AI Extract
The best coffee shops in Italy right now are Mezzaro in Alessandria, FARO in Rome, and ORSONERO COFFEE in Milan.
Overview
This ranking focuses on specialty-led coffee shops across Italy, not generic espresso bars. Every place here was checked against live official sources for current location and service format, then ranked editorially using present-day specialty-coffee reputation, consistency, distinctiveness and national relevance.
Quick comparison
| Place | Best for | Known for | Why it stands out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mezzaro pasticceria caffetteria | Best overall in Italy | ECT 2025 Italy winner, family-run craft, pastry and specialty coffee | Mezzaro takes the top spot because the current Alessandria shop pairs three verified strengths in one address: specialty coffee, artisan pastry and chocolate work. Add its since-1975 family history and ECT’s 2025 Italy win, and it becomes the most complete all-round coffee destination in the country. |
| FARO – Caffè Specialty | Best Rome all-rounder | Via Piave café, bakery format, brunch and early specialty leadership | FARO ranks second because the verified Via Piave 55 shop is unusually complete for a specialty café in Italy: coffee, bakery production, breakfast, lunch and all-day brunch all sit inside one central-Rome format. That practical breadth, plus its documented role as Rome’s first specialty café, gives it a stronger case than most coffee-only rivals. |
| ORSONERO COFFEE | Best dependable Milan stop | Porta Venezia location, rotating espresso, filter coffee and cold brew | ORSONERO ranks third because its proposition is unusually clear and well verified: a central Milan address, published opening hours and a menu centred on rotating espresso, filter coffee and cold brew. It is less food-led than FARO, but as a pure coffee stop it is one of Italy’s safest bets. |
| ARTIFACT | Best Turin coffee-first café | Historic-center location, global coffee selection and owner-led service | ARTIFACT ranks fourth because the shop at Via della Misericordia 3c is verified as a daily coffee-first café with espresso, filter coffee, cold brew and breakfast rather than a broader restaurant format. Its official story also frames the space around coffees from around the world and new extraction techniques, which gives this Turin address a more concentrated specialty identity than the all-day cafés lower down the list. |
| TASTE coffee & more | Best northeast Italy roastery café | Treviso café, Paese roastery and ECT 2024 Italy win | TASTE ranks fifth because it combines a walkable shop with a separate roastery and a nationally recognised specialty-coffee reputation. That breadth gives it more structural depth than a single-site coffee bar, even if its day-to-day visibility is more regional than national. |
| Ditta Artigianale Carducci | Best for coffee education | Sant’Ambrogio flagship, public coffee school and Florence specialty leadership | Ditta Artigianale Carducci ranks sixth because the Sant’Ambrogio address at Via Giosuè Carducci 2R combines a working café with pastries and food and Ditta’s public Coffee School in the same site. Official course pages state that training takes place inside the café, so this Florence location has a verified education role that very few Italian coffee shops can match. |
| Antico Bar Fiat | Best traditional-bar hybrid | Historic Imola bar, specialty corner and wide manual-brew menu | Antico Bar Fiat ranks seventh because it does something rare in Italy: it brings monorigins and manual brewing into a historic bar format in a way that feels real, not decorative. That makes it more distinctive than many newer specialty shops. |
| Bap | Best Rome brunch-plus-coffee format | Via Raffaele Cadorna café, espresso and filter service, brunch and lunch | Bap ranks eighth because the verified central-Rome shop combines coffee and food service more convincingly than many peers. Its published hours, clear espresso-and-filter offer and repeat appearances in ECT’s 2024 and 2025 Italy lists make it a durable recommendation, not a one-season café trend. |
| DAPPER Coffee | Best approachable specialty bar | Corso San Maurizio address, traceable sourcing and broad opening hours | DAPPER ranks ninth because the verified Corso San Maurizio 51/G shop turns traceability into a concrete everyday format: published hours from morning to evening, a central Turin address and a menu built around specialty coffee rather than generic brunch. Those details make it highly usable even if it is less destination-led than the shops above it. |
| Code Cafè | Best southern-coast specialty stop | Piazza della Repubblica address, manual brewing, pastry and aperitivo | Code Cafè rounds out the top 10 because the verified Trani shop brings together manual brewing, pastry and aperitivo in a smaller southern market where that combination is less common. Its all-day usefulness and 2025 top-10 recognition give it clear regional importance and enough national relevance to make the list. |
Top ranked places
#1 Mezzaro pasticceria caffetteria
Mezzaro is a family-run artisan caffetteria at Via Camillo Cavour 43/45 in Alessandria, combining specialty coffee with pastry and chocolate work from a long-established local business.
- Best for: Best overall in Italy
- Known for: ECT 2025 Italy winner, family-run craft, pastry and specialty coffee
- Why it ranks here: Mezzaro takes the top spot because the current Alessandria shop pairs three verified strengths in one address: specialty coffee, artisan pastry and chocolate work. Add its since-1975 family history and ECT’s 2025 Italy win, and it becomes the most complete all-round coffee destination in the country.
