If you feel like blending with the locals come to this recently re-opened bar. It is located in a small square by the same name (literally, fig) and when the evening comes, it IS the place to be. Its crowd during weekdays is mostly young professionals in search of a drink before heading home (or elsewhere) for dinner.

Sparkling wine is very fashioned here. Its name is prosecco and it’s served in the same flute-shaped glasses as champagne (they’re actually very similar in taste but can’t be named that because of protected designation origin rights). My favorite drink is called Spritz and in this part of Italy has a particularly is bittersweet tasting. To accompany your drink you’ll find a table full of salty snacks that vary from evening to evening. Usually you’ll find pasta dishes, pizzeta (pizza-like bread) and crudités. After all, you don’t want to get fat.

If you’re lucky and the weather is right, a table in the external part of the bar will be available. Take a sit, enjoy the view of neatly dressed romans and decide where to go for dinner. The restaurant is just a few steps away, on Via della Pace. And it’s worth trying it. 

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Bar del Fico | Bars, Snacks | Drink with snack € 8
Piazza del Fico 26 | City center
07:30 – 02:30 daily

This is also a popular venue in the North Rome area. It’s illuminated by candlelight, and has ethnic furniture, sofas and puffs. The atmosphere is warm and laid-back, where you can meet old friends and create new ones, where you can chat away in the corner seated on a puff or sofa.

It is more of a cocktail bar but they do have a Mediterranean kitchen too. They have a good wine list but the preferred drinks are martinis or even champagne.

But what makes this wine bar interesting is that a lot of the items that you see are actually for sale! If you like their leopard print dishes, you can take them home!

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Rere | Bars, Restaurants (Regional) | Glass of wine € 7.00
Via Flaminia Vecchia 475 | Parioli & Flaminio | +39063340483
18:00 – 02:00 daily

Peccati di Gola is a cute little store tucked away in the middle of the must have aperitivo place in Ponte Milvio. It’s located between a jewelry store and a bread store. The first time I came about this place, I was just strolling down the street after having a hot chocolate at Mondi’s (check the Mondi article)

The place immediately caught my eye because I found it very interesting that they served different cuts of meats and any type of cheese, and at the same time you can have an aperitivo with a glass of wine. The place itself is small with three small tables inside and two outside if you want to do some people watching.

I like to hang out here with a friend of two and catch up while eating some of the great tasting cheeses and sipping wine, and when I brought one of my friends for the first time, she did not even know it existed even though she lives in the Ponte Milvio area! The good news is that she loved it so every so often we meet there to catch up.

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Peccati di Gola | Bars | 1 kilo of truffle salami € 29.00
Via Flaminia 454 | Cassia & Montemario | +390633225331
Mon – Sat 10:00 – 13:00 & 16:00 – 23:00

This is a new place in Ponte Milvio, and with its innovative design and a staff committed to customer service, you can only have but a good experience, even if the place is pretty small.

It is open in the morning so you can enjoy coffee, then at around noon, you will notice young professionals and students for a quick lunch break. But the real beauty of this place is during the evening for happy hour time and later, since it is open until 02:00.

I like to go a little early, maybe around 20:00 on Wednesdays to break from the week routine and enjoy some couscous with my Cuba libre or a good glass of red wine.

In fact Wednesdays is the evening in which it receives more clientèle, so you do not have to wait for the weekend to enjoy this place, and the area is not as crowded as in the weekends.

A wonderful thing about this place is that if you are an early riser, they are open at 6:00 A.M and you can enjoy a morning coffee and croissant and the silence before the chaos!

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Amoroma | Bars | Pink lady cocktail € 7.00
Ponte Milvio 5 | Parioli & Flaminio | +390697274015
Mon – Sat 06:00 – 02:00

This is just another coffee bar at the next corner, but the modern design makes the experience of tasting their coffee worth it.

This coffee spot continues to re-invent itself and in fact the last few evenings that I went there I swapped my coffee for a glass of red wine! Now they are also a wine bar.

People that that live or work in the area, go and have their breakfast here with a cup of coffee and maybe a freshly baked croissant before heading off to work.

I like to go there at mid-morning and chat around with a friend sipping a cappuccino and indulge in a chocolate or cream filled croissant. And now they expanded with a small patio outdoors with tables with umbrellas to protect you from the hot sun, but it is so refreshing to have a mid-afternoon cold iced tea!

