A Few of My Favorite Wine Bars
Wednesday, 25th March 2009 | 6 Comments
Yesterday, a friend asked me for some suggestions of places to drink wine in Rome. Here are some of my personal favorites:
Casa Bleve Via del Teatro Valle 49 (Pantheon). They have a fabulous lunch buffet for around 25 euros and now they serve dinner, too: cheeses, salumi, smoked fish and a few hot dishes. Their treccia di bufala (braided buffalo mozzarella) is ridiculous. Ask to see their cellar which is built around a wall from the Baths of Agrippa (c 19 BCE). UPDATE: Casa Bleve now serves lunch and dinner a la carte. More here.
Cavour 313 via Cavour 313 (Monti). This place is about 200 yards from my house and their list is pretty good though the benches inside are horribly uncomfortable. Eat the carpaccio.
Cul de Sac Piazza Pasquino (Piazza Navona). Ditto on the bench situation. This is a physically uncomfortable place to be, but with their cheese list you are guaranteed to be in a food coma in minutes and you will barely notice.
Al Vino Al Vino Via dei Serpenti 16 (Monti). This is my local joint. I love their Quintarelli Primofiore with formaggi misti and caponata (sweet and sour eggplant made by owner Giacomo’s mamma). Great place to go to see how many lunatic drunks live in my neighborhood. Its also nice to duck in for lunch. Giacomo’s mom sends him to work with food she makes (eggplant parm is damn good) and he usually also has some torte rustiche on hand.
Il Goccetto Via dei Banchi Vecchi 14 (Centro Storico). Maybe my favorite place to drink wine in Rome. Great wines by the glass list, good atmosphere, delicious cheese selection. What more could you ask for?
March 30th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Funny, these are my favorite wine bars too! LOL.
April 11th, 2009 at 5:55 am
I am just finishing making matzo balls with chicken fat, brisket, gefilte fish, orange cakewith ground almonds. Iam reading about Italian food for (comic) relief.
April 11th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
[...] night I took clients to Casa Bleve for a dinner and wine tasting. As usual, the antipasti were amazing, the pasta left something to be [...]
April 28th, 2009 at 10:30 pm
v nice list. although, i alw found casa bleve’s price point too high for regular visits. if the phenomenal il goccetto didnt exist my years spent in rome (and those of friends and fam who visited) would surely have been a very very sad and diffent one!i thank context travel for introducing me to this place, years ago. the salmon and robiola involtini are the best appetisers i have ever had (save for giacomo’s mum’s caponata) and this is probably where my husband decided- i have to ask this woman to marry me tomorrow!
April 28th, 2009 at 10:36 pm
@exromana ahhh! That is so cute! A very tardy congratulations, by the way, on the marriage! I cant believe i havent seen you since BEFORE the engagement. How time flies here…bleve is definitely not your neighborhood enoteca (unless you work nearby in Palazzo Madama!). It has its place in my heart but i much prefer the more down to earth places like il goccetto, cul de sac, and al vino al vino. i need that caponata to live!
May 31st, 2009 at 3:54 am
At Casa Bleve, is it a set price for dinner too? Is it the same format? (I hope – because it sounds so good!)