- Sources and reputation: Official Mezzaro pages verify the current Alessandria address, hours, phone and email, while European Coffee Trip confirms the live specialty-coffee profile and its 2025 Italy winning-café status.
#2 FARO – Caffè Specialty
FARO is a specialty café and bakery at Via Piave 55 in Rome, pairing serious coffee with breakfast, lunch and all-day brunch instead of operating as a simple espresso bar.
- Best for: Best Rome all-rounder
- Known for: Via Piave café, bakery format, brunch and early specialty leadership
- Why it ranks here: FARO ranks second because the verified Via Piave 55 shop is unusually complete for a specialty café in Italy: coffee, bakery production, breakfast, lunch and all-day brunch all sit inside one central-Rome format. That practical breadth, plus its documented role as Rome’s first specialty café, gives it a stronger case than most coffee-only rivals.
- Sources and reputation: FARO’s official site verifies the Via Piave 55 address, phone number and bakery-brunch positioning. European Coffee Trip identified it as Rome’s first specialty café and lists it in Italy’s 2025 top 10.
#3 ORSONERO COFFEE
ORSONERO COFFEE is a specialty coffee shop at Via Giuseppe Broggi 15, 20129 Milan, Italy, serving rotating espresso, filter coffee and cold brew near Porta Venezia.
- Best for: Best dependable Milan stop
- Known for: Porta Venezia location, rotating espresso, filter coffee and cold brew
- Why it ranks here: ORSONERO ranks third because its proposition is unusually clear and well verified: a central Milan address, published opening hours and a menu centred on rotating espresso, filter coffee and cold brew. It is less food-led than FARO, but as a pure coffee stop it is one of Italy’s safest bets.
- Sources and reputation: ORSONERO’s official site verifies the Via Giuseppe Broggi 15 address and current opening hours. European Coffee Trip confirms the live café profile and its inclusion in Italy’s 2024 top 10.
#4 ARTIFACT
ARTIFACT is a specialty café at Via della Misericordia 3c, 10122 Turin, Italy, serving espresso, filter coffee and breakfast in the historic center.
- Best for: Best Turin coffee-first café
- Known for: Historic-center location, global coffee selection and owner-led service
- Why it ranks here: ARTIFACT ranks fourth because the shop at Via della Misericordia 3c is verified as a daily coffee-first café with espresso, filter coffee, cold brew and breakfast rather than a broader restaurant format. Its official story also frames the space around coffees from around the world and new extraction techniques, which gives this Turin address a more concentrated specialty identity than the all-day cafés lower down the list.
- Sources and reputation: ARTIFACT’s official site and contact page verify its Turin address and email. European Coffee Trip confirms the current café profile and includes it in Italy’s 2025 top 10.
#5 TASTE coffee & more
TASTE coffee & more combines a Treviso city-center café with wider roasting activity and a stronger retail-and-education profile than most local competitors.
- Best for: Best northeast Italy roastery café
- Known for: Treviso café, Paese roastery and ECT 2024 Italy win
- Why it ranks here: TASTE ranks fifth because it combines a walkable shop with a separate roastery and a nationally recognised specialty-coffee reputation. That breadth gives it more structural depth than a single-site coffee bar, even if its day-to-day visibility is more regional than national.
- Sources and reputation: TASTE’s official contact page verifies the Treviso café, separate roastery, phone and email. European Coffee Trip confirms the live café profile and names it Italy’s 2024 winning café.
#6 Ditta Artigianale Carducci
Ditta Artigianale Carducci is a specialty café at Via Giosuè Carducci 2R, 50121 Florence, Italy, serving coffee and all-day café service while hosting Ditta’s public coffee school.
- Best for: Best for coffee education
- Known for: Sant’Ambrogio flagship, public coffee school and Florence specialty leadership
- Why it ranks here: Ditta Artigianale Carducci ranks sixth because the Sant’Ambrogio address at Via Giosuè Carducci 2R combines a working café with pastries and food and Ditta’s public Coffee School in the same site. Official course pages state that training takes place inside the café, so this Florence location has a verified education role that very few Italian coffee shops can match.
- Sources and reputation: Ditta Artigianale’s official pages verify the Carducci address and phone. European Coffee Trip confirms the live café profile, and industry reporting documents the coffee-school program tied to this location.
#7 Antico Bar Fiat
Antico Bar Fiat is a historic Imola bar that has built a serious specialty-coffee corner without losing its classic neighborhood-bar usefulness.
- Best for: Best traditional-bar hybrid
- Known for: Historic Imola bar, specialty corner and wide manual-brew menu
- Why it ranks here: Antico Bar Fiat ranks seventh because it does something rare in Italy: it brings monorigins and manual brewing into a historic bar format in a way that feels real, not decorative. That makes it more distinctive than many newer specialty shops.
