Sant’Eustachio Cafè – Legendary Italian Coffee
The Sant’Eustachio Cafè down in Rome is something of a legend. This mythical coffee house located in Piazza Sant’Eustachio should be something of a Mecca for all lovers of Italian coffee.
This famous cafe, in which you may find yourself rubbing shoulders with the odd Italian senator or two, is to be found in front of the Italian Senate building, which in turn is pretty close to Piazza Navona and the historic Pantheon.
Most people who visit Rome end up in one or both of these places, so you can add to the Roman holiday atmosphere by popping in for a coffee. Next time find myself in the Eternal City, I certainly shall head for this place, being as I am, a lover of Italian coffee.
The coffee they produce and which is consumed on the premises is also available for export throughout the world. And orders can be made via an email from the cafe’s rather crude website. Still, the website is not the point – it’s the coffee they come for. In a funny kind of way the 50’s style website adds to the charm of the place and its reputation for producing what is possibly the best coffee in Italy.
For those of you desperate for Italian coffee, but lucky enough to be in the USA, Sant’Eustachio’s famous coffee can be ordered directly from the appropriately named ‘Gustiamo.com‘ site.
This coffee is by no means cheap, but then the best things in life never are.
UPDATE
By the way, a real Roman has already written about this place in his ‘Best Espresso in the World‘ post. To get the genuine Roman low down on this place, pop over and have a read. Incidentally, Man of Roma thinks that the best Italian coffee in the universe is to be found in Naples!
I wrote a post on the Sant’Eustachio Cafè (which is a bit aggressive sometimes lol, only for fun though) and is here, in case it might help:
http://manofroma.wordpress.com/2007/09/24/
All the best
Man of Roma
Thanks for the pointer – I have amended my post accordingly – good to have a real Roman opinion on this!
Thanks Man of Roma!
Alex
Thanks to you Alex.
I agree with Man of Roma 100%! The best of the BEST is to be had a Napule, end of story!
When we lived in Rome (I think Sant’Eustachio was still alive and not a saint yet), we’d go to his bar for a second (or third) coffee while taking the dogs for their morning walk. The coffee was wonderful, of course. My favorite Sant’Eustachio memory, though, was one afternoon, sitting outside next to an American couple who had committed the cardinal sin of ordering cappuccini IN THE AFTERNOON! The waiter actually had the brass coglioni to lecture them on the error of their ways. I had to laugh, since I had been lectured on the same subject on my arrival in this cockamamie country… along with a long list of other taboos that were pointed out to me, in the friendliest of spirits, to save me from ever making the gross error of appearing to be (gasp!) an american!
Anyway, back to the subject of coffee – Napoli RULES!
Many places and many italians CAN make great coffee – no doubt! But everybody has to admit, that coffee from Sant Eustachio is something special AND worth a detour!
Please join me to celebrate the coffee from Sant Eustachio on http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=32279271914
Cheers,
Henrik
the Gran Caffe there is incredible.
Hi JT,
Next time I’m in Rome, I’ll check out the Gran Caffe – thanks for the tip
Best,
Alex