Rome Wine Bars are my favorite way to dine when I'm in town. After I’ve been in Rome for a while and satiated myself with pasta, pizza, and fritti - the Rome dining experience can start to feel a little homogeneous. From restaurant to restaurant you will typically find the same handful of classic Italian dishes. Rome hasn't yet succumb to the cutting-edge world food scene. But Rome wine bars are iconic - and I never tire of them.
Wherever I travel, I sleuth for the best wine bars. And I think that Rome has one of the best wine scenes anywhere, with a high proportion of excellent wine bars. While I could spend every night in the Rome wine bars I have been frequenting over the years, these first-time wine bars are so good, it's going to make my next visit even more challenging.
These six Rome wine bars are a mix of old faves and new finds. Each has its own unique personality, but what they all have in common is friendly atmosphere, fantastic wine, and tasty food - with excellent vegetarian options.
You may find other traveling foodies making a pilgrimage to these stunning, off-the-beaten path Rome Wine Bars, but mostly you'll find yourself among locals.
Rome Wine Bars in Monti
The neighborhood of Monti, near the Colisseum, has a high proportion of fantastic wine bars. A short walk from the Centro, this district has some hotels but feels like an intimate community.
Al Vino Al Vino
I have a special place in my heart for Al Vino Al Vino. I discovered this charming wine bar when I first came to Rome in 2002, and had camped out in Monti for a week. Al Vino Al Vino has an unassuming facade, and when you step inside you'll find a cozy room that has a family-run feel.
And indeed it is family-run. Al Vino Al Vino is a bit of rustic, country charm in the heart of Rome. Service might seem a little reserved at first, but definitely polite. Go back again and you're likely to feel like a regular.
I prefer to sit at one of the ceramic table tops in the intimate front room, or at the comfy medium-sized bar. One wall is lined with bottles displaying the hundreds of interesting wine options for tableside or takeaway.
Al Vino Al Vino also offers quite a large selection of delicious wines by the glass. The menu is still encased in the same large binder since I've been visiting Al Vino Al Vino.
My favorite small plates are the marinated zucchini, the Eggplant Parmigiana.
Arrive early and you may get a table in front. Arrive later and locals are likely to be spilling onto the sidewalk with cigarettes and glasses of wine. Join them or head to the back to try and snag a table. A big bonus is that Al Vino Al Vino is open on Sundays.
La Barrique
La Barrique had been on my Rome wine bars list forever. Yet it remained elusive in favor of my other Rome wine bar haunts. La Barrique is popular, but on a rainy Saturday night, we lucked in to a table without a reservation at 9pm, with only a short wait.
We hovered outside in the drizzle amongst the outdoor tables where a few patrons huddled under umbrellas with bottles of wine. There is a miniscule bar area at the entrance where one might loiter with a glass of wine.
We were seated at a great table toward the back of the restaurant, with a perfect view over the open, buzzy dining room. La Barrique features rustic, comforting dishes perfect for a rainy night.
The Pumpkin Soup starter was brilliant, topped with Artichoke and drizzled with Olive Oil. For my main course, I opted for my ever-favorite Cacio e Pepe with fresh housemade pasta.
Our meal was pulled all together with a fantastic red from Alto Adige.
Service at La Barrique was friendly and attentive yet meandering, which allowed us to linger and enjoy our dinner. La Barrique is rightfully popular. In the future, I would make a reservation to ensure a table. For a more impromptu evening, La Barrique looks like a fun spot to pop-by for a bottle of wine at an outdoor table.
Ai Tre Scalini
I had been vaguely aware of Ai Tre Scalini, but was compelled to check it out by a strong recommendation from our Air B&B hosts. I would venture that Ai Tre Scalini vaguely a wine bar. It's more of a general bar and restaurant, with a good changing chalkboard wine list. But we loved Ai Tre Scalini so much as our neighborhood Monti bar for drinking wine that we hung out here a couple of times. Ai Tre Scalini is a local, casual, and down-to-earth spot. We loved sitting in the front, ambient bar with its friendly service.
