Drinking coffee like a local in Rome: your definitive guide

We feel for you: you’ve been preparing for the trip of a lifetime, reading, watching, and just generally amassing knowledge about Rome. It’s the videos on social media that are causing you the most issues: you’ve scrolled through so many that it’s now hard to distinguish claims from actual information about what your experience in Italy is supposed to be like. We understand! And we’re here to help.

Let’s start with coffee. This post will help you navigate the scene but, more importantly, will help you with your “fear of faux pas” – you don’t have to overthink it! It’s really easy to blend in when you have some pointers from the “locals”.

In every country where coffee is consumed you will hear the same thing: we are in a rush, so the way we drink coffee is a reflection of that. This is now exception in Italy: a coffee is downed quickly (and frequently) while going from point A to point B or while doing at least two other things at the same time. It’s like at some point in history this country forgot about the literary cafes of the 1800s and… invented multitasking through caffeine.

Why are we prefacing this post with all of this? Because, and this is also a preface of sorts, what we want to get across is that there is no “best way” to drink coffee. This post is not meant for that. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to order, pay, and drink coffee in Rome without accidentally becoming a cautionary tale.

Step one: find a “bar” (no, it’s not what you think)

In Rome, a bar is not a place where you go to drink alcohol at night — or at least, not primarily. It’s the neighborhood café: the place where Romans stop for an espresso at 7am, again at 10am, possibly again after lunch, and sometimes in the mid-afternoon for reasons that don’t require explanation. They are everywhere, they are usually excellent, and they almost always have a counter you’re supposed to stand at.

Standing at the counter (al banco) is the default. Not only it’s faster, cheaper, and it’s what locals do. Look around you: there are not a ton of tables, are there? Because – see above – coffee is supposed to be downed in one go. Two sips if you’re feeling relaxed. Mind you, sitting at a table (al tavolo) is perfectly allowed, but it will cost you more — sometimes significantly more. You won’t be judged and neither option is wrong: just know what you’re choosing.

What to actually order

The standard unit of coffee in Rome is the caffè — what the rest of the world calls an espresso. This is your baseline. Everything else is a variation on this theme.

A caffè macchiato is an espresso with a small splash of steamed milk — “stained” with milk, as the name suggests. A caffè lungo is pulled with more water for a slightly longer, slightly milder drink. A caffè corto (or ristretto, in certain areas of Italy) is the opposite: less water, more concentrated.

For milk-based drinks: the cappuccino is the most famous, and we’ll return to it shortly because it deserves its own section. A caffè latte is espresso with a lot of steamed milk — closer to what many non-Italians think of as a latte, though ordering a “latte” in Rome will get you a glass of plain milk, because that’s what latte means.

If you’re visiting in summer, do not leave Rome without trying a caffè shakerato — espresso shaken over ice until cold and frothy — or a granita di caffè con panna, which is somewhere between a slushy and a revelation. We’ve written a whole post on cold coffee drinks that is required reading if you’re arriving between June and September.

The cappuccino question

Here it is. The topic that has probably confused you the most as you were gathering facts about Italian food culture.

The rule, as you may have heard, is this: Italians do not drink cappuccino after 11am. Their reasoning is that milk is difficult to digest and belongs firmly in the allotted time for breakfast and that alone. A cappuccino at 3pm would sit in your stomach like a small, caffeinated stone.

The reality, however, is this: you are on vacation, nobody is going to arrest you, and any café (er, bar!) in Rome will make you a cappuccino at any hour of the day without judgment. The barista may think something. They will almost certainly not say it. And even if they do, you will probably not understand it, and your cappuccino will be delicious regardless.

When and how to pay

This is the part nobody tells you about, and it’s the part most likely to cause a low-grade panic attack on your first morning.

In the majority of Roman bars, there are two systems, and getting them confused is a rite of passage. Don’t worry! It happens to the best of us – yes, even us locals – when we enter an unfamiliar bar.

In some bars — particularly busier or more traditional ones — you pay first, at the cash register (cassa), then bring your receipt to the counter and order. In other cafés, you order at the counter and pay at the end. When in doubt, watch what the person in front of you does and copy them exactly.

One more thing: tipping at a bar is not expected the way it is in certain other countries. Rounding up to the nearest euro or leaving a small coin on the counter is a nice gesture and will be warmly received, but nobody will think less of you if you don’t.

Coffee and breakfast: the complete picture

Let’s get this straight. No matter what you read elsewhere. In Italy, breakfast is almost never done at a café. It’s done at home, or not at all. Whatever it is you can find at a café here in terms of food is never exhaustive: the pastries offered at a bar are the sugary equivalent of a pamper for those who are, essentially, running on fumes.

The pastries are almost always a cornetto or a variation of it — the Italian cousin of the croissant, softer, slightly sweeter, and available in a daunting number of varieties. We’ve mapped the whole cornetto taxonomy for you so you can walk into any bar and order like you know exactly what you’re doing, whether you’re running on fumes or not!

One last thing

Coffee in Rome is cheap. A espresso at the counter costs between one and one euro fifty in most neighborhoods. A cappuccino is rarely more than two euros. This is one of the great remaining bargains of European city life, and it deserves to be appreciated as such. So… drink accordingly.

Staying at one of our accommodations and wondering where to find the best bar in your neighborhood? Just ask — we know every corner of the city center!