Twelve of Rome's best bars: Drink Kong and the other serious cocktail bars, speakeasies, hotel bars, an amaro bar, cheap aperitivo spots and the old enoteche (wine bars), with what to drink and how to book.
The short answer: for a serious cocktail, book Drink Kong in Monti, No. 92 on The World's 50 Best Bars 2026 extended list, where drinks are €14 to €18. For a speakeasy, Jerry Thomas Speakeasy near Chiesa Nuova, open until 4.30am. For wine, stand at the counter of Ai Tre Scalini on Via Panisperna, a vineria since at least 1895. And for a cheap aperitivo by Piazza Navona, Bar del Fico does a spritz or Negroni for €10.
No Rome bar made the top 50 of The World's 50 Best Bars 2026. Two made the extended 51 to 100 list: Drink Kong (No. 92) and Freni e Frizioni (No. 62), which is in our Trastevere guide along with the neighbourhood's all-day Bar San Calisto. Rooftop bars have their own guide.
Rome drinks late but not hard. Aperitivo is the early-evening drink with something salty to eat, from about 6pm; dinner is 8 to 10pm; cocktail bars fill up after 10pm and stay open until 2am or later. For the sights between drinks, start with things to do in Rome, for the morning after, breakfast and coffee in Rome, and for the rest of the evening, Rome at night.
Cocktail bars and speakeasies. Drink Kong is on Piazza di San Martino ai Monti, at the Esquilino end of Monti, and it's No. 92 on The World's 50 Best Bars 2026 extended list. The menu, Flux 2.0, is split into themed 'dimensions' plus five heritage cocktails the bar has kept for years.
Drink: cocktails are €14 to €18 (the highballs are €16, the Cascade with tequila, St-Germain and yuzu sake €18), and zero-alcohol drinks start at €14. Hours: 6.30pm to 2am every day, last orders 1.30am. Book: online, for up to 6 people, and not after midnight. Rules: 18 and over, smart casual. Metro (subway): Vittorio Emanuele on Line A, about 5 minutes. The catch: it's a bit out of the centre, near Santa Maria Maggiore.
No. 92 on The World's 50 Best Bars 2026 (51-100 list). 18 and over; smart casual. Online bookings for up to 6 people, none after midnight. About 5 minutes from Vittorio Emanuele Metro (Line A).
Jerry Thomas Speakeasy opened in 2010 on Vicolo Cellini, a lane near Chiesa Nuova, and calls itself Italy's first 'secret bar': a small club built to bring back a forgotten style of mixing. It still works like a speakeasy: you book, and you need the password, which comes with the bar's newsletter.
Drink: prices aren't published online. Hours: 9pm to 4.30am Monday to Saturday, to 3.30am on Sunday, so it's the latest bar on this list. Book: online. If it's full, the same team runs the Jerry Thomas Bar Room in Trastevere, at Via del Moro 10, booked by WhatsApp. The catch: the password step means planning ahead, not wandering in.
You need the password, which comes with the bar's newsletter. Its sister Jerry Thomas Bar Room is in Trastevere at Via del Moro 10 (bookings by WhatsApp).
Argot is a speakeasy on Via dei Cappellari, one of the narrow streets off Campo de' Fiori. The name is the French word for slang, and it's a place for cocktails late into the night.
Drink: prices aren't published online. Hours: 8pm to 3am. Entry: Argot is an ARCI club (a members' cultural association), so you must register as a member to get in; fill in the form on its site before you go to avoid waiting at the door. Book: online. Getting there: two minutes from Campo de' Fiori. The catch: the membership step, and no prices online.
Argot is an ARCI club: you have to register as a member to get in, and it asks you to fill in the form before you arrive. Two minutes from Campo de' Fiori.
The Gin Corner opened in 2013 as Italy's first gin bar, on the ground floor of the Hotel Adriano on Via d'Ascanio, between the Pantheon and Piazza Navona. The list is long: you pick a gin by tier and a premium tonic, or go for a Martini.
