For breakfast in Rome we send you to an old-style bar on Via dei Baullari, pastry shops in Testaccio, Esquilino and Trieste, a retro bakery for the soft Italian cornetto, and a few counters for the maritozzo and pizza bianca that Romans also eat in the morning.
The short list
10 places, in the order they appear below.
- 1Bar FarneseEspresso at the zinc counterVia dei Baullari
- 2Gran Caffè Rione VIIIArtisanal pastries among regularsJewish Ghetto
- 3Jolly BarThe first batch of the dayCasilino
- 4Forno RitornoCustard-filled cornettoVia Amerigo Vespucci
- 5Pasticceria LinariWarm ciambelleTestaccio
- 6Regoli PasticceriaMaritozzo con pannaEsquilino
- 7Nonna PiaSavoury maritozziSan Giovanni
- 8Forno Campo de' FioriPizza bianca by weightCampo de' Fiori
- 9Giuffrè Forno & Gelato | TrastevereBrioche con gelatoTrastevere
- 10Pasticceria MarinariMilk cream pastriesTrieste
Where do Romans drink coffee standing at the counter?
Bar Farnese, a family-run bar that has held out against every form of modernisation, keeps coffee at the counter the way Rome drank it in the 1960s. Waiters wear traditional vests, the decor is old-fashioned, and the espresso at the zinc counter is good and fairly priced. The service is gruff but kind. The best part is watching the owner, who has worked behind this counter since 1939.
Bar Farnese
Hours: Mon–Sat 07:30–20:00 · Sun closed
Address: Via Dei Baullari, 20, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
Gran Caffè Rione VIII, one of the locals’ favourites in the Jewish Ghetto, sits somewhere between a stylish café and a cosy neighbourhood bistro. The name sounds generic. The room, though, is full of neighbourhood regulars, and breakfast brings artisanal pastries to the counter.
Gran Caffè Rione VIII
Hours: Mon–Sat 05:30–19:30 · Sun closed
Address: Via di S. Maria del Pianto, 59, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
Out in Casilino, Jolly Bar is a recently renovated neighbourhood fixture that stays open around the clock. The pastry case is restocked overnight for the first shift crowd, so the early morning batch is the freshest.
Jolly Bar
Hours: Open 24 hours
Address: Via Prenestina, 728, 00155 Roma RM, Italy
Where do Romans go for a soft cornetto or a warm ciambella?
Forno Ritorno on Via Amerigo Vespucci comes from the team behind the nearby Vinificio, who modelled it on Italian bakeries of the 1980s, with warm brick walls and a relaxed room. The cornetto all’italiana is the focus. Order the one filled with vanilla custard.
Forno Ritorno
Hours: Mon–Sun 08:00–16:00
Address: Via Amerigo Vespucci, 20, 00153 Roma RM, Italy
Pasticceria Linari in Testaccio is a family pastry shop whose mornings bring workers grabbing breakfast on the way to a job alongside older residents who were coming long before the counter changed hands. People cross town for the ciambelle. They are warmest before nine and can sell out well before lunch. In the maritozzi, the cream carries a hint of vanilla and honey.
Pasticceria Linari
Hours: Mon 06:30–14:00 · Tue–Thu 06:30–21:00 · Fri–Sat 06:30–21:45 · Sun 06:30–21:00
Address: Via Nicola Zabaglia, 9, 00153 Roma RM, Italy
Where should you eat a maritozzo for breakfast?
A maritozzo is a soft sweet roll split open and packed with whipped cream, and we have two places for it: Regoli in Esquilino for the classic con panna, and Nonna Pia in the San Giovanni market for savoury fillings like meatballs or chicken cacciatore.
Regoli has been baking in Esquilino since 1916. It is known above all for its maritozzo con panna, generous with the cream and usually gone by late morning. If the trays are empty when you arrive, do what many Romans do and order the Bavarese or the wild strawberry tart.
Regoli Pasticceria
Hours: Mon 07:00–19:00 · Tue closed · Wed–Sun 07:00–19:00
Address: Via dello Statuto, 60, 00185 Roma RM, Italy
Nonna Pia, a small counter inside the San Giovanni market, is run by two chefs who left restaurant kitchens and named the shop after a grandmother. Their maritozzi come stuffed with meatballs, chicken cacciatore, or ricotta and sour cherries. Cash only.
Nonna Pia
Hours: Mon closed · Tue–Sat 09:00–15:00 · Sun closed
Address: Piazza Epiro, 17A, BOX, 29 e 30, 00183 Roma RM, Italy
What else do Romans eat for breakfast besides a cornetto?
Besides the cornetto, some Romans grab a slice of hot pizza bianca from a bakery; others stop at a family pastry shop for cream pastries. The three places below cover those mornings, and one adds a Sicilian brioche filled with ice cream.
Forno Campo de’ Fiori is on the corner of the market square. From ovens that start before dawn, the pizza bianca arrives blistered and salty, and the counter sells it by weight alongside a tomato version and filled ones. The filled version is made at a smaller counter around the corner from the square, where you can ask for it split and stuffed with mortadella and eat it standing up while the bread keeps its heat.
Forno Campo de' Fiori
Hours: Mon–Sat 08:00–14:30, 16:30–19:30 · Sun closed
Address: Campo de' Fiori, 22, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
Giuffrè on Viale di Trastevere calls itself a gelateria, but locals treat it as a contemporary pastry shop. Its Sicilian owner takes laminated doughs and yeasted bakes seriously, from flaky pastries to enormous Sicilian brioche. Order the brioche con gelato: the bun split and filled with ice cream.
Giuffrè Forno & Gelato | Trastevere
Hours: Mon–Sun 08:00–23:00
Address: Viale di Trastevere, 255, 00153 Roma RM, Italy
Pasticceria Marinari in Trieste has been in the same family since 1950 and brings a Tuscan tradition to a Roman neighbourhood. People ask for the milk cream pastries by name. There are Sicilian cannoli and rice puddings too. For coffee, go to the family’s separate café nearby. Orders are by phone only, and weekend mornings get busy.
Pasticceria Marinari
Hours: Mon closed · Tue–Sun 07:30–20:00
Address: Piazza di Sant'Emerenziana, 20, 00199 Roma RM, Italy
Which Roman breakfast spot suits your morning?
With only one morning, choose by what you want to eat and where you are staying. The table lists each place with its area and what it is known for, so you can match breakfast to whatever you plan to see afterwards.
Check the day before you set out: Bar Farnese, Gran Caffè Rione VIII, Nonna Pia and Forno Campo de’ Fiori are closed on Sundays, Nonna Pia and Pasticceria Marinari on Mondays, and Regoli on Tuesdays.
