Thursday, October 01, 2009

Places to Eat and Drink in Rome..DRINK

I don’t do pub-crawls, Sloppy Sams or The Drunken Ship, as I’m a grown woman, not a 19 year-old exchange student looking to get wasted. That said, I do love to get my “cocktails on” with my friends. Here are some of my favorite places:

Freni & Frizioni – near Pz. Trillussa, Trastevere,
Youngish crowd, mostly under 30. One of the best mojitos in the city. Great in summer/spring. It gets packed so not the kind of place where you get to chat up the bartenders.
Via del Politeama

Friends Café
Part of a small chain
Good Wifi , young crowd
Piazza Trillussa

Bar della Pace - near Pz. Navona,
Nice place to sit outside.
Via della Pace 3-7

Etabli – near Pz . Navona
Good winter/cold weather place. Nice décor with a fireplace
Vicolo delle vacche 9/9a

'Gusto Wine Bar, great aperitivi – off Via del Corso south of Piazza del Popolo
Drinks during aperitivi are 9 euros and up.
There is another ‘Gusto cocktail place located in Piazza Augusto Imperatore which also has excellent cocktails but the aperitvi are not self-serve.
Via delle Frezze


Tre Scalini - Monti area
Very chill spot in a great neighborhood. I think it’s owned by some actors. Good selections of wines.
Via Panisperna 251

Hotel de Russie – Near Piazza del Popolo.
Very expensive, ala the Four Seasons or L’Ermitage in Beverly Hills. The terrace garden is lovely and the bar is fantastic. I’ve only been there once, for drinks with a film exec. Thank God she paid.
Via del Babuino, 9

Salotto 42 – near the Pantheon
Funky little bar co-owned by a Swedish ex-model. Library is filled with books on art, fashion and design. Crowd spills out into a pretty piazza
Piazza de Pietra 42

Caffe Farnese – Historic center
More expensive than places on the Campo. You’re paying for the view. Older crowd. Mostly well dressed locals mixed with some tourists. I had an Aperol Spritz there that was crazy strong.
Piazza Farnese

Places on/by Campo dei Fiori:
Aristocampo, Obika or Vineria.
Vineria was one of the first bars/caffes to open in Campo. Since the owners of Teste Matte sold their place (to a chain type place) many in that crowd have moved on to Vineria.

I live close to Campo, but it's not the place I go to for aperitivi or for lunch/dinner.

On weekend nights the Campo is full of mostly high school and college aged young people. There's a heavy police presence because in the past the crowds were quite rowdy.

Salotto Locarno added 3/14/11
Very L.A. reminds me of Chateau Marmont. Not sure when it became such a scene. I stayed at the hotel during my first trip to Rome and the bar was lovely but quiet.
Drinks are expensive. The mostly Italian crowd is very chic/hip. Not sure how the crowds are earlier in the week but Thursday - Saturday, it's packed. Reservations recommended or go early in the evening.

Salotto Lorcano
Hotel Locarno
Via della Penna, 22
+(39) 06-361=0841

16 comments:

sara said...

Thanks for the recommendations! Faenas Cafe near Porta Portese is a good place too. Artsy vibe, but probably less crowded then the places you mention.

erin said...

If that Freni & Frizioni is the place you took me to with the GINGER mojitos..then I can completely second that in motion. Sometimes I think that drink shows up in my dreams (except when that happens, I'm normally drinking it next to Raul Bova) ;)

Italianissima said...

Gusto Wine Bar - I have been there and it is great. Sigh...I wish I was in Rome now having a cocktail!

Stekkino said...

Bar della Pace was our hang out spot...need some time off..booking my flights soon...

Diana Strinati Baur said...

ok, i feel like a real collina-billy (that would be an italian hillbilly) b/c I don't know what two of those three things in the first line of this post are. I get the pub crawl. That's it. I think it would be great to have a girls' bar crawl through Rome. We are ragazze hear us roar. You lead the way, Ragazza.

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

sara - thanks for the tip.

erin - yes it is. There is nothing wrong with dreaming about sipping mojitos with Raul Bova.

Italianissima - if I makes you feel better, it's cloudy right now.

stekkino - it's a cool spot. Love it.

diana - don't feel like a collina billy (ha) the other two places very popular bars with American exchange students located in Campo dei Fiori. I can only handle two drinks max so not sure how far our crawl would go. ha!

American in Padua said...

Thanks for the update on places to go as an adult in the Eternal City. I'm so sad not to be visiting Rome enough to be in the loop anymore but now I will be ready to hit some good spots the next time I am down there ;)

milanesemasala said...

A big thumbs up for Etabli. Very intimate, relaxed vibe and I loved the decor. And of course, the company was excellent ;)
And I wish I knew about Sloppy Sam's before you told me about it. Ugh!

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

aip - you're welcome

milanese - Glad you liked it. In the winter it gets more crowded but I was glad we were able to hear each other. ha

re: Sloppy Sams...poverina.

Anonymous said...

just came back from Rome and I wish I had seen this post before I left! I struggled to find nightlife recs.

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

anon - hope you had a good trip.

Most of the dance clubs are in Testaccio. My club days are behind me but that's what the kids tell me. :)

Stacy said...

This is a great list! My new Italian friends have actually brought me to a few of these bars and they were great!

On a slightly different note, do you happen to know of a good (and not terribly expensive) salon to go to for a mani/pedi and waxing?

Thanks!

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

stacy - I like Nail Bar (two locations) I go to the one on Via Giulia. 40 euros for a mani/pedi.

I don't think there are cheap mani/pedi Korean salons here like what we have back in the States. Personally I stopped going to those after realizing a $15 mani/pedi does not last. ha

I know Nail Bar waxes but have never had it done.

Bare Essentials is more expensive but a little fancier. Located near the American Embassy.

Reservations are suggested and both are owned are Italian-American/Italian owned. Hope that helps.

Stacy said...

Thanks-- this is super helpful! My birthday is next week so I wanted to treat myself :)
But boy do I miss those cheap mani/pedi's in New York (haven't given them up quite yet, lol). True, the manicure only lasts a good 3 days but you could actually afford to go every week. Though I guess you would come out even if you went to the expensive place biweekly... lol, oh well.
Thanks again! I'll check this place out :)

Keyser-Soze said...

Hi,

I'm coming over to Rome with my wife and another 2 adults at the end of April; can you recommend some good local eateries away from the cannon fodder pizza palaxes for el touristo's.

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

keyser-soze

I've listed places to eat in this post.

http://sistergirltales.blogspot.com/2009/09/places-to-eat-and-drink-in-romeeating.html

I would also do a search on the TRIPADVISOR.COM Rome Forums. They were an invaluable resource for me as I planned my earlier trips to Italy.

Buon viaggio.