When Litro announced it was closing last year, I felt a tug at the heartstrings: another former haunt bites the dust. Rome is usually slow to change, but we have watched a few favorite spots shutter over the years and it was a shame to lose a favorite wine bar.
However, they announced in the same breath that La Mescita would be taking over the Monteverde bar and I crossed my fingers that it would all work out.
Luckily, the La Mescita Monteverde takeover does not disappoint. The dedication to a great natural wine list has been maintained and the cozy bar even looks almost exactly the same compared to the ‘old days.’ The enoteca is still a great place for an evening drink, just outside the walls of Villa Sciarra and close to the American University of Rome.
In fact, the proximity to AUR seems to have paid off in the bar’s reincarnation. La Mescita expanded beyond the previous lunch and small-bite aperitivo offerings and now also has a great selection of pastries and even a brunch menu.
I headed here specifically for breakfast, trying to find solace in the wake of Marigold’s forever closure. (Yes, it is true, Marigold Roma is no more).
La Mescita’s mornings revolve around specialty coffee – long live the flat white! As well as cruffins, pan Suisse, and even banana bread.
For a more elaborate meal, there are breakfast sandwiches (I tried the egg, bacon and cheese ‘eggdrop’) and breakfast bowls of yogurt, granola and fresh fruit.
If you have yet to explore Rome’s Monteverde neighborhood, La Mescita is a good excuse to stop putting it off. It remains an enoteca – a mescita – at heart, so even if you miss brunch hours, you can still enjoy a fantastic glass of wine.
La Mescita Monteverde
Via Fratelli Bonnet, 5
Roma (Monteverde)
+39 333 301 5847
Open: Monday – Friday from 8:30 am – 3:30 pm and again from 6 pm – 1 am
Saturday and Sunday from 9 am – 4 pm and again from 6
