DANHILL BAR CAFFÈ, VIA DEI COLLI PORTUENSI 15, 00151 ROMA

Rating: Standard, good powerful Roman coffee

The Danhill Bar Caffè is a no frills, straightup coffee and drink locale. It’s situated a step away from the Circonvallazione Gianicolense, and thus at the top of the Monteverde neighborhood. And to boot, it’s right in front of a bus stop, so always a ton of people walking in and out. It’s a small monolocale with a rather well shaded terrace that usually has these lot of folk I mention tugging away at their cigarets and espressi. When I walked in I was the only soul in the place. The barista, a serious looking guy, was quiet and busy cleaning the setup and bar. He spoke almost nothing and yet made me feel like an old friend.​

When I asked for a coffee he obliged with the following.​

​Presentation: This was quiet respectful service. Before the coffee finished pouring, he had already placed a generous cup of water on the bar without my asking. The cup was clean, it was bathed in a coffee logo that I thought harked back to the 60s and it looked appetizing.

Temperature of Cup: It was spot on good.

Quantity: Besides my being skeptical of the Tazza d’oro brand, the shortness of the shot made me think, hell… this might be a kicking espresso after all!! It was short-short.

Temperature: A bit on the high side, but it was OK and well within the expected.

Volume/Consistency: Man, what a punch. It was silky, with a thick body. Felt like chewing on it.

Crema: The crema was dark, not thick, nor persistent. We can do that, OK.​

Odor: Smell of very dark coffee, I was surprised, but it’s darkness prefigured a deeply pungent experience…

Taste: But the taste was very strong, very bitter, very much wanting to not have another espresso for the rest of the day. It packed a punch.​

​Overall: Decent cup, it wasn’t necessarily the best of Roman coffee, as the taste wasn’t as complex I’ve had before. But it was good, decent, normal quality Roman coffee. If this was my normal weekly bus stop, I’d be glad and content. And hopefully I’d make friends with the barista, in case I ever got into trouble ….

The setup: The espresso machine and grinder were both Astoria. Real sleek and nice. And based on E61 group head, so this was the trick behind the thickness of the espresso. The coffee brewed was the Tazza d’Oro brand. And I can safely say that this guy was serving a way better cup than at the ‘flagship’ store near the Pantheon. I’ve had coffee there before and it was close charred death being served…​

So worth stopping in here to experience at least one way Tazza d’Oro can be successfully brewed.​

Danhill Bar Caffè,

Aurora SAS di Fabio Talanti & C.

Via dei Colli Portuensi, 15

00151 Roma