Top Ten Cafés in Rome: Café Sant’Eustachio

Ever since first hearing that Café Sant’Eustachio apparently served the finest cup of cappuccino in all of Rome, I knew that this bar would have to be one of the stops on my “bar tour”. I then came up with an idea to visit ten of the most famous cafés which were listed in the DK Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guide. I will reflect on each of the ten in my blogs (in no particular order), and then at the end I will rank them (1 – 10) based on my own personal experience at each place.

As I approached Café Sant’Eustachio around 2 PM today, I immediately noticed a difference between this café and the ones I usually frequent in the early morning on my way to school. Café Sant’Eustachio gave off an aura of prestige and tradition. Men and women dressed to the nines sat outside its doors and slowly sipped on their caffé lattes. Important looking priests and men in Armani suits slinked in and out and would occasionally stop to check their expensive wristwatches. I knew this place was out of my league, and I felt awkward entering. I was wearing bright yellow capris which would not stop yelling, “American tourist!” Once I calmed down and was able to take in the entire scene, I ordered the world-famous cappuccino (NY Times articles and other worldly papers were posted on some of the walls) and waited my turn. The baristas were pretty amusing and teased me more than once about my incredible Italian speaking skills.

My cup arrived after about five minutes (which was far longer than the usual 30 seconds it takes in some other bars), and looked delicious. Of course, I could not see how it was prepared because they do not allow you to see what they are doing behind the bar at all. Silver, metal sheets cover their hands and block your view completely – they take their successful recipe very seriously! I added a touch of sugar and after my first sip, I realized that all the hype surrounding Café Sant’Eustachio was legit. The warm drink was perfectly flavored and did not give off the sometimes overpowering, bitter taste of espresso. The milky foam was not excessive, but rather complimented the espresso perfectly. Although the baristas were a bit off the wall, they really knew how to marry each flavor involved in creating a victorious cappuccino. I will be returning at a later time to give the iced coffee a whirl (they actually blend up the ice into a smoothie-like concoction). Until next time, ciao!