Cafeography
Pasticcerie · Rome

Pasticcerie in Rome

Cornetti, maritozzi and millefoglie, from an 1878 bar on Via dei Pettinari to the pastry counters of Appio and Testaccio.

Photo: BOOM 💥 Photography, Pexels License

Roman pastry shops often carry both words in their names, as Antico Bar Pasticceria Mariani on Via dei Pettinari and Pasticceria Bar Napoleoni on Via Appia Nuova do: a pasticceria (pastry shop) counter and an espresso bar in one room. Breakfast there is a treat more than a daily habit. In an Altroconsumo survey of more than 1,400 consumers, 69% always had breakfast at home, and a breakfast at the bar took about 20 minutes on average.1

When they do go out, the cornetto wins: 68% of bar breakfasters order one always or often, far ahead of other pastries at 18%.1 Next to it goes a coffee or a cappuccino. As of September 2024 a cappuccino at a Roman bar averaged €1.32 in an Assoutenti analysis of ministry price data, second-cheapest of the cities compared after Catanzaro and well under the national €1.59.2

Local tip: Order a maritozzo in the morning, when the cream is fresh: it is meant to be eaten within a few hours of filling.4

Where these cafés are: San Giovanni & Appio (9), Prati & Vatican (7), Ostiense & Garbatella (6), Monteverde & Portuense (6), Flaminio & Parioli (5), Centro Storico (5), Spagna & Trevi (4), San Lorenzo (3), Salario & Nomentano (3), Testaccio & Aventino (2), Esquilino & Termini (1).

At a glance

51Cafés listed
20With opening hours
06:00Earliest opening
02:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Sofio Cafe, from 06:00 (Daily 06:00–12:00, 18:00–22:00).
  • Closes latest: Gatsby Cafè, until 02:00 (Mon–Thu 08:00–01:00 · Fri–Sat 08:00–02:00 · Sun 08:00–01:00).
  • Most common features: outdoor seating (25%), brunch (12%), indoor seating (10%).

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Rome.

The maritozzo, a cream bun for breakfast

The maritozzo is a soft sweet bun split open and filled with a generous amount of whipped cream; some versions add pine nuts, raisins or candied fruit.3 Dissapore describes it as a typical Roman sweet usually served at breakfast, and warns that the fresh cream means it should be eaten within a few hours.4

In medieval Rome a Lenten version, the maritozzo quaresimale, was one of the few sweets allowed, because olive oil could replace animal fat. Men gave the buns to their fiancées on the first Friday of March, sometimes with a ring or small jewel hidden inside, and the name comes from marito, husband.3 Rome has held a Maritozzo Day on the first Saturday of December since 2017.3

Historic pastry bars: Mariani, Andreotti, Ottavi, Cavalletti

Antico Bar Pasticceria Mariani at Via dei Pettinari 44 has served since 1878 and was entered in the city’s register of botteghe storiche (historic shops) on 26 April 2005.5 In Ostiense, Pasticceria Andreotti on Via Ostiense dates from 1931 and survived a Second World War bombing; Marco Andreotti runs it with his mother Miranda.6

Ottavi has been on Via dei Dalmati in San Lorenzo since 1921 and calls itself a pasticceria da forno, a bakery that makes pastry, serving from breakfast to dinner.7 It opens Monday to Saturday from 08:00 to 23:00. Pasticceria Cavalletti opened on Via Nemorense in 1951 and is known for its millefoglie, three tiers with a chantilly cream laced with Marsala.8 In September 2020 its closure was announced, then reversed after customer petitions.9

Where the pastry counters are

San Giovanni and Appio have the most pasticcerie, ahead of Prati and the Vatican. The southeastern ones sit on residential streets: Pasticceria Corsini at Via Gallia 152, Charlotte Pasticceria at Via Vercelli 12, Pasticceria Rugiati on Via Tommaso da Celano and Pasticceria Bar Napoleoni at Via Appia Nuova 592. In Prati, Cantiani is at Via Cola di Rienzo 234 and Grif cafe on Via dei Gracchi opens at 06:00, Monday to Saturday.

