Some tips for an aperitif to remember in the heart of Rome

A list of nice places to find your way through the thicket of bars, clubs, lounges, bistros, wine bars and tourist traps that line the center of Rome. Water down your walk between Piazza di Spagna, Fontana di Trevi and Pantheon with a good glass of wine, between a taste of salami and cheese and a bite of freshly baked pizza.
(Main photo: Caffè Doria)


Salotto 42
piazza di Pietra 42
An intimate small lounge with a sophisticated interior in the charming Piazza di Pietra, in front of Hadrian's Temple, serving cocktails and dishes for all appetites (snacks, salads, veg dishes, pasta).
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Bar Locarno
via della Penna 22
Bar of Hotel Locarno, a five-star hotel near Piazza del Popolo, offering the "dining anytime-anywhere" experience (kitchen open until late at night, with the possibility of booking a table either in the bar's "secret garden" or on the panoramic terrace), a seasonal gourmet menu signed by chef Domenico Smargiassi (Italian classics reinterpreted with imagination) and a drink menu by mixologist Nicholas Pinna.
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Il Goccetto
via dei Banchi Vecchi 14
A historic wine bar in the center with a vintage interior in an 18th-century palazzo, featuring a carefully curated menu of international labels, both bottled and by the glass, to be accompanied by a selection of excellent specialties.
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Caffè Doria
Palazzo Doria Pamphilj - via della Gatta 1
Refined and elegant bistro suspended "between contemporaneity and classicism" inside Palazzo Doria Pamphilj. For the aperitif, it offers an interesting experience in which each drink is accompanied by small express recipes created by the chef. If your drink is gin and tonic, then this is undoubtedly the place for you, with the idea borrowed from Anglo-Saxon cocktail bars of a dedicated trolley (the "Gin Trolley") brought to the table by the barman for the choice of your favourite bottle. Also recommended for lunch and breakfast (it is also a cafe with pastries).
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Forno Monteforte
via del Pellegrino 129
Freshly baked bread, pizza and sandwiches, seasonal ingredients, weekly rotating selection of wines by the glass, low prices in a relaxed atmosphere. "Sartorial aperitif and popular pouring" with the "Vino e panino" formula: the customer pays for the glass, the oven puts in squares of pizza, small stuffed breads and mini sandwiches.
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Caffè Propoganda
via Claudia 15
Born on the imprint of the first bars of the '900 Italian, this elegant yet informal bistro not far from the Colosseum, offers light meals prepared with seasonal products (vegetables from the organic garden owned in Monte Rotondo), meats and cheeses, eggs Parisi, first and second courses signed by the young chef Antonio Cosmai, a selected wine list with small producers and interesting proposals for combinations between dishes and cocktails.
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