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

In one of the ways of pedestrian access to the bohemian area of Trastevere there is one special gelateria. Now, with Rome being full of ice cream shops, what can make this one so special? Well, the natural bio – cultivated flavors they offer, for one. Second, the high standard of quality they use, defined as the search for balance between the organic, nutritious and ethic properties of the ingredients. Isn’t this enough?

Inside you’ll find a good selection of water and cream-based tastes of high quality ice cream. The ingredients used are obtained only trough the organic cultivation, and obtained through fair trade agreements. S

Surprisingly, they only offer iced cream in cups but not in cones. And this is because, they say, the use of cones came only after a long time after the long-established method of ice-cream elaboration. While this may or may not be true, truth is the gelato tastes great and you can actually feel the sensation of no artificial ingredients added in your taste buds.

But you can also find other kind of products here, always from bio- produced. Here is where I get my marmalades and fruit preserves. They are usually low in sugars and have a natural taste that I really appreciate in my morning bread.

If you have extra room for more calories on your gelato, don’t forget to ask for whipped cream and a delicious wafer on top of your cup. You have to pay extra for these but they’re so worth it.

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Fior di Luna | Snacks | Small gelato cup € 2.50
via della Lungaretta 96 | Trastevere
Tue – Sun 12:00 – 01:00

It’s amazing how every ice cream shop in Rome claims to have the best achievable gelato. Each one takes pride in their own traditional recipe or artisanal method of preparing their products. To the untrained palate that can’t tell the difference in the taste of say, bio eggs, the flavor is very good and as soon as they’re done devouring their 3 flavor cone they forget about the place where they got it.

That’s until they come across Grom, a small gelateria near the Pantheon.

They’re also part of the slow food movement. And if it is what it takes to make their gelati so delicious, so be it. I spent quite some time reading the posters describing the quality of ingredients (mountain water for the sorbettos, for example) and the preparation process (slow motion that injects air into whipped cream in a certain way that gives its special consistency) and this time I am convinced they have a great product.

Don’t let your gelato craving keep you from trying the delicious hot chocolate with whipped cream on top. Trust me, this has got to be something much more special than just cocoa. It tastes just great. The perfect warm drink for a winter afternoon.

The “flavors of the month” are mouthwatering, give them a try. 

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Grom | Snacks | Small cup of ice cream € 3
Via della maddalena 30 | City center
Mon – Thu 11:00 – 22:30, Fri – Sun11:00 – 12:30

Il Peperone is a nice little restaurant in Via Veneto, which is one of the most famous streets in Rome, but usually untouchable for the prices. When I first went to Il Peperone with a friend of mine who had come to visit me from the States, I was impressed with the prices because they were affordable compared to their competitors.

My friend wanted to have coffee in Via Veneto but I said “I have a better idea: let’s have pizza!” and the food turned out to be great. The restaurant offers a variety of different dishes – mainly Roman typical foods but also a variety of general Italian ones. I like sitting outside as you can sit and relax and people watch in the heart of Rome.

My friend and I had a great time and the service was great, we ordered some delicious Roman appetizers and a pizza each. The owner Antonietta is very friendly and laid-back, she even said OK to taking a picture with me!

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Il Peperone restaurant | Snacks, Restaurants (Pizza) | Pizza Margheritia € 10.00
Via Veneto 97 | City center | +39064884593
Oct – Apr 12:00 – 16:00 & 18:00 – 00:00 daily | May – Sept 18:00 – 00:00 daily

This place is located in Ponte Milvio and it is a very popular gelateria, it has a vast outdoors for you to sit down and enjoy your gelato or pastries.

The place established itself in Rome since 1959, and to this day they still use fresh ingredients for both their gelatos and their pastries.

They have different flavors such as the “indispensable” which is a mixture of raspberry and nutella and other interesting flavors.

This is a excellent place to hang-out during an afternoon and eat ice-cream, it is very family oriented.

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Mondi | Snacks | Small cup € 1.80
Via Flaminia 468 | Parioli & Flaminio | +39063336466
Tue – Sun 11:00 – 21:30

Recently I met a friend that I hadn’t seen for years, for a Saturday morning coffee at Antico Caffe’ Greco. This bar is located in the middle of Via Condotti and is one of the oldest coffee shops in town, founded in 1760.

The atmosphere in the coffee place is interesting as all the little details of the furniture are conserved extremely well. When you enter the place it is like you are transported back in the 18th century. You can imagine people like Goethe or Stendhal sipping a cup of coffee and discussing the philosophy of life.

My chat with my friend was not as deep but it was a great place to catch up on a rainy Saturday morning, I had a cup of coffee and a croissant and she had a cappuccino and croissant, and when we were ready to leave we even saw a gladiator paying for coffee!

One thing to pay attention here is that the prices increase if you sit down at the table but the experience is worth it.

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Antico Caffe’ Greco | Coffee & tea, Snacks | Coffee at the table € 5.00
Via Condotti 86 | City center | +39066791700
09:00 – 19:00 daily

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

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

When I arrived at Pe.pa.to for the first “aperitivo” with a group of friends, I immediately liked the atmosphere; the tables and small white and black sofas outside gave it a sophisticated look. Inside it looked more like an old wine cellar, but it gave the place character.

The aperitivo was during the week and it made a nice break. It was a good deal too: 7 Euros for a drink plus buffet. They have two different bars. In one of them you can order the wines and in the other end of the “cellar” looking place, you can order the mixed drinks.

The good thing about Rome is its weather, in November it can be still nice to sit outside and mingle with people as you are eating and drinking.

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Pe.pa.to wine bar | Bars, Snacks | Buffet & drink € 9.50
Via del politeama 8 | City center | +390658335254
19:00 – 02:00 daily

Officially called Il palazzo del freddo but most commonly know as Fassi’s is one of the oldest “gelateria” in the city. It has been at the current location for over 60 years. When you enter the facility you will notice a mix of modern fixtures and an “antique” atmosphere

The ice-cream is delicious and you have plenty of tastes to choose from. They also have a variety of sweets, like for example something called “san pietrini” a Roman specialty and a must for chocolate lovers!

They also have hot drinks in different flavors such as chocolate, white chocolate, vanilla, and zabaione. This is definitely a gelateria not to miss! This was one of my favorite hang-outs when I took some courses nearby, and it was often that it became a lunch spot.

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Fassi’s | Snacks | 3 flavors icecream € 2.00
Via Principe Eugenio 65 | City center | +39064464740
12:00 – 01:00 daily