La Caffettiera is the Roman colony of a famous Neapolitan bar empire, and the cakes and coffee are fully up to the standards of the mother ship. The most recent branch, in artsy via Margutta near the Spanish Steps, is a chocolate-box treat housed in a former theatre, with original 18th-century frescoes and waiter service at comfortably-spaced tables. The piazza di Pietra branch, near the Pantheon, has a more bustling feel; the long marble bar at the entrance is always packed with politicians and their bagmen, in for a quick shot of caffeine between lower-house debates at the nearby Palazzo di Montecitorio. Rub shoulders with them, or grab an Italian newspaper from the rack and peruse it ostentatiously at a table over a cappuccino and a frolla (a Neapolitan shortcrust pastry dome filled with sweet ricotta).
Address :
Via Margutta 61a - Spanish Steps and at Piazza di Pietra 65
Telephone :
Margutta(00 39 06 321 3344) - Pietra(00 39 06 679 8147).
Timetable :
Both closed Monday.
