Below is a “craft beer recap” (in my order of preference) of my week-long stay in Rome. Overall I was highly impressed with Rome in regards to craft beer … good quality brew is pretty much everywhere – it’s a huge scene in Rome and if you are settling for Peroni, you are doing Rome wrong #1 = Ma Che Siete Venuti a Fa’ Without a doubt, this is the best craft beer bar in Rome! I visited Ma Che every night during my recent week long stay in Rome and each time it was fantastic. Ma Che has this very cool "locals/homey" vibe ... a casual and friendly place to hang out and drink outstanding beers. Even though I was a tourist, I always felt welcomed at Ma Che. The front bar area is a bit small ... but make sure you go to the back room as it's typically uncrowded with a decent amount of space to spread out a bit. Or better yet, stand outside and drink on the streets of Trastevere like the locals do. The tap list here is world class ... between 15 to 20 beers on draft, mainly Italian selections - which are fantastic, Italy is producing high quality craft beers, do not miss! There's also a very good amount of bottled selections. I was particularly fond of the 750ml and 375ml bottle of Cantillon ... plenty of different Cantillon bottles available at very good prices (10 euro for 375ml & 20 euro for 750ml). Pricing at Ma Che is very reasonable ... you would pay more for the same in larger US cities like NYC, Chicago, LA, etc. Crowd there is a mix ... I'd say 80% locals and 20% tourists. Everyone including the staff is super friendly. Atmosphere is just chill ... not a meat market or a douche hipster hangout. Ma Che is one of the best craft beer bars in the WORLD ... highly recommend - do not miss!!! #2 = BeRe Be.Re. is Rome's newest craft beer bar and it did not disappoint. Conveniently located right next to the Vatican ... Be.Re. makes an excellent pre or post Vatican stop (we did it post Vatican ... definitely needed a beer after dealing with the crowds at the Vatican ). Be.Re. is a big space by Rome standards. In addition to the standard bar/inside seating, there is a large space upstairs with table and chairs ... as well as seating out in front of the place which makes for great people watching. The tap selection here is excellent. Mainly Italian craft brews ... about 15 on tap. Prices were average for Rome and the bartenders were very knowledgeable about the beers they were pouring - they made great recommendations. Be.Re. will definitely satisfy even the biggest beer nerds. Be.Re is attached to Trapizzino ... an Italian "street food" chain which serves triangular pizzas. These delicious "pizzas" are the perfect complement to beers served at Be.Re. Be.Re is 100% legit and is a must stop in Rome ... not surprising about the high quality of this place because it is the same owner as my favorite craft beer bar in Rome, Ma Che Siete Venuti a Fa. #3 = Brew Dog Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from my visits to Brew Dog ... so I was pleasantly surprised of just how solid of a place this was. Located a block away from the Colosseum ... I highly recommend stopping by for both their beer and food either before or after your Colosseum visit. Brew Dog Rome has about 15 beers on tap ... 10 of their own brews and 5 guest beers. Prices for beer are very fair for Rome and if you hit them up during happy hour, prices are an absolute steal. Tap list is well rounded and you can do full pours or order a tasting flight. Bartenders were knowledgeable and friendly ... they were spot on with their recommendations. It's a fairly large space for Rome standards ... plus the air conditioning is welcomed on a hot summer Rome day. Good welcoming vibe and the crowd was very chill. Biggest surprise was their quality of food ... everything we ordered was delicious. The hamburgers, sandwiches, hot dogs, salads, etc ... everything was top-notch and presented / plated in a very artistic way. Of the 5 craft beer bars I visited in Rome, Brew Dog ranks right up there with the top dogs (see what I did there? ) #4 = Bir & Fud (right next to Ma Che - good "2 for 1" spot) Bir & Fud is a quaint little craft beer bar / restaurant in the Trastevere neighborhood of Rome. We ate dinner there on a Wednesday around 6:30pm so it wasn't crowded at all. Main restaurant seating is in the back ... handful of tables outside, which seem always occupied (but for good reason - great people watching). Front of the restaurant is a long narrow space which is where the bar is located). Bir & Fud has a very solid tap selection ... definitely one of the better ones in Rome. Food was average ... wasn't really wow'd by anything we had. Service was solid ... prices were fair leaning to a bit high. There's wifi so that's always a plus for the kids. Mostly locals here, which is a good thing. Pro Tip - if you go to Bir & Fud, make sure you visit my favorite craft beer bar in Rome, Ma Che, which is located directly across the street. #5 = Open Baladin Open Baladin is a BIG space Plenty of tables for seating a large party and a long bar area with seats. Although they had a pretty decent tap list, I got the impression that Open Baladin was more focused on food than craft beer ... definitely more of a restaurant than a craft beer bar (the Teku glassware they use is excellent - so I'll give them that). For example, the bartender didn't seem to know exactly what was on tap and had trouble when I asked for a recommendation ... she just didn't know her beers. Because of the big space, the atmosphere was a bit sterile and cold ... certainly nothing wrong with Open Baladin, but it just didn't give me the warm and fuzzies. Prices were a bit on the high side, even for Rome ... service was cold / robotic. With the increased craft beer bar competition in Rome, Open Baladin left me wanting more and was my least favorite of the five craft beer bars I visited. I would definitely recommend it for families and such looking to grab a burger (no Italian food here) ... but for serious beer nerds, it's not a must visit in my opinion.
