27 Best Bars in Italy

An ivy-covered wine bar in the center of Monti, Rome's trendiest 'hood, Ai Tre Scalini has a warm and cozy menu of delicious antipasti and light entrées to go along with its enticing wine list. After about 8 pm, be prepared to wait—this is one extremely popular spot with locals, and they don't take reservations.

No visit to Padua is complete without taking time to sit in this historic café and iconic Padovano venue, patronized by luminaries like the French novelist Stendhal in 1831. Nearly 200 years later, it remains central to the city's social life. The café was built in the Egyptian Revival style, and it's now famed for its innovative aperitivi and signature mint coffee. The accomplished, innovative restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The grand salons and terrace provide a backdrop for the occasional jazz, swing, and cover bands.

Between 8 and 9 some evenings, it seems as though the whole upscale Chiaia neighborhood has descended into this tiny space for an aperitivo. The small tables and low stools can be awkward, but the cozy atmosphere, friendly staff, and the pleasure of being surrounded by glass-front cabinets full of wine bottles with beautiful labels more than makes up for it. Excellent local wines are available by the glass at great prices.

Although "osteria" in an establishment's name suggests that food will be served, such is not the case here. This place is all about drinking wine; the entrance door has warnings such as "He who doesn't drink will please stay outside." It's been around since 1465, and locals pack in, bearing food from outside to accompany the wine.

In the heart of the city's downtown, this always-packed bar has tables that spill into the streets. With an impressive selection of vermouths and local salumi, it's a great spot to go for aperitivo or a late-night drink. But the real draw is the wine program. Don't even bother with the wine list—ask for Antonio Lombardo, a veritable expert with a mischievous smile, who consistently pulls affordable bottles to suit any mood or taste, from obscure natural wines to refined classics. It's a popular spot, so it's best to make a reservation lest you want to be among the crowds who stand in the pedestrian street, drink in hand. 

This wine bar at the Grand Hotel Continental Siena offers daily wine tastings with appetizers along with a visit to the 14th-century cellar, which houses more than 3,000 bottles.

This foodie paradise near the Duomo has an enormous deli featuring Italian specialty foods, as well as a refined bar, restaurant, and café that serves up traditional—and excellent—pastas, pizza slices, olives, toasted nuts, and a good selection of wines by the glass.

This fourth-generation wineshop has a weekly evening aperitivo with local and international bands performing for the gathered masses. This is the place to be on Thursday.

Piazza di Spagna's historic wine bar literally corners the market on prime people-watching. Cozy up to the counter to sip a drink under the charming frescoes, or snag a coveted outdoor table. In addition to a vast selection of wine, Antica Enoteca has delectable antipasti, perfect for a snack or a light lunch, as well as a full menu of pastas and pizzas.

It is easy to see why this place is popular with the locals, offering fairly priced cocktails, a reasonable assortment of cicheti, and a good selection of Italian wine, but the warm ambience, friendly staff, and occasional live jazz are the main draws. The kitchen stays open until late.

This cozy wine bar offers a large selection of vino from around Italy as well as light meals; you can’t go wrong with the antipasti (appetizers), cheese platter, or bruschetta. A live jazz band plays on Wednesday night.

A dim bohemian haunt full of wooden beams and brick-lined nooks and crannies, Libarium Nostrum is one of Cagliari's coolest café-bars. It's an occasional venue for live music and DJs, but the real draw is the outdoor terrace high atop medieval ramparts, the perfect spot for enjoying cocktails and sunset views. Food is available, from panini and other snacks to meat and fish dishes, and it stays open late.

The odd name is Venetian for "smirk," although you'll be hard-pressed to find one at this cheery, familiar bacaro with a wine selection as ample as the cicheti on offer. The spread of delectables ranges from classic polpette of meat and tuna to tomino cheese rounds to speck and robiola rolls, and the selection of wines is equally intriguing. There's often live jazz and blues on Friday and Saturday nights. El Sbarlefo has a second location in Dorsoduro, in the calle just behind the church of San Pantalon.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This unpretentious enoteca is a popular spot to gather over excellent wines and creative small plates. Guests can take one of the bottles right off the well-stocked shelves or choose from a selection of wines by the glass, including some prized wines for very reasonable prices.

This enoteca (wine bar) has a few tables indoors but most people choose to sit out in Piazza Vittoria opposite the grand Art Deco cinema Cine Impero. Apart from a range of wines (including, of course, Marsala) and cocktails, snacks are served—mainly pastas and meat dishes—and it stays open late. Closed Monday, it's open late from Thursday through Sunday, but open only for lunch on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Set on a private terrace overlooking Trastevere, Ombre Rosse bustles with expats and other regulars who appreciate the cocktail creations and the ever-lively atmosphere. On weekends, the outdoor patio is the perfect spot to enjoy an aperitivo and nibbles before finishing off an evening with friends at the bar.

The full name of this little bar is Rivendita: Libri Teatro e Cioccolata, and that's exactly what you'll find in this charming hole-in-the-wall: books and chocolate. Open only in the evenings, the used-bookstore-bar combo offers wine, sweet cocktails, or drinks with double-entendre names that are served in edible shot glasses made of pure chocolate.

Most aperitivos tend to be more all-you-can-eat than refined predinner stop, but that is not the case at Taverna Volpetti. The chic, bistro-style wine bar and restaurant sources all its ingredients from the gourmet food store by the same name that sits just around the corner. The warm atmosphere, stellar wine list, and excellent cheese and salami make it the ideal place for a drink and a snack—or to stay put with a bottle and sip the night away.

Recharge with some wine or a cicheto or two—meat, fish, and vegetarian choices are on offer—at this cozy, friendly spot near the Miracoli church. Numerous wines are available by the glass, and the helpful servers are often happy to crack open a bottle for sampling if there's something you fancy.

Salami-and-cheese tasting menus and a seemingly unlimited selection of wines, Prosecco, vini santi, and grappe are highlights of this lovely (albeit tiny) enoteca with a very old-fashioned vibe. Inside, it's standing-room only; in good weather, you can sit outside at an oak barrique on a quiet cobblestone street leading to one of Rome's prettiest small squares.