187 Best Bars in Italy

This classy cocktail bar a few blocks from the Vatican makes you feel transported to a cozy salon in New York or London. In addition to some original creations, the bartenders make reliably good classics, including excellent dirty martinis. The kitchen stays open until midnight, so it's also a good spot for a late bite.

The proximity of this traditional enoteca (wine bar) to Montecitorio, the Italian Parliament building, makes it a favorite with journalists and politicos, who often stop in for a glass of wine after work. But it's the tantalizing smell of truffles from the snack counter, where a sommelier waits to organize your tasting, that will probably lure you inside. There's also a celebrated restaurant where you can book a table and enjoy a parade of elegant Italian plates. Don't forget to check out the wineshop, too.

Ercoli was founded as a specialized deli in Rome’s elegant northern neighborhood of Parioli. The Trastevere location is a warren of hidden rooms leading from a coffee bar to the open kitchen, but at the heart of the space is a cocktail bar with stadium seating. Built in what was once a theater, the seats face the on-stage bar, where expert mixologists craft drinks. The "Tini," a creative riff on the classic martini, is the specialty here.

This onetime delicatessen now serves its own flavored rum. Be sure to try the cinnamon-honey mix. There are tables outside on the piazza.

Established in the 1950s, Sorrento's oldest nightclub hosts local DJs and has concerts between mid-April and October and every Saturday night in the winter.

This traditional Irish pub, the oldest in Rome, probably hasn't changed much since it first installed its rustic wooden features in 1976. Expect raucous nights of beer and singing.

Breathing new life into the San Berillo district, this lounge-bar has a beer garden feel, sitting next to original street art and walls alive with pots of plants. Stop in for a craft beer or a cocktail in the previously forgotten back alleys a few minutes from Teatro Massimo Bellini, and you will also likely be treated to art installations or live DJ sets, depending on the constantly updated cultural calendar of events.

Situated just around the corner from Castel Sant'Angelo, Fonclea jams with live music—from jazz and Latin American to R&B and '60s cover bands—every night of the week. Entry is free.

By day, this is the city's best independent record store. By night, it's the place to hear eclectic tunes and mingle in Vomero. It serves decent bar snacks, pasta dishes, cakes, and drinks.

A charming beer and wine bar and restaurant, "G e G" has an at-home atmosphere, from the relaxed vibe to the shabby chic decor. It tends to fill up quickly, but there's also a charming outdoor terrace.

The Hotel Greif's sleek, modern cocktail bar (where the actual bar is made out of empty bottles) serves the best libations in town. The drinks menu betrays a particular fondness for gin, but the staff also excel at making cocktails tailored to your preferences. In the summer months, the bar transfers to the hotel's rooftop.

Hard Rock packs in young Florentines and travelers eager to sample the music hall chain's take on classic American grub.

Having drinks or a light lunch at the Bulgari Hotel bar (Il Bar or The Bar) lets you step off the asphalt and into one of the city's most impressive private urban gardens—even indoors you seem to be outside, separated from the elements by a spectacular wall of glass. The Bar is a great place to run into international hotel guests and jet-setting Milanese, and the staff mix up a wide range of traditional and novel drinks—including the Bulgari Cocktail with gin, Aperol, and orange, pineapple, and lime juices.

Specializing in the vintages produced by smaller vineyards from Sicily to Venice, this historical wine bar also has a menu of Italian delicacies (meats and cheeses) that likewise represents the entire Italian peninsula. The burrata with sun-dried tomatoes is a perennial favorite. The tiny bar is well designed but is always busy and never accepts reservations. If all the seats are taken, you might be able to sip wine on the step outside while taking in the snippets of Roman life passing by.

This rooftop wine bar and restaurant wins the prize for the perfect aperitivo spot, with excellent drinks and appetizers, as well as a breathtaking view of the comings and goings on the Spanish Steps. Reach it by climbing the monumental staircase that it overlooks, or getting a lift from the elevator by the entrance to the Spagna Metro station.