Ai Tre Scalini delivers a little bowl of Taralli - which I adore - on-the-house with your first drink. We got hooked on the Trebbiano white wine. The Ai Tre Scalini's cheese plate is wonderful. And their Eggplant Parmigiana is to die-for.
You have to actively look for the Ai Tre Scalini entrance, which blends into the residential buildings where vines hang down into the middle of the street. More likely you'll first spot patrons pouring out of Ai Tre Scalini's doorway onto Via Panisperna.
Ai Tre Scalini is generally lively, filled with friendly locals, and a great place to while away an afternoon when you just need a break from trudging through Rome's voluminous history.
Rome Wine Bars in Celio
Il Pentagrappolo
Apparently, Il Pentagrappolo has permanently closed.
Il Pentagrappolo is situated in the Celio neighborhood near the Basilica San Clemente. This was one of the Rome wine bars I had never been to before and was compelled by its reputation for interesting wine and live jazz.
On a Saturday evening, we trekked from our Monti abode and past the lit-up Colosseum, fingers-crossed that we would be able to get a table at Il Pentagrappolo without a reservation. Arriving just past 8pm, we were at first heartened that the place was empty.
The fairly small is lovely with all the tables arranged around the stage area. Il Pentagrappolo feels modern, but the numerous arches with exposed brick gives it an ancient feel. Our excitement for this cool jazz wine bar turned to disappointment when we were informed that all reservations were filled. We pleaded our case to sit at the bar and friends of the owners took pity on us and offered us the only two stools at the bar.
We soon realized why no tables were available. The jazz performance is more like a floor show, with one-seating. As the room began to fill-up, the staff bustled around the room taking orders for wine and small plates before the show began.
Our central seats at the back bar, provided a perfect unobstructed view opposite the small intimate stage. As show time approached, locals without reservations began to pour in, clearly coveting our bar seats. Seat-less, they grabbed glasses of wine and hovered at the bar. The jazz began around 9pm, featuring a delightful trio of piano, stand-up bass, and vocalist.
While Il Pentagrappolo offers several good wines by the glass, we quickly assessed that sharing an even more interesting bottle of wine was the way to go. We opted for a local Red from Lazio, the Casale Della Ioria, Campo Novo. An I'm always thrilled when gratis Taralli crackers appear.
The wine and music are clearly the focus at Il Pentagrappolo. The food while simple is tasty and thoughtfully prepared. Its purpose is clearly to support the consumption of wine. The food menu consists of light fare that can be easily composed behind the bar. We shared a plate of rustic Crostini and a lovely Pear & Gorgonzola Salad.
Il Pentagrappolo is a brisk 15-20 minute walk from the center of Monti. And while it's a pleasant historic walk, a quick taxi ride might also be in order.
Rome Wine Bars in Campo de' Fiori
Il Gocetto
It's a significant statement that Il Gocetto might be my very favorite of all the Rome Wine Bars. Il Gocetto and I have a long history, as I've been coming here since I've been coming to Rome, for more than a decade. Hip in a sophisticated style, Il Gocetto has a bit of a library feel to it. That is, if your library is filled with bottles wine. The largely wood space is dotted with tables that extend into a cozy back area.
Located at the far end of the Campo de' Fiori neighborhood close to the Tiber River, Il Gocetto sits on narrow cobblestone street. If you don't arrive early to Il Gocetto, you'll probably encounter a mass of patrons blockading the entrance with their cigarettes and glasses of wine.
Push on through, and you may still find a table. Locals like to hang-out on the sidewalks of their wine bars. But even a standing room-only situation, is still worth the wait for a table to open up. Friendly, but harried, staff will assist you in finding a table. I've somehow always lucked into the table.
