Espresso standing at the counter of Sant'Eustachio, maritozzi in Testaccio, specialty coffee at Faro and brunch at Barnum: where to have breakfast and coffee in Rome, plus how ordering works, counter versus table prices and the cappuccino-after-lunch custom.
The short answer: drink your espresso standing at the counter of Sant'Eustachio Il Caffè, in Rome since 1938, two minutes from the Pantheon and open until 1am or later. For breakfast, order a cappuccino and a cornetto (the Italian croissant) at the counter of any good bar, or try Rome's own pastry, the maritozzo, a sweet bun filled with whipped cream, at Pasticceria Linari in Testaccio. For specialty coffee, go to Faro on Via Piave. For eggs and pancakes, Barnum near Campo de' Fiori serves brunch every day.
A Roman breakfast is quick. Most people stand at the bar (in Italy a bar is a café as much as a place to drink), have a cappuccino and a cornetto, and are gone in ten minutes. Two of the city's best-known coffee bars are Tazza d'Oro, also in our Pantheon guide, and Sciascia Caffè 1919, also in the Vatican Museums guide.
Before you order, read the section on counter and table prices at the end: it's the one thing that catches visitors out. For the rest of the day, see things to do in Rome; for lunch and dinner, the best restaurants in Rome.
The classic espresso bars. Two of Rome's best-known coffee bars are a few minutes apart, either side of the Pantheon, and both sell their own coffee by the bag. Sant'Eustachio Il Caffè has been on its small piazza since 1938. Stand at the counter for an espresso, the way Romans do.
Order: a caffè (espresso) at the counter. The bar doesn't publish its prices online. Hours: 7.30am to 1am Sunday to Thursday, to 1.30am on Friday and 2am on Saturday, and it closes only on 25 December and 15 August. Getting there: two minutes' walk from the Pantheon, on the way to Piazza Navona. The catch: it's busy, so expect a crowd at the counter.
In Rome since 1938, and it sells its own coffee by the bag. Two minutes' walk from the Pantheon.
Tazza d'Oro (La Casa del Caffè Tazza d'Oro) on Via degli Orfani is a family roaster that started in 1944, a minute from the Pantheon's portico. It's also in our Pantheon guide; it's here because, with Sant'Eustachio, it's one of the two classic coffee stops by the Pantheon.
Order: an espresso at the counter, and buy a bag of the house blend to take home. Prices and opening hours aren't published online. The catch: with no hours online, don't plan a late-night coffee here; Sant'Eustachio is the one that stays open late.
A family coffee roaster since 1944, a minute from the Pantheon's portico. Also carded in our Pantheon guide.
Roscioli Caffè Pasticceria on Piazza Benedetto Cairoli is a café and pasticceria (pastry shop) between Campo de' Fiori and Largo Argentina.
Order: a cappuccino and a pastry. Prices aren't published online. Hours: 7am to 6pm Monday to Saturday, 8am to 6pm on Sunday. Sit down: the inside room can be booked. The catch: it closes at 6pm, so it's a morning and lunchtime stop.
A café and pastry shop; the inside room can be booked. Five minutes from Campo de' Fiori.
Near the Vatican. Sciascia Caffè 1919 on Via Fabio Massimo, in Prati, has been making coffee since 1919, and it's also in our Vatican Museums guide. It's one of the few classic Rome bars that publishes its whole menu, so you know the price before you order.
Order: the caffè Sciascia, an espresso served in a cup lined with dark chocolate (€2.30), or a cappuccino (€2.80) and a cornetto (€2). An espresso is €2.20. Metro (subway): Ottaviano or Lepanto on Line A, a few minutes' walk. The catch: it's in Prati, so it's a coffee before or after the Vatican, not on the way to the Pantheon.
Also carded in our Vatican Museums guide. A few minutes' walk from Ottaviano and Lepanto Metro (Line A).
Dolce Maniera is a Prati pastry shop that has been baking for more than forty years and has reopened (its word) at Viale Giulio Cesare 114-116, in Prati near the Vatican. It's a pastry counter rather than a café: cornetti, Roman and Sicilian pastries, sweet and savoury, around the clock.
Order: a cornetto, or a few to take away. Prices aren't published online. Hours: open every day, 24 hours, so it's also the place for a cornetto after midnight. Metro: Ottaviano or Lepanto (Line A), a few minutes' walk. The catch: it's a pastry counter, so don't expect a table and table service.
A pastry shop for more than forty years, reopened on Viale Giulio Cesare. Cornetti, Roman and Sicilian pastries, sweet and savoury, around the clock. A few minutes from Ottaviano and Lepanto Metro (Line A).
Specialty coffee. Rome is an espresso city, and single-origin coffee is the exception. Faro on Via Piave, near Porta Pia, is a specialty coffee bar: espresso from a changing list of single-origin coffees, plus batch-brew filter coffee and cold brew.
Order: a single-origin espresso (the price depends on the coffee of the day) or a cup of the day's batch brew, and stay for brunch. Metro: Castro Pretorio (Line B), about 10 minutes. The catch: it costs more than a Roman counter espresso, and it isn't near the main sights.
