The 6 Best Cocktail Bars in Rome, Italy

Rome doesn’t have one cocktail scene. It has five, split across neighborhoods that barely talk to each other. 

Trastevere runs on speakeasy energy and a car garage turned into one of the city’s best aperitivo spots. Monti holds a bar ranked on the World’s 100 Best list. The Centro Storico near Piazza Navona has the exact bar that started Italy’s modern cocktail movement back in 2010. 

If you’re searching for the best cocktail bars in Rome, this is the full, walkable, actually-useful list, sorted by neighborhood so you can build a real night around it.

Short on Time? Here are the key takeaways:

• Start a Trastevere cocktail crawl at Freni e Frizioni for aperitivo, then head to Jerry Thomas Bar Room or La Punta.
• Budget roughly €10–€20 per cocktail, depending on the bar and what you order.
• Reservations matter here: Jerry Thomas Bar Room, the original Jerry Thomas Speakeasy, and Drink Kong all require booking ahead. 
• In our opinion, don’t skip Freni e Frizioni (No. 62) and Drink Kong (No. 92) – both made the extended 51–100 list in The World’s 50 Best Bars 2026.

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Watch Our Rome Trips on YouTube

Want to see what these bars are like before you go? We filmed two Rome trips, from a night out in Trastevere to a day beneath the Colosseum that ended with cocktails in Monti.

Map of Cocktail Bars

Jerry Thomas Speakeasy (The Original)

• Hours:
  • Monday – Saturday 9 PM – 4:30 AM  
  • Sunday 9 PM – 3:30 AM
• Cost: €5 one-time membership, cocktails roughly €12 to 16.
• Reservations: Highly Recommended (basically required)

The Jerry Thomas Project carries serious weight in the Italian cocktail world. Opened in 2010,  the original Jerry Thomas Speakeasy in Rome’s city center was one of Italy’s first destination cocktail bars and has landed on the World’s 50 Best Bars list in the past. 

It’s named after the 19th century American bartender often credited as the father of modern mixology. We’ve only visited their Trastevere outpost below, but the original, near Piazza Navona, is the one with the actual origin story.

Quick note: membership costs a one-time €5 and is valid through Dec 31 of that year. 

Jerry Thomas Bar Room

• Hours: Daily from 6 PM – 2 AM
• Cost: Around €15 a cocktail, on the higher end for Rome.
• Reservations: Required, only sixteen seats.

The Bar Room is their Trastevere location, and it plays the speakeasy angle all the way through. Sixteen seats. Old-world lounge vibes styled after 1950s and 60s European bars and Orient Express carriages. You ring a bell to get in, a small metal slit slides open, and someone checks whether you have a reservation. Book ahead, it fills up fast.

Sam had the El Diablo Royal (tequila, lime cordial, wine, champagne). Chris got the house Negroni and put it in his personal top ten. We’ve been back a couple times now and each time, the cocktails we’ve gotten were very good. 

Freni e Frizioni

• Hours: Daily, 6:3 PM – 2 AM
  • Aperitivo buffet runs from 6:30 PM – 9 PM
• Cost: Cocktails average €10-€12. One drink plus roughly €3 gets you into the buffet.
• Reservations: Not accepted, arrive early or be prepared to wait

Right around the corner from Piazza Trilussa, Freni e Frizioni is easily one of our favorite bars in Rome. We always go back when we visit. 

The name means “brakes and clutches” because the space used to be a car repair garage. Now it’s one of Trastevere’s most beloved aperitivo spots, and it’s recently landed on the World’s 50 Best Bars Extended list.

The energy is the opposite of Jerry Thomas: loud, packed, mostly Italian locals, buzzing with exactly the kind of neighborhood atmosphere that makes Trastevere worth staying in. On a recent visit, Sam had a two-rum Fernet cocktail and was surprised to actually like it (she’s not a fan of Fernet). Chris had a Jack Daniels-based drink that hit like a little slice of home.

Their menu is constantly changing and every time we’ve been, the drinks just keep getting better. 