Il Gocetto is always fantastically busy, especially as the evening wears on. Staff serve up wine and small plates from their deli case like a well-oiled machine. Service is tableside, but you may want to wander up to the bar to peruse the deli offerings and changing chalkboard wine list. I prefer to tell them what I'm in the mood for and let them make recommendations throughout the evening.
The small plates are so good here that it's a perfect place for dinner. My strategy is to arrive on the early side and just camp out at Il Gocetto for the entire evening and take in the vibrant nightlife scene.
The food offerings are casual, yet refined. On a recent evening, we ordered the most delicious and extensive cheese plate that encircled the dish from mild to strong, accompanied by soft, crusty bread. We also couldn't resist the marinated artichoke, tomatoes, and a plate of the most fragrant olive oil.
Il Gocetto is a bar-style Wine Bar, with no reservations. If you want to ensure a table, the best strategy is to arrive soon after the bar opens. But if that doesn’t work for your schedule, it's still worth the trek to the far side of Campo de' Fiori.
Worst case scenario is you will grab a glass of wine on the sidewalk with the locals, and just enjoy the scene.
Rome Wine Bars in Monteverde
Litro
In my Rome Wine Bars research for this trip, Litro was a new discovery. Located in Monteverde, in the residential hills above Rome beyond Trastevere, Litro is off-the-beaten-path for most travelers. But when we learned Litro focuses on Natural Wine, it was a no-brainer that we would find a way to get there. Even though it was a Monday night, it would be our last night in Rome before heading to Naples, and we determined it would be safest to make a reservation.
We set a strategy to grab a beer first at Ma Che Siete Venuti a Fa in Trastevere, and then jump into a taxi at a nearby taxi stand for our 8pm Litro dinner reservation. Only about a 10 minute ride away from Trastevere, Litro is located up a long winding hill, and our Taxi driver needed to consult his map, but got us there easily.
We arrived at a dark, quiet street in Monteverde, and entered through Litro's front terrace with outside tables. We were greeted warmly, and opted for a table inside. It was clearly a laid back Monday night, and only a few other tables were filled.
We felt like immediate regulars. Litro is distinctly modern, with partially tiled walls and mix & match tables and chairs. A large bar area anchors its own space at one end of the room.
Litro's food is casual, inventive, and has a seasonal focus. We started with a cheeseboard populated with goat and sheep's milk cheese made by local artisanal cheesemakers and, of course, a bottle of Trebbiano d'Abruzzo.
I had a bowl of creamy Pumpkin Soup that was loaded with crunchy Parmesan Croutons, accompanied by Tomato Bruschetta.
My friend had an inventive and beautiful Sword Fish Carpaccio topped with Mustard Greens, Radish, Apples, and generously drizzled with fragrant Olive Oil and Mint Dust.
The proprietors are fun, down-to-earth, and completely passionate about natural wine - and love to talk about the innovative local natural winemaking scene.
Hanging around Litro till closing rewarded us with some great extra tastes. We sipped on the last of an amazing, funky Cantina Giardino Vino Bianco.
They also insisted that we try a couple tastes of some favorite Mezcal. And since Litro also has a reputation for their Mezcal list - and because I am generally a fan of Mezcal - how could we turn it down?
Litro is really worth making the journey out of the Centro, especially if you are a fan of natural wine. It's really one of the best wine bars I've ever been to, and probably the most innovative of all the Rome wine bars we hit that week. But more than that, Litro is a special place where you just want to be a regular, and hang-out all day.
You will probably need to jump in a taxi to get there, and Litro staff is happy to call you a taxi for the way back. Given the logistics of getting to Monteverde, if you want a table, reservations are the safest way to go, especially on a weekend. But Litro does have quite a large bar area if you just want to throw caution to the wind and pop by for an inventive beverage and a small plate.
Litro is currently open from noon to midnight and closed Sundays, but confirm on their website. Also check out Litro's website for live music and other types of events.
I packed in a lot of great Rome wine bars on this trip, and I'm always looking for great new wine adventures. So, share! What are your favorite Rome wine bars?
