Editorial
Italy helped start Europe's craft beer movement, and Rome's scene runs deep. The six below are where the city actually drinks well, from Trastevere standing-room pubs to Pigneto can bars and the breweries' own taprooms.
Ma Che Siete Venuti A Fà has poured craft beer from a tiny Trastevere storefront on Via Benedetta for over two decades, the bar that lit Rome's beer scene. Thirteen taps and three casks rotate hard through Italian and international brewers, with no food to distract. Locals call it the Football Pub. Best for a standing-room session deep in Trastevere; it runs to 2am, and the crowd spills onto the lane by night.
Birra Più planted craft beer in Pigneto back in 2009, half pub and half bottle shop and the first can bar in the city. Around 12 taps and a handpump rotate beside roughly a hundred labels to take home, leaning Italian. It opens at 5pm and runs late on weekends. Best for pairing a few pours with a fridge raid in Rome's most countercultural quarter; the small room fills fast after 9pm.
Open Baladin sits near Campo de' Fiori as the Roman flagship of Piedmont brewer Baladin, with 44 taps and a wall of hundreds of bottles. The kitchen turns out gourmet burgers and hand-cut chips built to match the beer, and there is no wine in sight. Best for a sit-down beer dinner in the centro storico; come at lunch or before 8pm to beat the tourist rush.
Hopside works a corner of Ostiense near Roma Tre, away from the tourist trail, pairing a rotating list of Italian and international craft beer with build-your-own burgers. Open since late 2013, it draws a student and local crowd rather than visitors. Best for a relaxed beer-and-food night south of the centre; go on a weekday evening, when the kitchen and taps are at their freshest and the room has space.
Birreria Marconi runs a craft beer bar and kitchen just off the square at Santa Maria Maggiore, an easy stop between Termini and Monti. The taps mix Italian and international brewers and the menu leans hearty, making it more family- and group-friendly than the standing-room pubs. Best for a sit-down meal with serious beer near the station; book a table at peak dinner hours, when it fills with locals.
L'Osteria di Birra del Borgo brings the Lazio brewery's beer to a former garage a short walk from the Vatican, pouring 24 beers entirely from cask rather than keg. Founder Leonardo Di Vincenzo built it to fuse beer, the old tavern format and Roman cooking. Best for tasting Birra del Borgo's range at the source alongside a proper meal; the cask-only pours run softer, so come hungry and stay for several.
The six above are where Rome's beer culture actually lives. Ma Che Siete Venuti A Fà remains the iconic Trastevere pub, Birra Più carries Pigneto, and the Baladin and Birra del Borgo taprooms pour Italy's two best-known craft brands at the source.
Most rooms peak between 8 and 11pm, so arrive early for a seat. Mei-Lin Zhao covers nightlife and the after-dark scene worldwide, with a close eye on service, sound and who actually shows up.
Ma Che Siete Venuti A Fà in Trastevere is the cornerstone, a tiny storefront on Via Benedetta pouring 13 taps and three casks of rotating Italian and international craft, with no food to distract.
It is spread out. Trastevere has the original pubs, Pigneto has Birra Più, Ostiense has Hopside, and the centro storico holds Open Baladin near Campo de' Fiori.
Yes. Italy helped start Europe's craft movement, and breweries like Baladin and Birra del Borgo lead the way, both pouring their own ranges at dedicated Rome bars.
Open Baladin and Hopside build burgers around the beer, Birreria Marconi runs a full kitchen near Santa Maria Maggiore, and Birra del Borgo pairs cask beer with Roman cooking near the Vatican.