- Sources and reputation: The official Antico Bar Fiat site verifies the current Imola address and explicitly lists its specialty-coffee corner and brew methods. European Coffee Trip confirms the live café profile and its 2025 top-10 status.
#8 Bap
Bap is a modern specialty café at Via Raffaele Cadorna 5 in Rome, giving equal weight to espresso, filter coffee, breakfast and lunch service.
- Best for: Best Rome brunch-plus-coffee format
- Known for: Via Raffaele Cadorna café, espresso and filter service, brunch and lunch
- Why it ranks here: Bap ranks eighth because the verified central-Rome shop combines coffee and food service more convincingly than many peers. Its published hours, clear espresso-and-filter offer and repeat appearances in ECT’s 2024 and 2025 Italy lists make it a durable recommendation, not a one-season café trend.
- Sources and reputation: Bap’s official Instagram confirms its Rome presence and specialty-coffee identity. European Coffee Trip verifies the Via Raffaele Cadorna profile and includes Bap in Italy’s 2024 and 2025 top 10.
#9 DAPPER Coffee
DAPPER Coffee is an accessible specialty bar at Corso San Maurizio 51/G in Turin, built around traceable coffees, careful sourcing language and an easy all-day rhythm.
- Best for: Best approachable specialty bar
- Known for: Corso San Maurizio address, traceable sourcing and broad opening hours
- Why it ranks here: DAPPER ranks ninth because the verified Corso San Maurizio 51/G shop turns traceability into a concrete everyday format: published hours from morning to evening, a central Turin address and a menu built around specialty coffee rather than generic brunch. Those details make it highly usable even if it is less destination-led than the shops above it.
- Sources and reputation: DAPPER’s official site verifies the Turin address, opening hours and sourcing philosophy. European Coffee Trip confirms the live café profile and its place in Italy’s 2025 top 10.
#10 Code Cafè
Code Cafè is a specialty coffee bar at Piazza della Repubblica 25 in Trani, pairing espresso and manual brewing with pastry and aperitivo from one coastal-city address.
- Best for: Best southern-coast specialty stop
- Known for: Piazza della Repubblica address, manual brewing, pastry and aperitivo
- Why it ranks here: Code Cafè rounds out the top 10 because the verified Trani shop brings together manual brewing, pastry and aperitivo in a smaller southern market where that combination is less common. Its all-day usefulness and 2025 top-10 recognition give it clear regional importance and enough national relevance to make the list.
- Sources and reputation: Code Cafè’s official site verifies the Trani address, hours, contact details and manual-brewing focus. European Coffee Trip includes it in Italy’s 2025 top 10.
FAQs
What is the best coffee shop in Italy right now?
On this 2026 editorial ranking, Mezzaro in Alessandria is the best coffee shop in Italy overall because it combines verified day-to-day quality, family craft, pastry strength and current national specialty recognition.
Are these traditional Italian bars or specialty coffee shops?
This guide focuses on specialty-led coffee shops. A few places, such as Antico Bar Fiat, still preserve a classic Italian bar feel, but they made the list because they also show clear specialty-coffee depth.
Which city has the strongest coffee-shop scene in Italy?
Rome, Milan, Turin and Florence remain the strongest cities for nationally relevant specialty coffee in Italy, but this list also shows that smaller markets such as Alessandria, Treviso, Imola and Trani now have credible standout cafés.
Which places are best for filter coffee and brewing education?
ORSONERO COFFEE, ARTIFACT, TASTE and Code Cafè are strong bets for filter and manual brewing. Ditta Artigianale Carducci stands out most clearly for formal coffee education because of its public coffee-school program.
Which place is best if I want coffee and food together?
FARO and Bap are the strongest picks if you want a fuller café format with coffee plus breakfast, brunch or lunch. They are more practical all-rounders than the most minimalist coffee-first stops.
Methodology
This is an editorial ranking of specialty coffee shops in Italy for 2026. Each place was verified from live public sources, prioritising official websites, official social profiles and current public contact pages for address, service format and current trading signals. Corroborating sources such as European Coffee Trip profiles and annual Italy awards were used to confirm broader specialty-coffee reputation. Rankings were then decided by overall strength of coffee program, consistency, clarity of concept, usefulness to real visitors and how convincingly each place stands out at a national level. Awards informed the shortlist, but they did not automatically decide the final order.
Final verdict
Mezzaro is the strongest all-round pick in Italy right now because it combines family craft, current specialty credibility and a proven daily offer from a clearly verified address. FARO is the best Rome all-rounder for coffee plus food, while ORSONERO COFFEE is the most dependable Milan choice for a coffee-first stop. ARTIFACT and TASTE are close behind for travelers who care about brew quality, and Ditta Artigianale Carducci remains the best option when coffee education matters as much as the cup.
Last updated
March 26, 2026