Come early for aperitivo if you want a spot. One drink plus about three euros gets you into their aperitivo buffet: pastas, vegetables, a solid spread of small bites. No reservations. First come, first served. Get there early if you want a table.

La Punta Expendio de Agave

• Hours:
  • Monday- Saturday 6:30 PM – 2 AM
  • Sunday 5:30 PM – 1 AM
• Cost: Cocktails average €10
• Reservations: Recommended for weekends, especially given the limited seating

This one’s for anyone who wants a break from Aperol and Campari. La Punta Expendio de Agave is a bar built entirely around Mexican spirits: tequila and mezcal as the headliners, with gin, rum, and whiskey all sourced from Mexico too. It was created by the same group who opened both The Jerry Thomas Speakeasy and Freni e Frizioni, so the pedigree checks out.

Chris, surprise surprise, went with a Mezcal Negroni. Sam ordered the cocktail of the month, a pineapple and mint drink that disappeared faster than she meant it to. 

Both were excellent, and if you’re into serious spirits, this is worth the detour even if you don’t usually drink Mexican spirits.

Drink Kong

• Hours: Daily, 6:30 PM – 2 AM 
• Cost: Cocktails average €14-€18
• Reservations: Strongly recommended, especially on weekends

The pedigree here does the talking: Drink Kong sat at #40 on the World’s 50 Best Bars 2025 list but has dropped to No. 92 on the 2026 list. 

It’s in the Monti neighborhood and the bar has a retro-futuristic feel, and uses modern mixology techniques across a pretty diverse menu. 

We told our server what we usually like and let them pick from there…and every drink was spectacular! The menu changes often, so we’d do exactly the same thing next time. 

Quick note: it definitely turns into a club vibe as the night goes on, so if you’re not looking for that, grab an earlier reservation. 

Wisdomless Club

• Hours: Daily, 6 PM – 2 AM
• Cost: Roughly €12 to €18
• Reservations: Recommended, especially weekends

We started our last night on our most recent trip in Rome at Wisdomless Club, near Piazza Navona. It’s a cocktail bar, art gallery, and working tattoo studio at the same address. Somehow it all works. The room felt intimate and a little eccentric, like being invited into someone’s very stylish imagination displayed via furniture and decor. 

We’d go here for a classic cocktail as the menu leans into familiar cocktails, and we liked how cleanly they were made and presented. It felt like a quieter start to the night after the energy of Drink Kong.

Argot Speakeasy

• Hours: Daily from 8 PM – 3 AM
• Cost: Roughly €10 – €20 
• Reservations: Recommended, but you do have to call to get a reservation

Argot Speakeasy is a basement bar near Campo de’ Fiori with live music on Friday and Saturday nights.

The entrance is easy to miss, and downstairs it feels like a cave. Dark, moody, and exactly what we pictured when someone said speakeasy. The menu was smaller, but the drinks that we ordered were tasty.  

Smoking was allowed inside when we went, though they do apparently have a non-smoking section…somewhere…. 

FAQs About Rome’s Cocktail Scene

Do I need a reservation for these bars?

We’d recommend booking ahead for either Jerry Thomas location, and reserve Drink Kong if you’re going on a weekend. Freni e Frizioni doesn’t take reservations and works first come, first served.

Is Trastevere the best area in Rome for cocktails?

It’s the best area for a concentrated night out, since four of these bars are walkable from each other. But Monti and the centro storico around Piazza Navona hold their own too.

What should I order at a Rome cocktail bar?

Chris would always tell you to order the house Negroni at most bars in Italy, but definitely at Jerry Thomas Bar Room. But the more interesting move is asking the bartender for guidance. Most of these bars have a house version worth trying over the standard.

Planning a Trip to Rome?

This post pairs deliciously with our full guide of a 3 Day Guide to Rome. 

We have several Italy guides since we live here so you can browse them all or see some of the most popular destinations below: 

• Is Trenitalia Executive Class Worth It? Full Frecciarossa Train Review
• Florence in 3 days 
• A Weekend In Venice, Italy 
• Top Things to Do in One Day in Bologna, Italy