Trastevere, off the Ponte Sisto end
By-the-glass pours, aperitivo boards
Aperitivo plates, Italian small bites
Our Take on La Mescita
La Mescita is the wine bar side of Enoteca Ferrara, the long-running Trastevere wine house anchored on Piazza Trilussa, at the Ponte Sisto end of the quarter. Where Ferrara's restaurant does the full sit-down meal, La Mescita is the casual room, built for a glass and a plate rather than a reservation and a tasting menu.
Linkiesta places it on its list of Rome's ten best wine bars, and Puntarella Rossa keeps it among the city's enoteche con cucina worth knowing. The pitch is simple. Wines by the glass, an aperitivo spread and small plates, served in the relaxed front-of-house of a serious wine cellar.
Because it shares a cellar with Ferrara, the by-the-glass list is deeper than a casual wine bar usually carries, and the staff will pour up rather than push the house pour. Raisin, which tracks natural wine venues, lists Enoteca Ferrara for its low-intervention bottles, so ask the counter for the natural end of the list.
The setting does a lot of the work. Piazza Trilussa is one of Trastevere's gathering squares, busy after dark, and La Mescita gives you a seat just off it with a real glass instead of the tourist pours that ring the piazza. It runs evenings, so this is an aperitivo and after-dinner room, not a lunch stop.
Come for a proper glass and a board before or after dinner in Trastevere, a cut above the square's standard. For more nearby, see our Rome wine bars guide, the best wine bars worldwide, and the wider wine bars index.
The Move at La Mescita
The Word on Trastevere
- Linkiesta ranks it among Rome's ten best wine bars, leaning on the depth that comes from sharing Enoteca Ferrara's cellar.
- Puntarella Rossa keeps La Mescita on its list of the city's enoteche con cucina, the wine bars that feed you properly.
- Raisin lists Enoteca Ferrara for its natural and low-intervention bottles, so the by-the-glass list rewards asking.
Read the Room
- A real glass off Piazza Trilussa instead of a tourist pour
- An aperitivo board before dinner in Trastevere
- Skip it for lunch, this is an evening room
When To Visit La Mescita
Early evening is the aperitivo window, when a seat off the piazza and a board make the most of the spot. The square gets busy later, so the bar fills after dinner too.
A weekday evening is calmer than a Trastevere weekend, when the whole quarter is out. Closed Mondays, so plan the other nights.
Inside La Mescita
