Cafés open late in Trieste
Specchi until midnight on Piazza Unità, San Marco's evenings, Viale XX Settembre and Kama Caffè in Roiano until 02:00.
Photo: José Barbosa, Pexels License
Late coffee has a pedigree in Trieste. Harry's Grill, on the site of the old Locanda Grande on Piazza Unità, was once the only café in the city open all night; the inn it replaced ran until 1847, and the archaeologist Johann Joachim Winckelmann was murdered there in 1768. Caffè degli Specchi became popular for concerts conducted by Franz Lehár, then a newcomer to the city.1
Viale XX Settembre and the streets around it have the most cafés open into the evening, ahead of the Borgo Teresiano. Closing times run from 22:00 at Caffè Stella Polare and DIVAN to 02:00 at Gran Bar Excelsior and Kama Caffè.
Local tip: On a Sunday evening, plan around shorter hours: Caffè San Marco and Caffè degli Specchi both close at 21:00, while Kama Caffè in Roiano keeps going until 02:00.
Where these cafés are: Viale XX Settembre & San Giovanni (5), Borgo Teresiano (3), Piazza Unità & Città Vecchia (2), Barcola & Roiano (2), Piazza Goldoni & Barriera Vecchia (1).
At a glance
- Opens earliest: Carducci Cafe, from 06:00 (Mon–Sat 06:00–23:30 · Sun 14:00–23:30).
- Closes latest: Gran Bar Excelsior, until 02:00 (Mon–Sat 07:00–02:00).
- Most common features: outdoor seating (46%), smoke-free indoors (31%), wi-fi (23%).
Bar Ulpiano
Caffè degli Specchi
- Outdoor seating
- Indoor seating
- Vegetarian options
- Partial wheelchair access
- Open late
Caffè San Marco
Carducci Cafe
- Open late
- Open by 6am
Gran Bar Excelsior
Il Pane Quotidiano Lungomare
- Outdoor seating
- Takeaway
- Partial wheelchair access
- Open late
Kama Caffè
Knulp
Lettera Viva
- Outdoor seating
- Toilets
- Smoke-free indoors
- Open late
Bar F
Caffè Stella Polare
- Outdoor seating
- Takeaway
- Air-con
- Indoor seating
- Vegetarian options
- Wheelchair access
- Toilets
- Smoke-free indoors
- Open late
DIVAN Ristorante e Cafeteria
Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Trieste.
Piazza Unità and the old town at night
Caffè degli Specchi serves until 00:00 Monday to Saturday and until 21:00 on Sundays. Its menu includes bistro dishes and chocolates made by Peratoner.2
Knulp, the bar-bookshop on Via della Madonna del Mare, keeps the same closing time, 00:00, and hosts exhibitions; it opens at 10:00 and closes on Wednesdays.3
Caffè San Marco and Viale XX Settembre
Caffè San Marco stays open until 23:00 on weekdays and 23:45 on Saturdays, and besides espresso it makes its own coffee-flavored vermouth.4 The avenue nearby has the Politeama Rossetti theater and the city's historic cinemas.5 Lettera Viva, at Viale XX Settembre 31b, a bright room with plants on its balcony, runs until 22:30 most days and 00:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, with chai latte, crêpes and cupcakes.6
Bar Ulpiano on Via Giustiniano and Ale Caffè on Via di Cologna close at 22:00 on weekdays, and Gran Bar Excelsior on Largo Don Francesco Bonifacio opens at 07:00 and stays open until 02:00, nineteen hours a day from Monday to Saturday.
The Borgo Teresiano
Caffè Stella Polare on Via Dante keeps the same hours every day, 07:00–22:00, at the Via Dante address where Joyce read his early stories to his brother in 1907–1908.7 Trieste Centrale handles about six million passenger movements a year, and DIVAN, on Via Carlo Ghega near the station, runs 07:00–22:00 daily for late arrivals.8 Carducci Cafe on Via Giosuè Carducci opens at 06:00 and closes at 23:30, and on Sundays it starts at 14:00.
Roiano and Barriera after dark
Kama Caffè sits on Piazza tra i Rivi, the Roiano square named in 1903 for the four streams of its valley and home to its 19th-century parish church, and opens 07:00–02:00 every day with tables outside.9 Bar F, on Via dei Piccardi in Barriera, opens only in the evening, 17:30–01:00 daily, with Wi-Fi and a smoke-free room.
Sunday evenings
Sunday hours are shorter, and Lettera Viva does not open on Mondays. Caffè San Marco opens 09:00–21:00 and Caffè degli Specchi closes at 21:00, while Gran Bar Excelsior does not open at all. Ale Caffè splits its Sunday into 10:00–13:30 and 17:00–20:30, Lettera Viva opens 10:00–22:30, and Kama Caffè and Bar F keep their usual late hours.
Sources
- Historical Cafés (Purple itinerary), Comune di Trieste, city itineraries (updated November 23, 2020), accessed October 2026
- Caffè degli Specchi, Caffè degli Specchi (official site), accessed October 2026
- Bar libreria Knulp, Knulp (official site), accessed October 2026
- An espresso-fueled tour of Trieste, Italy's longstanding coffee capital (Sarah Barrell), National Geographic Traveller (October 12, 2024), accessed October 2026
- Viale XX Settembre, FAI, I Luoghi del Cuore, accessed October 2026
- The many ways to say "coffee". The Trieste variants and the 11 best coffee bars where to find them, Gambero Rosso International (October 27, 2023), accessed October 2026
- The Trieste of James Joyce, Comune di Trieste, city itineraries, accessed October 2026
- Trieste Centrale railway station, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
- Roiano, Wikipedia (Italian), accessed October 2026
Other ways to browse Trieste
By area: Piazza Unità & Città Vecchia Borgo Teresiano Piazza Goldoni & Barriera Vecchia Viale XX Settembre & San Giovanni Barcola & Roiano
Open late in Trieste: questions
Which cafés in Trieste are open after midnight?
Gran Bar Excelsior on Largo Don Francesco Bonifacio stays open until 02:00 Monday to Saturday, and Kama Caffè on Piazza tra i Rivi in Roiano until 02:00 every day. Bar F on Via dei Piccardi opens 17:30–01:00 daily.
How late is Caffè San Marco open in Trieste?
Until 23:00 Monday to Friday, 23:45 on Saturdays and 21:00 on Sundays; it opens at 08:30, or 09:00 on Sundays. Besides espresso, Caffè San Marco makes its own coffee-flavored vermouth.
Is Caffè degli Specchi in Trieste open in the evening?
Yes. Caffè degli Specchi on Piazza Unità d'Italia serves until 00:00 Monday to Saturday and until 21:00 on Sundays, with bistro dishes and Peratoner chocolates on its menu.
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