For some of the finest dining in Verona, if not all of Italy, book a table at Il Desco. Sit down in the refined art-lined dining room at one of the meticulously laid tables and sample chef Elia Rizzo’s elegant regional northern cuisine. Highlights include brodo (pasta soup) with oysters and liquorice ice cream.

This Michelin-starred restaurant is situated just round the corner from the Arena. 200 years old, its interior is cluttered with pictures and antiques, and its menu offers plenty of traditional, regional cooking with an emphasis on meat. Some lighter, more interesting variations are also included with a superb tasting menu sometimes available too. The wine cellar is particularly interesting with a wide selection of local labels and choice bottles from further afield.

It's hard to beat this restaurant's location, standing as it does on a hill overlooking the Adige River and offering excellent views of the city and its ancient Roman Theatre. An elegant restaurant with a stylish interior, Re Teodorico offers excellent gourmet cuisine drawing on classic Continental and Italian cooking traditions. It’s a very special place with a kitchen to match.

The fireman’s hat - after which the restaurant is named - is still on the wall, but the focus of attention at this local institution is the enormous array of local cheeses and the huge hams dangling from the ceiling. You can easily make a meal of the starters and charcuterie plate, or try some of unique local dishes such as oven-cooked pork with polenta or horsemeat stew.

The twelve apostoli (apostles) were 12 businessmen who would meet on this site in the late eighteenth century to discuss business over wine and generous portions of pasta. Something similar has continued until today at this atmospheric and very traditional restaurant, which has been run by the Gioco family since the early 1900s. Food, served amid the frescos, is hearty and there’s an emphasis on home made pastas and soups.

One of Verona's most famous restaurants, Ristorante Arche is a superb 130-year-old fish and seafood restaurant. The cuisine is modern but rooted in old Venetian cooking traditions. As Russian Nobel Prize winner for literature Joseph Brodsky once said, the food here reveals 'ancient flavours'. There is indeed something pure, original and even archetypal about Ristorante Arche, and for fish lovers it is likely to provide an unforgettable experience.

Super convenient after a hard afternoon shopping on Via Mazzini, join the crowd of famished shoppers in the sleek lime-green interior of Corte Farina. Choose between Argentinian empanadas (savoury meat-filled pastries) and traditional pizzas, all of which are delivered to your table piping hot from the oven. There’s also outdoor seating in summer.

Tucked under the porticoes in a picturesque street, you can feel the warmth of Sottoriva when you step in the door. It dates back nearly 300 years when they used to serve the boatmen who worked the river Adige. Now they plate up hearty dishes of meatballs, pasta with beans and horsemeat stew to regulars and visitors alike. A handwritten note acknowledges ‘servizio lento’ (slow service) so sit back and relax.