Drink: a gin and tonic is the gin (€12 classic, €15 premium, €17 superpremium) plus €3 for the tonic, so €15 to €20. Martinis and classics such as the Negroni are €15, signatures €18 and mocktails €10. Hours: 6pm to midnight, to 1am on Friday and Saturday. Book: online. The catch: the drink list on the site is the 2025 one, so check prices when you order.
Opened in 2013 as Italy's first gin bar, on the ground floor of the Hotel Adriano. A few minutes' walk from the Pantheon and Piazza Navona.
Hotel and all-day bars. Stravinskij Bar is the bar of the Hotel de Russie, a Rocco Forte hotel on Via del Babuino, a minute from Piazza del Popolo. It's the grand-hotel bar of Rome: open from morning to 1am, with a full food menu, and the place for a slow, expensive Negroni.
Drink: most cocktails are €26; the November Rain is €24, the whisky-based Caravaggio and Dolce Vita €28, and the Bee Spicy and Direct Martini €30. Food: spaghetti with tomato and basil is €31, the Stravinskij tiramisù €18. Hours: 10am to 1am, every day. Dress: there's no formal code, but the hotel asks guests not to wear sportswear, shorts or beach shoes in its restaurants. Metro: Flaminio (Line A), 3 minutes. The catch: it's the most expensive bar on this list.
No formal dress code, but the hotel asks guests not to wear sportswear, shorts or beach shoes in its restaurants. 3 minutes from Flaminio Metro (Line A).
Salotto 42 is a bookbar, part bar and part sitting room, on Piazza di Pietra, the square in front of the columns of the Temple of Hadrian, five minutes from the Pantheon. It has been here since 2004 and runs all day, with food from lunchtime and cocktails late.
Drink: prices aren't published online. Hours: 10.30am to 2am, every day. Book: online. The catch: with no prices online, you'll learn the bill at the table.
A bookbar since 2004, with a food menu from lunchtime on. Five minutes' walk from the Pantheon.
Aperitivo. Il Marchese on Via di Ripetta is an osteria, a deli and a bar in one, and it bills itself as Europe's first amaro bar, with more than 600 Italian labels of the bittersweet herbal liqueur. Tables outside look across to the Ara Pacis, the altar of Augustus. Come for aperitivo and try an amaro spritz.
Drink: spritzes are €15 (with Aperol, Campari, Cynar and others) and the Il Marchese All Star cocktails €16, on the November 2025 drink list. Hours: 12.30pm to 2am every day; aperitivo 6.30 to 9pm; the kitchen runs to 11.30pm. Book: by phone (06 90218872) or email. The catch: €15 is a lot for a spritz, though the amaro list is the point.
Bills itself as Europe's first amaro bar, with more than 600 Italian labels. Book by phone (06 90218872) or email.
Bar del Fico is on Via della Pace, just behind Piazza Navona. It's a restaurant, café and cocktail bar from late morning to 2am, and a cheap aperitivo for the centre: every cocktail comes with pickled cucumbers and seasoned olives, the way aperitivo used to be.
Drink: an Aperol, Campari or Hugo spritz, a Negroni or a classic cocktail is €10, the signatures €13, a gin and tonic €10 to €18 depending on the gin, and wine by the glass from €6. Hours: 10.30am to 2am, every day. Book: online or by phone. The catch: it's a busy, sociable corner, not a quiet bar.
Every cocktail comes with pickled cucumbers and seasoned olives. Two minutes' walk from Piazza Navona.
Enoteche: the wine bars. An enoteca is a wine shop, and in Rome the old ones also pour by the glass and serve cheese, cured meats and a few hot dishes. Ai Tre Scalini on Via Panisperna in Monti is the classic: documents date the vineria to at least 1895, the façade is framed by an old vine, and inside are early 20th-century paintings on wood.
Drink: prices aren't published online. Hours: every day from lunchtime to midnight (the site also gives 12.30pm to 1am, so it may stay open later). Book: you can't, and groups of more than 6 may struggle for a table. Metro: Cavour (Line B), about 5 minutes. The catch: no bookings means queuing at peak times; go early in the evening.
No bookings, and groups of more than 6 may struggle for a table. About 5 minutes from Cavour Metro (Line B).