Batch-brew filter coffee as well as espresso; ask the staff what's on that day. About 10 minutes' walk from Castro Pretorio Metro (Line B).
Pastry shops and the maritozzo. The maritozzo is Rome's breakfast bun: a soft, sweet brioche split open and filled with a thick layer of whipped cream. Pasticceria Linari has been on Via Nicola Zabaglia in Testaccio since 1971, and breakfast is its daily ritual: maritozzi with cream, warm ciambelle (doughnuts), cornetti, bomboloni and pizzette rosse, the little tomato pizzas.
Order: a maritozzo with cream and a cappuccino. Prices aren't published online. Hours: 6.30am to 9pm Tuesday to Sunday, to 1.30pm on Monday. Metro: Piramide (Line B), about 7 minutes. The catch: Testaccio is south of the centre, so pair it with the market or Testaccio's trattorias.
In Testaccio since 1971. For breakfast: maritozzi with cream, warm ciambelle (doughnuts), cornetti, bomboloni and pizzette rosse. About 7 minutes from Piramide Metro (Line B).
Pasticceria Andreotti on Via Ostiense has been a pastry shop since 1931, and it's open every day from 6am to 10pm. It's a few minutes' walk from Piramide and the Pyramid of Cestius, on the Ostiense side of Testaccio.
Order: a cornetto and a coffee at the counter. Prices aren't published online. Metro: Piramide (Line B), about 5 minutes. The catch: like Linari, it's out of the centre, so it suits a morning in Testaccio or Ostiense.
A pastry shop since 1931. About 5 minutes from Piramide Metro (Line B).
Sit-down breakfast and brunch. If you want eggs, pancakes and a table rather than a pastry at the counter, Rome's brunch cafés are the answer. Barnum on Via del Pellegrino, near Campo de' Fiori, does coffee, breakfast and brunch every day from 8am to 3.30pm.
Order: brunch. Prices aren't published online. Book: you can't; it's walk-in only, so arrive early at weekends. The catch: with no bookings, there may be a wait.
Coffee, breakfast and brunch. No reservations, walk-in only. Three minutes from Campo de' Fiori.
Coromandel on Via di Monte Giordano, a few minutes from Piazza Navona, was set up to recreate the feeling of a hotel breakfast: croissants, cakes, pancakes, smoothies, eggs and toast, with brunch available every day. It doubles as a small shop selling pieces by artisans and artists.
Order: pancakes or eggs, or a slice of cake with coffee. Prices aren't published online. Hours: 8am to 2.30pm on weekdays, to 3.30pm at weekends. The catch: it's a sit-down café, so it's slower and dearer than a Roman counter breakfast.
A breakfast-and-brunch café modelled on a hotel breakfast, with pancakes, eggs and toast, and a small shop of artisans' pieces. Five minutes from Piazza Navona.
The famous espresso: Sant'Eustachio Il Caffè or Tazza d'Oro, both by the Pantheon.
A Roman breakfast in the centre: Roscioli Caffè, between Campo de' Fiori and Largo Argentina.
Before the Vatican: Sciascia Caffè 1919 (espresso €2.20, cappuccino €2.80), or cornetti at Dolce Maniera.
Maritozzo: Pasticceria Linari in Testaccio; Andreotti in Ostiense for a pastry-shop breakfast nearby.
Specialty coffee: Faro on Via Piave.
Eggs and pancakes: Barnum (walk-in) or Coromandel, both near Piazza Navona and Campo de' Fiori.
Late-night coffee: Sant'Eustachio, open to 1am or later; for a cornetto at any hour, Dolce Maniera is open 24 hours.
Al banco or al tavolo: most Rome bars have two prices, one for standing at the counter (al banco) and a higher one for sitting at a table (al tavolo). The difference can be large at bars on the big piazzas. If you sit, you pay the table price, even if you carried your cup over. Romans stand, drink and go.
How to order: at busy bars, pay at the till first, then give the receipt to the barista and say what you want. At quieter ones, order at the counter and pay as you leave.
What to ask for: un caffè is an espresso; a caffè macchiato is espresso with a drop of milk foam; a cappuccino is espresso with steamed milk and foam; a caffè latte is mostly milk (ask for just 'latte' and you'll get a glass of milk); a caffè americano is espresso topped up with hot water. A cornetto is the Italian croissant, plain or filled with cream, jam or chocolate.
Cappuccino after lunch: Italians tend to drink milky coffee only in the morning and switch to espresso after lunch and dinner. It's a custom, not a rule: no bar will refuse to make you a cappuccino in the afternoon. If you'd rather fit in, order a caffè or a macchiato after a meal.
Tipping: not expected. Some people leave a coin on the counter with the receipt.
Planning the day: start with breakfast near your hotel (see where to stay in Rome), then the sights in our 1-day Rome itinerary. For a whole-trip budget, see the cost of a trip to Rome.
Stop reading lists.
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