Café entertainment in Italy
-
A
Caffè Gambrinus
Tourists and overdressed visitors self-consciously sip overpriced coffee and cocktails at Naples’ most venerable cafe. Oscar Wilde and Bill Clinton count among the celebs who have graced its lavish art-nouveau interior.
reviewed
-
B
Terzi
A refined cafe serving an unusual range of coffees, Terzi is a great spot to toy with a caffè con prugna e cannella (espresso with plum and cinnamon).
reviewed
-
C
Casa dell'Architettura
As Rome gets its cultural groove back, a new league of themed cultural case (houses) is keeping culture-vultures busy. One of the lesser-known gems is Esquiline's Casa dell'Architettura. Set in a beautifully restored fin de siècle aquarium designed by Ettore Bernich, its flouncy, glass-domed hall regularly hosts architecture-themed exhibitions. It has a slick design-themed bookshop for coffee-table cred, and a raffish little garden for the concrete-jungle fatigued.
reviewed
-
D
Caffè Meletti
From the shade of the ancient portico you can sip a coffee or the famous anisette as you gaze onto the perfect Italian piazza. Or sit inside to enjoy the statuesque carved wood stairway and bar. It was once a popular spot for the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Jean-Paul Sartre. The cafe, founded in 1907, fell into disrepair but has since been completely restored to its former glory.
reviewed
-
E
Caffè San Marco
Young bloggers mix with 90-year-old former children of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at this dark mahogany haven where dexterous waiters balance coffee cups on silver trays and nothing much has changed since 1949 – or even 1909. The only thing missing is the atmospheric fug of cigarette smoke – a kind of blessing in disguise.
reviewed
-
F
Oppio Caffè
A glass-and-metal exposed-brick café-bar, Oppio has fabulous views of the Colosseum from the outside tables. It’s a great place for a beer, cocktail or aperitivo (€10; 5pm to 10pm), and has regular live music, plus DJs playing lounge, jazz and house, and wine tasting on Thursday evenings.
reviewed
-
G
Libreria del Cinema
It’s difficult to know in which category to put this place, as it’s a bookshop-café, but we’re putting it here as a perfect coffee-and-snack pitstop. There’s aperitivo from 6pm. And, of course, you can browse the impressive cinema book collection too.
reviewed
-
H
La Bottega del Caffé
Ideal for frittering away a morning, lunch, afternoon or evening, this appealing café-bar has greenery-screened tables out on the captivatingly pretty Piazza Madonna dei Monti with its fountain. As well as drinks, it serves lipsmacking snacks, from simple pizzas to cheeses and salamis.
reviewed
-
I
Caffè Chelo
Like everyone else in Bosa you'll find yourself settling into a routine that includes long bouts sitting in cafés along the corso just watching the world go by. The best place to do this is Caffè Chelo, an original Liberty-style café overlooking Piazza Costituzione.
reviewed
-
J
Liberty Cocktail Lounge
The hot spot in town, this art deco inspired cafe would have made Picasso feel right at home. Asian-influenced artwork, Tiffany glass lamps and a classy bohemian crowd will make you want to paint the scene and sell it as a framed poster. It’s off Piazza Kennedy.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
K
Caffetteria San Colombano
Enviably nestled in one of the bastions of the city wall, this stylish café is as much dining as drinking spot. The interior is modern and a mix of styles; outside, with its wooden decking and umbrella seating, is perfect retreat-from-the-sun territory.
reviewed
-
L
Solo Doc: SapordiVini
While away hours on a warm day outside at this café and bar under the Italian version of a tented harem. Bar tables and plush, low couches seat the young hip crowd as well as visitors. Or just stroll by and enjoy the piped-in jazz, dance or world music.
reviewed
-
Free Jazz Café
Three kilometres south of town towards Palau you soon meet a turn-off to the right for Buoncammino. A quick jaunt down this road brings you to Santa Teresa's late-nightlife hub. Free Jazz Café is a late-night bar that happens to serve pizza.
reviewed
-
M
Caffè delle Logge
Sprawled in the shade beneath the loggia on Prato's loveliest fountain-tinkling squares, this café-lounge and cocktail bar is perfect any time. Inside, a white moulded ceiling ensnares 1950s seating, flatscreen TV and boldly painted walls.
reviewed
-
N
Caffè Contarena
An art deco fantasy with high ceilings and lots of polished timber, this is Udine’s glamour-puss scene. The maxim in this stunning cafe beneath the arcades of Palazzo d’Aronco is sip coffee or cocktails and look good.
reviewed
-
O
Caffè Cavour
This swish cafe on Rimini’s main square attracts a well-to-do aperitivo set who lounge inside on leather chairs in winter, then decamp outdoors on balmy summer evenings to enjoy the fine Piazza Cavour views.
reviewed
-
P
Caffè Torino
This chandelier-lit showpiece opened in 1903. A brass plaque of the city’s emblem, a bull (Torino in Italian means ‘little bull’), is embedded in the pavement out the front; rub your shoe across it for good luck.
reviewed
-
Q
Lino's Coffee Shop
An excellent coffee shop attached to the Mondadori bookshop, Lino's has a massive variety of coffees. Their granitas are also popular and this is a perfect place for reading your book in a quiet, cool atmosphere.
reviewed
-
R
Caffè Morlacchi
Bring your bongo drums and leftist rhetoric to this most hip of establishments. Students, professors and expats nosh on international fare, sipping tea or hot chocolate during the day and cocktails at night.
reviewed
-
S
Caffè Mulassano
With dozens of customers and only four tables, the art nouveau Mulassano is where regulars sink white-hot espressos a piedi while discussing yesterday’s football scores with the bow-tied barista.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
T
Mi Svago
Modern Mi Svago is more of a bar than a café. Try the espressino freddo, a delicious variation on espresso which is served cold with fiore di latte (literally 'flower of the milk').
reviewed
-
U
Web & Wine
At once an internet point (€3 per hour), a stylish enoteca (with a good selection of tipples), a snack stop (that also serves full meals) and a hip designer cafe with underlit Etruscan remains.
reviewed
-
V
Caffè Costantino
The most famous cafe in town attracts a constant stream of tourists to its square-side tables. There’s a full food menu, although if you just want to eat you’ll get better value almost everywhere else.
reviewed
-
W
Cafe Girasole
A popular café-cum-wine-bar in the heart of the medieval town serving late breakfast and light lunches and, in the evenings, cocktails and table snacks. Has a good atmosphere and outdoor seating.
reviewed
-
X
Café Latino
A romantic choice, this is the place to sit among orange and lemon trees and gaze into your lover’s eyes over a chilled cocktail. If you can’t drag yourselves away, you can also eat here (meals €30).
reviewed
