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Rating: Standard, good version of Palombini coffee
The Caffè Arabo (Now it has changed names to Bernardini Bar, see photo below), overlooking the Viale di Trastevere, is a place that’s always, always packed. Every single day that I’ve passed by this place, there’s always a group of people sitting outside on its patio. Winder, spring, summer, whatever, there’s people there. From the street it looks a bit bohemian and the group is always a nice mix of old Italians, younger Euro-Immigrants to Rome, and a healthy dose of people of arabic and african heritage. So with this healthy and harmonious mix of people all congregated at the bar, somethings definitely up with it. Let’s go see.
Now it's changed names! (you can peek behind the umbrella there that it's now called 'Bernardini Bar'... go figure.
So I had to forego the temptation of sitting outside on the street as everybody does, and went inside for the coffee. Asking for a drink in the interior got this nice thing served:
Presentation: Water was served immediately, nice. The cup was clean, and all in order.
Temperature of Cup: Wow, a Palombini that’s not super boiling hot, we’re doing great!!!
Quantity: The espresso was shortish, but not ristretto. It was on the mark.
Temperature: Wow, good temperature!! Again, a first for Palombini!
Volume/Consistency: Interesting point here, it was on one side, thinnish, and on the other thick. Read on, and I’ll explain.
Crema: The crema itself was a marvel, it was dark, persistent. It was very bitter, pungent. And it was one of the cakiest cremas on a Palombini I’ve had so far. I was so pleasantly surprised! So if I drank the espresso with the intention of swallowing the crema at the same time, it became silky, if I placed my lip on the cup and stopped the crema from coming into my mouth, it was thin. This is the same experience I had (of course 10 times more prominent) with the Sant’ Eustachio coffee, where the ingestion of the crema at the same time as the coffee is what ‘makes’ the coffee, and if you pull the crema out, it’s a flattish drink.
Odor: Nope, not even in this beauty gave me an idea of it’s odor.
Taste: It was very bitter, bordering on the cusp of rancid, simply because the crema was so deeply thick and bitter. Hell, look at how beautiful this picture is below of the oily-thick crema! It’s one of my favorite images yet!! Makes you want to scoop it out with the spoon and eat it as a chocolate-coffee sorbetto!
Overall: It was a solid representation of a Roman roasted and decently brewed espresso. While the espresso itself was rather watery, the crema added a very nice balance to it, it’s almost as if you’re cupping coffee without removing the grinds! However you look at it, it’s packed with people all the time, so the above normal quality of this Palombini speaks by itself.
The setup: They had a nice and clean three-group Faema E-98 with an Astoria grinder. The coffee, was of course, Palombini.
Here’s the 1970s arabic inspiration, a la Lawrence of Arabia I would presume… The barista/owner is an older guy that addressed me continuously by ‘caro’ (dear). This is a nice touch that made me instantly feel I could pour out my friendship to him, and make the Caffè Arabo my second home.
The interior has a back area with quite seating and a nice view to an interior patio full of beautiful plants. It was a nice surprise that I didn’t photograph, but that’s worth walking into to check out.
Caffè Arabo,
Bernardini Ezio,
Piazza Ippolito Nievo 20
00153 Roma