Best specialty coffee in Rome: where to go for your daily shot of caffeine
I have spent the first 24 years of my life without drinking coffee, but since I started working in hospitality again, I discovered the magic that is coffee. In Italy, coffee is part of the culture, and I once rejected a date because the guy wanted to take me to Starbucks, which I feel was a fair decision. Rome has so many delicious coffee places, and even your local bar will serve you a great shot of espresso to get your day started. In this blog post, I will tell you all about my favourite specialty coffee places in Rome. These are the places that are more on the trendy side, with many Instagrammable pastries and drinks like matcha as well. If you are like me and love a cute coffee and pastry date with yourself or others, these specialty coffee shops in Rome are the way to go.
Sensorio Coffee Lab
Since I was planning to go to Sensorio for a while now, I was happy I could finally visit this specialty coffee shop. At Sensorio, they believe that drinking coffee should be more than an automatic gesture: it should be a conscious, enjoyable, and engaging experience.
Since I have not been a coffee drinker for that long, I cannot fully tell you if drinking their coffee was an engaging experience, but if there was one thing that was engaging, it was definitely their lovely staff. The cute girl working there complimented my bag, which was really sweet!
The coffee at Sensorio is great, a little bit more on the bitter side, and they even sell different specialty coffees on their webshop. Besides coffee, they also offer different kinds of sweets that I definitely want to try in the future.
If you want to enjoy your coffee there, make sure to keep in mind that the location is quite small, and only a couple of tables are available. It can get quite busy here, even for takeaway coffee, so during rush hour you might need to wait a little for your order, but I think it is worth it.
Marzapane
Literally right across the street from Sensorio, you can find Marzapane, a café & bakery serving specialty coffee. The first thing that caught my eye was the interior, which is quite unusual for Rome. It feels the most like 2020 Berlin, with minimalistic concrete vibes at the entrance, but then upstairs you have a lovely seating area, perfect for brunch.
Also here, the staff was amazing, and another girl working there complimented my jeans. I was on a roll!
The pastries at Marzapane look so inviting and delicious. Personally, I tried their banana bread, and that really slaps! I can recommend getting it.
In general, I think Sensorio is a little better for takeaway coffee, but if you want the full Instagram experience with photogenic pastries (that also taste amazing, of course), you should definitely visit Marzapane. The staff alone is worth it.
Tip: not really into coffee? Check out my matcha article!
Fax Faxtory
While both Sensorio and Marzapane are located close to the Flaminio metro station, the next one on the list, Fax Factory, is located in Pigneto.
I have actually written about Fax Factory before, for example in my list of the best cafés in Pigneto to work or study from. If I still lived in Pigneto, I think I would come here way too often. I might even be bold and say that this is my favourite coffee in Rome.
Fax Factory fits right in with the vibe of Pigneto, and if you want to know more about this great neighbourhood, I recommend checking out my article right here.
Faro - LUNA by Faro
Close to Piazza Fiume, you can find Faro, a specialty coffee café and breakfast/brunch spot. They have seating both inside and outside, but I prefer to take my coffee here to go, since you can pick it up at this cute little pickup window. I love little whimsy like that.
The staff here speaks the most perfect English I have ever heard in Rome, and they are very kind, even when it's busy (and it's always busy here).
If you want to stay for brunch or lunch, I actually recommend going to their second location, LUNA by Faro. You can find this location close to Barberini metro stop, so it is very centrally located.
The pastries, for example, are exactly the same here as at Faro, but the interior is quite different. At LUNA, they have an outside seating area that is way more comfortable than at Faro, so for brunch, I would choose this location!
Le Levain Café
Located on the same street as Faro, you can find Le Levain Café. I think out of all the specialty coffee cafés on this list, Le Levain has my favourite interior.
With the wooden and pink details, it still gives trendy vibes, but in a different way than the other ones. Their coffee cups and the glasses for iced coffee (like the one in the picture) are also very cute, complete with latte art, which makes me extra happy.
As with every spot on this list, the coffee is excellent here, and the pastries look mouthwatering. I hope you will be lucky enough to find a spot when visiting. When I go, I usually do takeaway, which works just fine too.
Slow
Last but not least, we have Slow, which I think is a great name for a specialty coffee café. I walk past this café five times a week, and there is almost always a line.
The pastries at Slow are displayed like little works of art, and inside, the vibes are very minimalistic. Personally, I am not really into that, so I normally do takeaway, but their coffee is amazing, so I can definitely recommend going!
Conclusion
I hope this article brought a smile to your face and that you are now ready for your next trip to Rome. Now you know where to go for an amazing coffee and a delicious pastry, and who knows, maybe I will see you there!
Since I am graduating, there will probably be no article next week, but I will see you again as soon as possible!
With much love,
Juliette
