Entertainment in Italy
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Colle Beretto
On the same square as the fortress-like Palazzo Strozzi, this bar/cafe opts instead for plate glass and beefy bouncers. The terrace is luxuriously fitted out with cushy sofas, while inside, pea-green neon and transparent Kartell chairs scream design. The aperitivo buffet is among the city’s most generous.
reviewed
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B
Al Brindisi
The oldest osteria in the world (according to Guinness), this atmospheric wine bar was already an established drinking den in 1435 – Titian drank here, Benvenuto Cellini dropped in on occasion and Copernicus studied in the room upstairs. Alongside the substantial wine list there’s a strong selection of grappas and whiskies, plus a full menu of pastas, mains and snacks. Fixed-price lunch menus start at €13.
reviewed
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C
Freni e Frizioni
Everyone’s favourite hip Trastevere hang-out: in a former life, this bar/café was a garage, hence its name (‘brakes and clutches’). The arty crowd flocks here to slurp well-priced drinks (especially mojitos) and pack the piazza in front. You can eat breakfast here, have lunch, munch brunch at the weekend, and feast on the good-value aperitivo. Hell, you could even move in here.
reviewed
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D
La Dolce Vita
A perennial favourite of the city’s status-conscious youth and nearly young, Dolce Vita has stood up to competition from newer offerings such as Noir and Colle Beretto and remains the best place to show off your prowess in selecting designer labels. As weather permits, crowds spill out of the industrial-style interior onto the adjacent piazza, which would be stunning if it weren’t made to double as a car park.
reviewed
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E
Bar del Fico
At the time of writing Bar del Fico was undergoing some works to shore up its façade. By the time you read this, fingers crossed, this long-standing favourite of the capital's bohemians will have reopened and you can return to while away days and nights at its fig-tree-shaded tables. The elderly chess players never left: they carried on their games in the cobbled street beside the building site.
reviewed
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F
Central Park
Hidden off in the leafy Parco delle Cascine, Florence’s largest disco brings several acres of Ibiza to the city’s western edge. The sprawling club has two outdoor dance floors, an artificial waterfall, VIP lounge seating raised a metre or so above the common folk, plus a pair of indoor dance floors. Move back and forth between pop, dance, electronica or disco kitsch, as the mood dictates.
reviewed
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G
Kursaal Kalhesa
Recline on plump sofas with silk cushions and sip a cocktail beneath the high vaulted ceilings. There’s a roaring fire in winter, plus art exhibits and a bookstore with foreign newspapers. A lively unpretentious crowd is attracted by the good program of music and literary events. Meals (from €30) are served in the dining room or on the leafy patio flanked by 15th-century walls.
reviewed
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Les Affiches
Once the boho-favourite ‘Stardust’, but the name-and-management change doesn’t seem to have made much difference. The hep cats in cool hats are postcard-home handsome and hang out in the cobbled street as well as in the cramped red-and-black rooms inside, and there’s occasional live music at aperitivo o’clock (early evening).
reviewed
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Twice
Mainstream fun is on tap at this venue that starts the night as a wine bar and then turns into a dance club after 11pm (hence the name). The clientele tends to be Pretty Young Things in search of same. After the aperitivo buffet closes down, the DJs start to arrive with their iPods stuffed with hip-hop and Top 40 dance hits.
reviewed
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J
Casa del Vino
Locals keep popping in all day long for a nip or two from a limited but carefully selected list of daily pourings of Chianti at this quintessential Florentine enoteca (wine bar). Its carved wooden cabinetry, no-nonsense service and mini-panini (bread rolls or sandwiches) round out the happy picture.
reviewed
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K
Oibò
By day, it’s a neighbourhood bar where locals get their croissant and cappuccinos. But by night, Oibò becomes Via de’ Benci’s top hot spot, attracting a young-skewing crowd who down fruity cocktails and, despite space restraints, gyrate to house and pop sounds spun by resident DJs.
reviewed
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B>Gallery
Contemporary art buffs and the design-inclined know where to head for a cultured sip. Join them in the minimalist bookshop/bar for fashionable tomes and cool Camparis, or head into the basement gallery for anything from multimedia and fashion installations to Mexican photography.
reviewed
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M
Naima
Naima ‘Cocktails and more' is the tagline of this chic sharp bar, with industrial metalwork, pretty-in-pink lampshades and DJs spinning tunes after dark. Apéritifs are served from 18:30 to 21:00 and the bar stool–clad place is a wi-fi hotspot.
reviewed
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N
Fiorio
There’s something evocative about inhabiting Mark Twain’s old window seat as you contemplate the gilded interior of a cafe where 19th-century students once plotted revolutions and the Count of Cavour deftly played whist. And all this before your coffee has even arrived.
reviewed
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O
Leningrad Café
Another hip venue, this café-club down a quiet alley in the San Martino quarter of town pelts out everything from garage, punk and indie rock to rock 'n' roll, swing and soul. DJs spin during the week and Saturday sees cabaret steal the show.
reviewed
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P
Joshua Tree
Scruffy and relaxed, this is a tavern where bullshit is barred and the only Irish 'themes' come by way of Murphy's stout, moody shades of green and conviviality by the keg. It gets a lot louder as the night goes on but then don't we all?
reviewed
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Q
Cabiria
Cabiria, a popular cafe by day, converts into a busy nocturnal music bar that continues on way past your bedtime. In summer, the buzz extends onto Piazza Santo Spirito, which becomes a stage for an outdoor bar and regular free concerts.
reviewed
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Il Rifrullo
Behind a cosy corner cafe hides a honeycomb of rooms and gardens that have become one of the ‘it’ waterholes in Florence, thanks especially to the generous aperitivo buffet that attracts the young, the restless and the hungry.
reviewed
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Osteria del Bugiardo
On busy Corso Portoni Borsari, traffic converges at Bugiardo for glasses of upstanding Valpolicella bottled specifically for the osteria. Polenta and sopressa make worthy bar snacks for the powerhouse Amarone.
reviewed
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T
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
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YAB Club
Yes, at YAB, You Are Beautiful, and this sleek, mirror-lined nightclub won’t let you forget it. Crowds skew young, and the best sound system in the city centre have made the Monday hip-hop party a Florentine classic.
reviewed
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V
Max’s Bar
Max is a gay Rome institution, and its unthreatening, welcoming vibe, backed by a hip-wiggling soundtrack of commercial house, is what has endeared it to so many men for so long.
reviewed
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Caffè degli Spiriti
Grab a hammock, lie back and enjoy the vibe at this stylish lounge bar on the Bastione San Remy. If you get the munchies call for pizza (€7) or grilled meat (€17).
reviewed
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X
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
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Y
Caffè Librarium Nostrum
A modish Castello bar with panoramic seating on top of Cagliari’s medieval ramparts. Occasional live music jacks up the atmosphere in the brick-lined interior.
reviewed