In the centro storico, Pasticceria Cinque Lune on Corso del Rinascimento opens Tuesday to Sunday from 07:00 to 21:30, and Camilloni a Sant’Eustachio is on the piazza of the same name. Testaccio has Pasticceria Linari on Via Nicola Zabaglia and Pasticceria Barberini at Via Marmorata 41–43, open daily from 06:30 to 21:00. Barberini makes its pastry with lievito madre, a natural sourdough starter, and uses Valrhona chocolate and Bourbon vanilla.10

Pastry hours, from 06:00 to past midnight

Santini on Viale di Trastevere and Sofio Cafe on Via Portuense open at 06:00, and Caffè 104 on Viale di Villa Pamphili and the two Eden bars, on Via Cornelio Magni and Via Ignazio Persico, at 06:30. At the other end of the day, Elisa Gelateria Pasticceria Caffè on Via di Propaganda serves until 01:30 every night, Gatsby Cafè on Piazza Vittorio until 01:00, and Luna on Via delle Quattro Fontane until 23:00 from Thursday to Sunday.

Not every pastry counter belongs to a pasticceria. Il pane di Maurizi on Largo Giovanni Ansaldo and Panificio Mosca on Via Candia are bakeries first: Il pane di Maurizi closes at 15:00, and Panificio Mosca shuts from 14:00 to 16:00, Monday to Saturday.

Sources

  1. Altroconsumo: 7 italiani su 10 fanno colazione a casa, tempo medio 15 minuti, Ecoseven, reporting an Altroconsumo survey, accessed October 2026
  2. Non solo caro caffè: come è cambiato il prezzo del cappuccino nelle città italiane (Luca Venturino), Dissapore (September 2, 2024), accessed October 2026
  3. Maritozzo, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  4. Maritozzi con la panna, la ricetta per fare in casa un classico della colazione romana, Dissapore (September 10, 2022), accessed October 2026
  5. Antico Bar Pasticceria Mariani, Turismo Roma (Roma Capitale), accessed October 2026
  6. Pasticceria Andreotti, Pasticceria Andreotti (official site), accessed October 2026
  7. Ottavi, dal 1921 nel cuore di San Lorenzo, Ottavi 1921 (official site), accessed October 2026
  8. Roma: chiude la storica pasticceria Cavalletti, Dissapore (September 8, 2020), accessed October 2026
  9. Roma: la pasticceria Cavalletti non chiude più grazie alle proteste dei clienti, Dissapore (September 16, 2020), accessed October 2026
  10. Pasticceria Barberini, Pasticceria Barberini (official site), accessed October 2026
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FAQ

Pasticcerie in Rome: questions

What is a maritozzo in a Rome pasticceria?

A soft sweet bun split open and filled with whipped cream, sometimes with pine nuts, raisins or candied fruit in the dough. It is a Roman pastry usually eaten at breakfast, best within a few hours because of the fresh cream. Rome has held a Maritozzo Day on the first Saturday of December since 2017.

Which historic pasticcerie can you visit in Rome?

Antico Bar Pasticceria Mariani on Via dei Pettinari has served since 1878 and is a registered bottega storica. Ottavi has been in San Lorenzo since 1921, Pasticceria Andreotti on Via Ostiense since 1931, and Pasticceria Cavalletti on Via Nemorense, known for its Marsala-laced millefoglie, since 1951.

How much does a cappuccino cost at a Rome pasticceria or bar?

As of September 2024 a cappuccino at a Roman bar averaged €1.32, according to an Assoutenti analysis of ministry price data. Only Catanzaro was cheaper among the cities compared, and the national average was €1.59. In a national survey, 68% of people who breakfast at a bar order a cornetto always or often.

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