria Remo and La Freschetta del Pesce. You can get to them by public transportation, but a cab is a good investment in your time and sanity. The prices at these places are so reasonable you can afford a taxi.

A bit east of the Colosseum, we recently enjoyed Propaganda Caffe:
http://www.caffepropaganda.it/?page_id=7&lang=en
Great wine list, wonderful light dishes and fab desserts - fun shabby chic décor.
Found diners to be more locals than tourists - enjoy if you're in the neighborhood! Ciao` Diane

One note about Come il Latte.....making your choice is a little harder work here. The gelatto is under cover, not visually displayed like in most shops. And the menu is all Italian, not English. So you have to work a bit harder to figure out what to order...but I promise it's worth it!

Many thanks for all the suggestions. I'll have to plan a second trip. :-). Barb

Quirite, I'm wondering how recently you've been to Checchino. The Tripadvisor rating for it is kind of lousy, with only 54% recommending it out of 162 reviews. It seems the Italians are giving it the harshest reviews. (It's on my possible list, as we plan to stay in Testaccio next year.)