PANE E CAFFÈ, LARGO GUGLIELMO BILANCIONI 1/2, 00152 ROMA

Rating: Standard, normal Roman coffee

I must confess that the Pane e Caffè in the Monteverde area looked like a perfect place for old folk to be congregating in. From the outside it didn’t look particularly inviting, nor distinct, nor anything out of the ordinary. I walked by it probably a dozen times without noticing it. But this time I took the plunge and walked in. I was surprised by what I found inside. First, there were young folk. A group of about six hipster aspiring guys in their mid 20s chatting up a storm. And it seems that the storm was all about the barista, who was orchestrating their steady consumption of soft drinks, coffee and never letting them lose their hope of going out on a date with her… Looking around inside the bar I did also find some older folk, but the decor was decidedly appealing to the ‘hipster’ crowd. It was even written on the damned wall (see photos below of all of this). And what else speaks wannabe cool than sticking a bicycle, again, on the wall!

So this peaked my curiosity, with the hope that what is universal in the rest of the world, i.e, hipster=good coffee, would be the same here. This is what I got when I asked for a coffee:

Presentation: Well, a very traditional Roman coffee. Yup, a logo on the cup says it all. Water was given when asked… see below:

Temperature of Cup: Ahh yeah, nothing speaks of cool than a boiling hot ceramic cup melting the surface of your fingertips, helping them become one with the cup. This is hip.

Quantity: What was great was the size of the espresso. It was very short, controlled, the barista wasn’t so busy enticing these guys, but was indeed looking after my coffee.

Temperature: So by the time I could drink it, it was at a good temperature.

Volume/Consistency: I was suprised to find a silky coffee, not very watery after all, and traces of body in it.

Crema: This is the type of crema I’m not into, completely uniform, lighter than what the photo shows you, and not persistent.

Odor: No smell… it’s not hip to stink, right?

Taste: Well, besides my sarcastic rant on hipness, the taste was OK. it was very bitter, and not rancid. It was not too acidic either.

Overall: With the fact of the silkiness of the cup, and the taste being decidedly not rancid, but simply stoutly bitter, the coffee was decent. I would say a dead on normal Roman coffee experience.

The setup: The had a sleek looking no-frills Rancilio espresso machine with a like-brand grinder.

The coffee being brewed was Caffè Moca a Pomezia (south of Rome towards the coast still in the Lazio area) roaster that seems to be churning its beans for quite some time. After waxing on about the barista, I have to oblige with a complementary photo: yeah, that was my espresso there!

Can you spot the hip word on the wall?

And of course, what’s better than a bike on the wall?

​In case you weren’t convinced, here are some signs of the ‘cool’ trade:

Besides the jokes, the place looks to be a local hangout place for old and young alike, and I’m sure in the evenings there’s a fun coctail/aperitivo atmosphere with lots of ‘in the know’ groups of young folk. Will try to stop by on a Saturday night sometime.

Pane e Caffè,

‘Toccannacce’

Largo Guglielmo Bilancioni, 1/2

00152 Roma