La Barrique on Via del Boschetto is the Monti wine bar for a proper meal with your wine: a kitchen open for lunch and dinner, aperitivo from 6pm, and a wine list with a section by the glass.
Drink: wine by the glass from €6 (the house wines are €6 a glass, €9 a quarter-litre, €16 a half), Champagne from €10 a glass, cocktails €9. Hours: lunch on weekdays from about 1 to 2.30pm (the homepage says weekdays only, the booking page Monday to Saturday), aperitivo from 6pm and dinner from 7.30pm, and on Sunday straight through from lunch to 10pm. Book: by phone (06 4782 5953) or by email at least 24 hours ahead. Metro: Cavour (Line B), about 5 minutes. The catch: if you want Saturday lunch, ring first.
Book by phone (06 4782 5953) or by email at least 24 hours ahead. Wines by the glass are on the list. About 5 minutes from Cavour Metro (Line B).
Cul de Sac on Piazza di Pasquino, a minute from Piazza Navona, has been a wine bar in its current form since 1977, in a shop that sold wine and oil from the early 1900s, with its marble counter still in place. It claims to have started the wine-bar trend in Rome, and keeps 1,500 wines on its list.
Drink: prices aren't published online. Hours: not published on its site. Outside: there are heated tables on the piazza, beside Pasquino, one of Rome's 'talking statues'. The catch: with no hours or prices online, check before you go.
Opened in its current form in 1977, with 1,500 wines and heated tables outside. On the piazza with Pasquino, one of Rome's 'talking statues', a minute from Piazza Navona.
Il Wine Bar Trimani on Via Cernaia is the wine bar of the Trimani family, who have sold wine in Rome since 1821; the shop itself is round the corner on Via Goito. It's near Termini, so it's the useful one if you're staying around the station.
Drink: prices aren't published online, though the wine bar's list can be downloaded from the Trimani site. Hours: Monday to Saturday, 11.30am to 3pm and 5.30pm to midnight. Metro: Castro Pretorio (Line B), about 5 minutes. The catch: it's closed on Sunday.
The wine bar of the Trimani family, wine merchants in Rome since 1821; the shop is round the corner at Via Goito 20. About 5 minutes from Castro Pretorio Metro (Line B).
A serious cocktail: Drink Kong (No. 92 on The World's 50 Best Bars 2026 extended list), or Freni e Frizioni (No. 62) in our Trastevere guide.
A speakeasy: Jerry Thomas Speakeasy (password needed) or Argot by Campo de' Fiori.
Gin: The Gin Corner, with gin and tonics from €15.
A grand-hotel drink: Stravinskij Bar at the Hotel de Russie (most cocktails €26).
Aperitivo: Bar del Fico (€10 spritz) or Il Marchese for an amaro spritz by the Ara Pacis.
Wine: Ai Tre Scalini or La Barrique in Monti, Cul de Sac by Piazza Navona, Trimani near Termini.
Very late: Jerry Thomas to 4.30am, Argot to 3am, Drink Kong, Salotto 42, Il Marchese and Bar del Fico to 2am.
Aperitivo: the early-evening drink, usually a spritz, a Negroni or a glass of wine, with something salty to eat, from about 6pm to 9pm. It isn't a free dinner buffet, so eat afterwards. Rome dinners start at 8pm or later; see the best restaurants in Rome.
What it costs: a spritz is €10 at Bar del Fico and €15 at Il Marchese; cocktails run €14 to €18 at Drink Kong and mostly €26 at the Hotel de Russie. A glass of wine in a wine bar is usually far cheaper than a cocktail; Bar del Fico's start at €6.
Booking: book cocktail bars for Thursday to Saturday nights. Ai Tre Scalini takes no bookings at all, so arrive early; La Barrique wants 24 hours' notice.
Tipping: not expected. Read the menu for any service charge; a coperto (cover charge) isn't allowed in Rome, so anything extra must be printed on it.
Planning the trip: to stay near the bars, see where to stay in Rome; for a budget, the cost of a trip to Rome; for the sights, the 3-day Rome itinerary.
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