Espresso redux

In a previous post (Gelato, Espresso and Water) I was bemoaning the rising cost of three staples of an Italian visit (and I dare say, life).

It is always a pleasant surprise when I find a high quality, highly recommended location that contradicts the ordinary.

Such is the case with the Café de Paris on Rome's Via Veneto.

The café found fame with Fellini's La Dolce Vita and has inspired celebrities and ordinary people ever since. Outside its walls you can find stills from the filming of Fellini's look at a young Roman's search for the elusive 'sweet' life that is nothing more than ephemeral. (See a summary of the movie at The Fellini Files.)

But inside the café is where the real suprise awaited me. I was asked by some friends to hunt down the location and to have an espresso. As has become somewhat usual, I was expressing doubt about finding a reasonably priced espresso in Rome, especially at such a place as this.

We arrived and were greeted warmly by the staff. After paying at the typical cash-desk before ordering, I was stunned that a single espresso was only 1 euro 60.

I was actually floored!

This is still not the 1000 lire of the past, but it is a far cry from the 5, 6, 7 euros I have seen elsewhere such as the Piazza Navona in Rome or the Piazza della Repubblica in Florence.

Kudos to you Café de Paris!

If you are in Rome or soon will be, you can taste the joy of the low price and the good espresso (remember this was a bar price) at Via Veneto, 90 (Metro: Barberini).

Tom