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Rating: Standard, decent lever-machine Roman espresso
The Cafe I Siciliani (the Sicilians) is nestled on the same side of the street as another 4 or 5 cafes. So it’s got stiff competition. Like the other coffee houses on the street, it’s got the strategy of offering a bit of everything small and eatable, and of converting into a cocktail/apperitivo joint in the evening. The apperitivo being prepared while I was having my coffee in the afternoon looked amazing… so it’s definitely worth a visit in the 6-8pm timeframe.
Asking for a coffee got me this:
Presentation: No water was offered at first, but after I asked, a smiling bartender said ‘certo caro’ (yes my dear). The cup is a bit tall and cylindrical, and prominently shows the brand. I’ve had this before and it’s a very dark, bitter coffee so I was a bit biased at the get-go.
Temperature of Cup: Very hot cup, not a good sign.
Quantity: The length of the espresso however was on the shorter side. The barista gave this a full pre-dose, and then another half pull on the lever. So it was a thought-out shot.
Temperature: By time I had it, the temp was good, on the spot.
Volume/Consistency: It was actually not watery as I expected, especially due to the crema consistency, but also not thick. It was on the thinnish yet clothy, silky side. It it could be savored at length.
Crema: Crema very dark, thin, but thick with oils (see images below).
Odor: No real odor, but I expected that from the coffee being brewed.
Taste: Very silky espresso, very very dark, bordering on rancid. Hinting at it, but fortunately never reaching it.
Overall: Overall, a good espresso, and very intense!!! Characteristic Negresco bordering on rancid, yet this bar this pulled it off successfully… OK place, very lively, very nice, cool folk.
The Setup: They had an older (maybe 80s) three group ‘faema’ styled piston lever machine that was quite tastefully set up on wooden blocks. Maybe so that the baristas could actually pull the lever better? Or probably that they’ve lost the legs in some moving and had to do with these. Either way I was glad to see this older machine still in use! The grinder was a nice Fiorenzato grinder crunching away at the dark beans.
The coffee is the Caffè Negresco (the link doesn’t quite work), but its a local Roman coffee roaster that roasts very dark, punchy and almost always on the rancid side coffee. Here it was decent, I’m glad I got this experience!
I Siciliani EUR Caffè,
I Siciliani EUR S.R.L.
Viale Europe, 134/136
00144 Roma