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Caffe’ 901 | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Caffe macchiato € 1.00
901 Via Cassia | Cassia & Montemario | +390633260000
Mon – Sat 10:00 – 20:00

This small cocktail bar is one of the oldest bars in Rome, since the 1920′s and it has been popular as a hang-out spot in many Italian movies. It is one of the hang out places where you can see almost the same crowd on a weekly basis. If the weather permits it, the tables outside are packed with people drinking either coffee, beer or a summer’s favorite – a mojito.

The first time I saw the place I was not excited about it. But all the people around it sparked my interest, so I decided to give it a chance and am delighted I did; their mojitos are to die for. It is located right next to the “Toretta Valadier” on the Ponte Milvio bridge and if you are not a local you would not give it a second look, because it looks like a shack, but their mojitos are worth it.

It is that time again to go and hang out at “Il Chioschetto”! I could not wait to go and have a refreshing mojito on a Thursday night with some friends and just hang out and chat for awhile.

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Chioschetto di Ponte Milvio | Bars | Mojito € 5.50
Ponte Milvio 44 | Parioli & Flaminio | +39063333461
Apr – Oct 18:00 – 02:00 daily

This spot is a little gem of the house of blues in the Trastevere area where you can eat and drink as you listen to a Blues concert. The place is relatively small and therefore you have to call in advance if you want to reserve a table to sit at. But the cool thing about the place is that you feel that you are part of the group that is playing.

One of the first times that I went to listen to a Blues group, it was the “Blues Stuff” a group from Naples and some of their songs can be very entertaining, but the bar has other groups and singers that go there such as Andy Summers, Scott Henderson or Chad Wakerman.

I like Big Mama because of its small size. The groups or singer usually gets the crowd involved making it a more fun and interesting experience.

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Big Mama | Bars, Music | Membership € 12.00
Vicolo di San Francesco a Ripa 18 | Trastevere | +39065812551
21:00 – 01:30 daily

Scholars Lounge is an Irish Pub in the midst of Rome’s Center near an amazing view of Piazza Venezia. The pub is actually medium size even though it will seem extremely small because it is always packed especially if there is a rugby game going on.

When I have out of town visitors, I often bring them here for a good time because they have good food, my favorite being their black olive bruschetta and the artichoke ones, good drinks such as Spritz or Guinness (if you like strong beers). Also they have several big screen TV’s to watch games on (mainly rugby) and music too. I also like the fact that they play on the pubs’ name and inside you can see a big picture of famous scholars like James Joyce etc.

And do not worry if you do not speak Italian since all the waiters and bartenders will speak English to you!

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Scholar’s Lounge | Bars, Music | 2 bruschetta € 6.00
Via Del Plebiscito 10b | City center | +390669202208
11:00 – 03:30 daily

Bar Ambassador when looked at from the outside is just another corner bar. But it is always packed because of the office building next to it. One of the baristas is very creative with what he whips up.

And since I work in the office building next to it, I also take advantage of the fact that they deliver. My favorite breakfast item is the decadent NutellCoffee, which is Nutella at the bottom, coffee, and whipped cream on top sprinkled with powdered cocoa, and even though I am not a fan of whipped cream, once all is stirred I can barely taste the whipped cream and I just enjoy the drink, and with a plain croissant next to it, it makes the work day so much more bearable!

The NutellCoffee is a drink to start the work week or to end it in the sweetest way.

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Bar Ambassador | Bars, Snacks | Nutellcoffee € 2.75
Via Fabbroni 1 | Cassia & Montemario | +39063295884
06:00 – 22:00 daily

Cesaretto wine bar is one of my favorite places in Rome and I am there so much that they know my name, and in fact a lot of the people that frequent the wine bar are regulars and it is in a side street off Via Del Corso. The environment is friendly and laid back but the food is upscale deliciousness.

I like going there year round, it is small but during the warmer months you can sit outside and watch people. Sometimes celebrities (national or international) pass by, and during the cooler months they have an area inside that is very cozy and warm.

My favorites to get there are the Carbonara pasta or the ravioli with a Fragolino wine to go with it, but most days they have a special that is not on the menu and go ahead and ask for it and most likely you will eat something delicious.

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Il Cesaretto | Bars, Restaurants (Carbonara) | Main meal € 12.00
Via Bocca di Leone 44a | City center | +390669380557
12:00 – 23:00 daily