This wine bar is run by the Trimani family of wine merchants, whose shop next door has been in business for nearly two centuries. The ambience is somewhat spartan, and the food can be a bit hit or miss, but oenophiles will be pleased with the extensive wine list, which has some hard-to-find premium bottles for very fair prices. There are also around 20 wines available by the glass.

Just a few steps from Campo Santa Margherita, this is one of the rare locales that has a kitchen serving until 10:30 pm. It's also a good spot for nightcap—you can expect a fairly lively atmosphere right up until closing time.

The popular Italo-Irish pub Inishark, located midway between San Marco and Rialto, is known for its variety of international beers, live music, and live sports on the TV.

Guinness and gab flow freely from 5 pm to 1 am at this pub, a favorite expat and student hangout since the 1990s. There are Irish, Italian, and Belgian brews plus cider on tap, as well as sports on TV and occasional live music, either Irish or rock. Small sandwiches are available until late.

Enjoy live music in this small basement club.

One of just a handful of hidden bars in Rome, this intimate bar looks like a Prohibition-era haunt and serves the kind of classic cocktails you find in New York speakeasies. It's seating room only, so reservations must be made online in advance. Upon booking, you'll receive a password via email. Serious cocktail aficionados can also purchase specialty bitters and mixology tools at the Emporium across the alley from the drinks spot.

With an impressive menu of signature cocktails, wines, and beers, this is a great spot to enjoy a drink in Cefalù. They serve an excellent antipasto plate as well as casual fast food like panzerotti, panini, fried chicken, and nachos. If you love craft beer, you will find the best selection of local beers around.

Inside, the cool chrome furnishings contrast with the old arched ceiling, but try to get a table out in the beautiful square in front of the Orientale University, where you can mingle with the city's students. A DJ spins tunes, and there's regular live music on the tiny stage.

Choose from indoor or outdoor seating, and take advantage of the great list of wines by the glass. At aperitivo time, €15 will buy you a truly tasty cocktail and give you access to a buffet so hearty that you won't need dinner afterward. There's also a dinner menu after 9:30 pm if you prefer to order à la carte or arrive after the buffet ends.

The Tiffany-blue hut by the ferry ticket office at the far end of Spiaggia Grande is a refreshingly no-frills spot for a granita or snack by day or late-night cocktail or bottle of Peroni beer. Expect a friendly and unpretentious crowd, where local fishermen mix with young visitors who congregate in and around the harbor seats into the evening enjoying the reasonable (shock!)-for-Positano prices.

A long menu of imported brews makes this a true beer oasis, although there are also good wines available by the bottle or the glass. Locals love the generous happy-hour buffet that runs from about 6 pm to 8 pm every day, but come early to snag one of the outdoor picnic tables that overlook the piazza. Best known as a low-key drinking spot, the bar also doubles as a specialty food store that stocks Italian jams, chocolates, and pastas.

For a change from the ubiquitous bar brews, try this small and friendly spot that has craft beers on tap from Italy and Belgium as well as cans and bottles from around the globe. Their food is decent too—from cold cuts and salads to meaty mains and bean stews—and you can watch screened sports (mainly soccer) and hear occasional live music.

Atop the medieval Hostaria dell'Orso, La Cabala is an after-dinner club and late-night dance party whose VIP room hosts wannabe models. Depending on the evening, the vibe can be chic, hipster, or clubby. Rome's version of a supper club, La Cabala is part of the Hostaria dell'Orso trio of restaurant, disco, and piano bar. The dress code is "stylish."

Lamps made from wine bottles hang from the ceiling of this tasteful bar just across the alley from the Capannina restaurant. By day it is an informal eatery.

Rome has no shortage of gorgeous rooftop terrace bars open in the warmer months, but this one—nestled amid cupolas and bell towers atop the Eitch Borromini hotel—is exceptional. Seats along the edge look down on Bernini's famed fountain in Piazza Navona. The chic white couches are almost always filled with well-heeled Romans, making sunset reservations essential.