I'd say that AlexM is right on. Ma Che Siete Venuti A Fá is really fun and friendly and they have a great tap list. I've never been to BeRe or Brew Dog (next year) but I will say that I thought the same thing about the Brew Dog in Liverpool, England - I wasn't expecting much but it turned out to be great. Open Baladin was also my least favorite place because it felt almost like a cafeteria, it just had no life. But what about all of the other places? And what else is new, I haven't been there for two years now and I'm sure the scene has exploded!
I didn't get a chance to hit craft beer bars like Brasserie 4:20 or Domus Birrae ... plus I was focusing on bars so missed bottle shops like Johnny's Offlicense and Les Vignerons (which I heard BOTH were good). Didn't really come across any new and worthy type spots in my "research" except for BeRe ... then again, this is Europe, and I tend to have a core group of places and then just keeping going back to the strongest ones ... honestly, I would've "settled" for only Ma Che - it really is THAT good
Great recap! I have been to #1 & #4 and I think you described them to a T. Looks like I need a return trip to checkout the other spots...
Just to give a different perspective on Open Baladin: I've had great service every time I've been there from some very knowledgeable folks behind the bar. The servers roaming the floor did seem less knowledgeable. I agree it can have a "sterile" feel right at opening when no one is in there, but it seems usually packed with people and I've always found it lively with a good vibe. Roughly 40 draft beers (2-3 cask) with a focus on Italian craft (and almost always a Cantillon), I'd say they are solidly beer-focused as well. And since you mentioned them: Teku glasses were designed by the founder/owner of Baladin (among a couple other Italian beer folks), so this is likely one of the first spots in the world to serve beer with tekus. Love the trip report, will definitely have to check out BeRe next time.
There used to be a nice bottle shop just East of the Colosseum on Via di S. Giovanni in Laterano, but according to google street view, it has rainbows all over it now. Maybe I have my streets wrong, but I am nearly certain it was East of the Colosseum within a block or two. I also recall it being across the street from something other than walls of other buildings (ruins maybe?)
You might be referring to Johnnny's Off License bottle shop ... which I heard is awesome, but I just never had a chance to visit. There's 2 locations, with the better one sort of in the Colosseum area at Via Veio 4, 00185 Rome
BrewDog has two great things going for it: 1. the road up there has one of the best and most interesting views of the Coloseum 2. it seems to always have a BFM beer on tap otherwise, no need to go.
I was in beautiful Roma last week and was thoroughly impressed by the beer scene. Like the OP I was at Ma Che Siete Venuti A Fà and Bir & Fud. Both nice. I would add Beerland Trilussa, also in Trastevere and near those two. Not a great place but they had Westvleteren 12 and 8. I would also add Johnny's Off License, a bottle shop in Campo Di Fiori with a nice selection of local brews.
Incidentally, at Johnny's Off License I bought a bottle called Camallo by what appears to be a contract brewery from Genova called Cervisia. I'm trying to add the brewery on BA but cannot find the address. Anyone heard of it or have info?
Excellent descriptions. While there are no immediate plans we have family in Rome that we may be visiting in the next year or so. If you haven't done so, could you take a bit of extra time to get this all in the BA database? Thanks!
