Coffee break

[revised February 2024] If you have seen a cup of coffee here in Italy (our little cup, in fact, is called “tazzina”), you know why most of our cafeterias don’t have tables, but you just stand at the bar for our “coffee shot”.

Well, when you are on holiday and far from your accommodation, sometimes you need to rest for a few minutes sitting down. Or you wish to savour this very Italian drink in peace and maybe chat quietly with a local friend or your travel companion.

So here is a little list (feel free to send your suggestions) of coffee places where you can also sit down and relax a bit:

• Cresci: a bakery/osteria not far from St. Peter’s square where you can also relax for just breakfast or a coffee during the day.
• Caffé Doria: an elegant cafeteria at the back of the Doria Pamphili palace, a famous art gallery in town next to Via del Corso. You can sip a coffee here from 8 a.m. in the morning, with a side of fine patisserie.
• Faro: a real “coffee experience” near Porta Pia and the famous Via Veneto, with great attention to quality and sustainability of the main ingredient, but also a cozy atmosphere and the opportunity to have brunch or a snack during the day.
• Le Foodie: is in Piazzale Appio n°9, between St. John’s basilica and the homonymous metro stop (BTW, have a look at Metro C San Giovanni, not just a station but a museum, amazing!) and it is a cozy and quiet bistrot in a congested area, quite a miracle. Very pleasant tables to savour a coffee or cappuccino with delicious pastries (try the apulian “pasticciotto”)
• MAE: in the area of the Vatican, called Prati, this cafeteria also serves brunch, light lunch and aperitivo, but it’s open from 9 a.m. in the morning for your breakfast and throughout the day for a snack
• Antico Bar Mariani: is a traditional bar close to Ponte Sisto and not far from Campo dei Fiori, with a little room displaying ancient furniture and machineries where you can sit down and savour your cappuccino at no extra cost. Have you ever drunk coffee in a cafeteria opened in 1878 ???
• MiT: connected to the Hilton Double Tree hotel near S. Maria Maggiore, but open to everybody, this bar promises an original coffee experience with special recipes prepared by a “coffee bartender”
• Molino: overlooking the basilica of S. Maria Maggiore, on Via Merulana, this bar combines with a bakery in a modern cozy setting.
• Sant’Eustachio Emporio: a new “dependance” of the famous coffee shop near the Pantheon, where you can actually sit down and been served not only several types of coffees, but also international breakfast or a dessert. This is also a place for shopping of everything related to coffee, from a moka machine to their vacuum sealed coffee beans or blend packages, all great ideas for a typical souvenir.
• Caffé Settimiano: in Trastevere, just next to Porta Settimiana, you have several tables outdoors and a side room with vintage furnitures to sit down for breakfast or aperitivo.

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