Bar San Calisto

Bar San Calisto is a legendary, gloriously unpretentious neighbourhood bar on the small Piazza San Calisto in Trastevere, famous across Rome for its rock-bottom prices, its chocolate and its democratic, anything-goes clientele. Known affectionately to regulars simply as 'Sanca', it has changed little in decades and stands as a defiant holdout of old Trastevere amid an increasingly polished neighbourhood. The draw is partly the cheap, strong coffee and the cult chocolate offerings—above all the granita al cioccolato con panna, a dense chocolate granita crowned with whipped cream, and a famously good hot cioccolato in winter—and partly the spirit of the place: cheap beer and spirits, simple tramezzini and a few snacks, and the freedom to nurse a drink for hours. The real attraction is the crowd and atmosphere. Battered tables sprawl across the piazza, and from morning espresso to late-night drinks the bar draws an extraordinary mix of elderly locals playing cards, students, artists, bohemians and travellers, creating a buzzing, egalitarian scene that peaks in the evening when the square fills. Prices are remarkably low—a coffee or a granita costs a couple of euros, a beer little more—which is much of the appeal. There is no real food menu and certainly no pretension; service is brusque in the classic Roman manner. Cash is king. It is less a place to eat than to soak up the authentic, slightly rough-edged soul of Trastevere over a cheap drink. For visitors wanting to experience the neighbourhood as Romans do, away from the tourist-priced terraces, Bar San Calisto is an essential and characterful stop at almost any hour.