For many many many years, Enoteca Il Piccolo was just a blur in my peripheral visual as I stomped down Via del Governo Vecchio on my way somewhere else.
Basically exactly like that.
It barely registered.
It is sandwiched in between the kinds of restaurants that try to recruit you in with English menus and persistence.
I put my head down and kept moving.
Until one day, I realized that everyone outside of Il Piccolo looked like a regular. And that there were no English menus to be found.
The tiny wine bar lives up to its name – it is certainly a small enoteca.
There are about 5 tables inside, and several more outside when the weather is warm.
The menus is simple and sufficient.
About 10 red wines and 10 whites to order by the glass.
Snacks, salumi and cheese are also available.
While I have only had wines by the glass, the walls are lined with bottles that you can enjoy on site or take home for later.
The prices are written directly on the glass above the labels, so there is very little guesswork involved.
It is a bar without artifice. It is the kind of enoteca that I suspect there used to be more of: slightly rough around the edges but filled with locals and friends.
And that is what makes it one of the best wine bars in Rome.
Enoteca Il Piccolo
Via del Governo Vecchio, 74
Rome, Italy (Centro Storico)
Open 12 pm – 2 am.
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