Cafeography
Rome · Esquilino & Termini

Cafés in Esquilino & Termini

Termini, Piazza Vittorio and Via Merulana, with Faro on Via Piave.

Photo: K, Pexels License

The Esquilino is the district between Termini station and Santa Maria Maggiore. Its center, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, was begun in 1880 under the 1873 city plan and is the largest square in Rome, 325 by 185 meters including the arcades.1 Termini itself, inaugurated in its present form in 1950, is Italy's busiest railway station, with about 150 million passengers a year, and the point where metro Lines A and B cross.2

Coffee here runs from station bars on Piazza dei Cinquecento to a specialty bar ranked among the world's best. Faro opened on Via Piave in 2016, and in 2025 it was ranked 26th on The World's 100 Best Coffee Shops list.3

Local tip: Faro closes at 16:00 on weekdays, so go in the morning; Le Levain, at Via Piave 8, serves espresso and batch brew a few blocks down the same street.7

At a glance

118Cafés listed
17With opening hours
05:00Earliest opening
04:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Cottini, from 05:00 (Daily 05:00–21:30).
  • Closes latest: Twins Bar, until 04:00 (Daily 06:00–04:00).
  • Most common features: outdoor seating (20%), indoor seating (14%), open late (6%).

Café bistrot L'artigiano matto

  • Viale di Porta Tiburtina, 6
  • Mon–Fri 06:30–13:00, 15:30–19:15
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Coffee chains in Esquilino & Termini

Piazza Vittorio and the Nuovo Mercato Esquilino

The garden in the middle of Piazza Vittorio opened on 10 July 1889. It holds the Porta Alchemica, or Porta Magica, built in 1678–1680 for Massimiliano Palombara's villa and the only one of its five gates to survive.14 The market that once filled the square moved in 2001 into the covered Nuovo Mercato Esquilino, in the former Centrale del Latte and Caserma Sani buildings between Via Turati and Via Principe Amedeo.1

Gatsby Cafè, under the arcades at number 106, is open from 08:00 until 01:00, 02:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. Kristal Bar and Seven Caffè, on the same square, both have outdoor tables.

Via Merulana and Santa Maria Maggiore

Via Merulana runs straight from Santa Maria Maggiore to St John Lateran; Gregory XIII began it and Sixtus V finished it, and it gave its name to Carlo Emilio Gadda's novel Quer pasticciaccio brutto de via Merulana.5 The basilica at its northern end was consecrated in 434, has Rome's tallest bell tower at about 75 meters, and since 26 April 2025 holds the tomb of Pope Francis.6

The street has the district's earliest coffee. Cottini, at number 287, opens daily at 05:00, Molino at 282 is open daily 07:00–00:30, and Brancaccio Caffè at 245 stays open until midnight Monday to Saturday.

Via Piave: Faro and Le Levain

Faro, at Via Piave 55 near Piazza Fiume, was founded by Dafne Spadavecchia, Dario Fociani and Arturo Felicetta.3 It serves espresso, americano, batch brew and canned cold brew with breakfast pastries and lunch, priced at €3–12 in a Puntarella Rossa survey of October 2025, which also covers Le Levain, at Via Piave 8, with espresso from €2 to €5 and hand brews from €4 to €8.7

Faro has Wi-Fi and opens 08:00–16:00 on weekdays and 08:30–16:30 at weekends, so it is a morning and lunch stop rather than an evening one.

Around Termini

Via Marsala, along the north side of the station, has more cafés than any other street in the area, among them Caffè Trombetta at number 46, with tables inside and out. Twins Bar, on Via Giovanni Giolitti along the south side, is open daily 06:00–04:00, the longest hours in the district.

Toward Piazza della Repubblica, il grottino di san Bernardo on Piazza San Bernardo opens daily at 05:30, and D'Angelo Caffè Repubblica, at Via Venti Settembre 25, opens at 06:00 on weekdays. At the far end of the district, Bar Maggiore by Porta Maggiore opens daily at 06:00.

Sources

  1. Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II (Roma), Wikipedia (Italian), accessed October 2026
  2. Roma Termini railway station, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. La ventiseiesima caffetteria al mondo parla romano (Lorenzo Santucci), Domani (March 24, 2025), accessed October 2026
  4. Porta Alchemica, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  5. Via Merulana, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  6. Santa Maria Maggiore, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  7. Dove bere caffè specialty a Roma, gli indirizzi per il 2025 (Luca Pucci), Puntarella Rossa (October 23, 2025), accessed October 2026
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In Esquilino & Termini, also browse: Outdoor seating Pasticcerie Open by 6am Open late Wi-Fi

FAQ

Esquilino & Termini cafés: questions

Where is Faro, the specialty coffee bar near Termini in Rome?

Faro is at Via Piave 55, near Piazza Fiume, north of Termini. It opened in 2016 and was ranked 26th on The World's 100 Best Coffee Shops list in 2025. It is open 08:00–16:00 on weekdays and 08:30–16:30 at weekends, and serves espresso, batch brew and cold brew with breakfast and lunch.

Which cafés open earliest in Rome's Esquilino and Termini area?

Cottini, at Via Merulana 287, opens daily at 05:00, and il grottino di san Bernardo, on Piazza San Bernardo, at 05:30. Twins Bar on Via Giovanni Giolitti, beside Termini, opens at 06:00 and stays open until 04:00.

What is the Porta Magica in Rome's Piazza Vittorio?

The Porta Magica, or Porta Alchemica, is a gate built in 1678–1680 for Massimiliano Palombara's villa, the only one of its five gates to survive. It stands in the garden of Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, which opened in 1889. Gatsby Cafè, under the square's arcades, is open until 01:00.

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