Rome’s Top 10 : Cafés and Gelaterie

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  1. Antico Caffè Greco

    Rome’s
    1760 answer to all the famed literary cafés of Paris. Just off the
    Spanish Steps on the busiest shopping street in town, it is an elegant
    holdover from yesteryear, its tiny tables tucked into a series of
    genteel, cosy rooms plastered with photos, prints and other memorabilia
    from the 19th-century Grand Tour era. The A-list of past customers runs
    from Goethe to Byron, Casanova to Wagner .

  2. Caffé Sant’Eustachio

    Rome’s most coveted cappuccini
    come from behind a chrome-plated shield that hides the coffee machine
    from view so no one can discover the skilled owner’s secret formula. All
    that is known is that the water comes from an ancient aqueduct and the
    brew is pre-sweetened. Always crowded .




  3. San Crispino

    Navigate the glut of inferior ice cream parlours infesting the Trevi neighbourhood to reach this elegantly simple little gelateria.
    The signature ice cream contains honey but there are other velvety
    varieties made with fresh fruit or nuts and sinful delights laced with
    liqueurs.

    • Via della Panetteria 42




  4. Tre Scalini

    This café’s claim to fame is Rome’s most decadent tartufo
    (truffle) ice cream ball, which is almost always packaged in other
    outlets. Dark chocolate shavings cover the outer layer of chocolate ice
    cream, with a heart of fudge and cherries.




  5. Giolitti

    This 19th-century café is the best known of Rome’s gelaterie. Touristy but excellent .




    Giolitti



    Giolitti

  6. Gran Caffè Doney

    Still
    the top café on the famous Via Veneto, but long past its prime as the
    heart­beat of Rome’s 1950s heyday (along with rival Café de Paris across
    the road) – when celebrities in sun­glasses hobnobbed with starlets
    draped over the outdoor tables. The lifestyle was documented in (and in
    part created by) Fellini’s seminal film La Dolce Vita , whose shutterbug character Paparazzo lent a name to his profession of bloodhound photographers .

  7. Caffè Rosati

    The
    older, more left-wing of Piazza del Popolo’s rival cafés (the other is
    Caffè Canova) was founded by two of the Rosati brothers (a third
    continued to manage the family’s original Via Veneto café). It sports a
    1922 Art Nouveau decor and its patrons park their newest Ferrari or
    Lotus convertibles out front .

  8. Caffè Novecento

    Exuding
    a cosy, 19th-century teahouse charm, this café contains a series of
    parlour-like nooks accessorized with antique furniture and serves
    delicate sweets or light salads, tarts and quiche.

    • Via del Governo Vecchio 12

    • 06 686 5242

    • DA

  9. Gelateria della Palma

    Modern ice cream parlour with more than 100 flavours of gelato plus semifreddi
    (half-frozen mousse) and frozen yoghurt. It’s open late and constantly
    thronged with Rome’s young and beautiful. Mere steps from the Pantheon .




  10. La Tazza d’Oro

    Strictly
    the highest quality Brazilian beans go into the coffee here. There’s
    nothing fancy in this unassuming place and no touristy gimmicks (despite
    being just off the Pantheon’s piazza). Just a long, undulating bar
    counter where regulars enjoy a heavenly espresso that, amazingly, manages to be both among the best and the cheapest in Rome .




    La Tazza d’Oro