Il Marchese

Il Marchese sits on Via di Ripetta in Rome’s historic centre and combines a restaurant, a cocktail bar and an amaro bar in the same space. The kitchen turns out classic Roman recipes next to more contemporary cooking, from daytime well into the evening. Behind the counter stands a very large collection of Italian amari, and the bar builds many of its cocktails on them, alongside other drinks mixed with real skill. The room is elegant but relaxed and the mood is lively, with people arriving for an aperitif, a meal or a drink once dinner is over.

Rather than ordering the familiar spritz, people who live in Rome hand the choice to the bar staff and ask for a guided tour of the amari, because the shelves there hold an enormous range of different labels. The cocktails mixed on an amaro base are what earn a return visit once dinner is done. Much of the mixology here is built on Italian amari, and the venue serves after-dinner drinks as readily as aperitifs, so coming back later in the evening for a drink made with them makes sense.