I am not a casual beer drinker. I was born and raised in Rome, and craft beer has been a genuine passion of mine for years. What follows is not a sponsored list, not a ranking compiled from TripAdvisor, and not the same five places every tourist blog recycles. These are the places I actually go to, the beers I actually drink, and the details that only someone who has spent years in this scene would know.
Rome has a serious craft beer culture. It is not as famous in the world as the wine, but among those who know, the city is considered one of the most interesting scenes in Italy. A handful of breweries born here have gone on to win national and international awards. This guide covers the best of them.
In the City
Jungle Juice Brewing — Via del Mandrione, 109
This is my absolute favourite place in Rome, and Jungle Juice is my absolute favourite brewery. If you visit only one spot on this list, make it this one.
The brewery and tap room are located in the Mandrione, a strip of road running beneath the ancient Roman aqueduct arches near the Pigneto neighbourhood. The setting alone is worth the trip: industrial, slightly rough around the edges, unmistakably Roman. Jungle Juice has been brewing here since 2016, founded by Umberto Calabria after years travelling the Italian craft beer circuit and learning from the best.
The beers are firmly in the American hop-forward tradition, but with a creativity that keeps the tap list constantly interesting. Their flagship is the Baba Jaga, an American IPA that is explosive in the best sense: intensely hoppy, fruitful and fresh at the same time. I have had it dozens of times and it never disappoints. Worth seeking out when available: Montesacro, and the Renato, a Sour Fruit Ale that is acidic, fruity and spiced in a way I find genuinely extraordinary. The beers are unfiltered, unpasteurised and produced on-site in a 14hl brewhouse. You drink them at the source.
The tap room has a view of the production area through a glass wall. You can watch them brew while you drink what they brew. The food menu covers burgers, tacos and other gastropub staples. Guided tours with tastings are also available for groups.
Open Monday to Thursday 6:30pm to 1:30am, Friday and Saturday 6:30pm to 2am, Sunday 6:30pm to midnight.
Ma Che Siete Venuti a Fa’ — Via Benedetta, 25, Trastevere
If Jungle Juice is where I go for the brewery experience, Ma Che Siete Venuti a Fa’ is where I go when I want to be reminded why Rome’s craft beer scene exists at all. This place built it.
It opened in the heart of Trastevere, behind Piazza Trilussa, and for years it was the only place in the city where you could reliably find world-class craft beer on tap. It is still, in many opinions (including mine), the best beer selection in Rome. Consistently rated among the top craft beer bars in Italy by RateBeer and the beer community, it is what the trade calls a “sacred temple” of the genre.
The space is tiny. There is always someone standing outside with a glass. The tap selection rotates constantly and reaches across the best of Italian and international craft brewing. This is a place for serious drinkers who want the absolute top of the research, presented without fuss.
If you are visiting Rome and care about craft beer, this is a must.
Open Baladin — Via degli Specchi, 6
A short walk from Campo de’ Fiori, Open Baladin is the Roman outpost of Baladin, one of Italy’s oldest and most celebrated craft breweries, founded by Teo Musso in Piozzo, Piedmont in 1996. The beer is produced in northern Italy but this flagship pub showcases it at its best, with an exceptional tap selection covering the full Baladin range alongside a rotating choice of other Italian craft beers.
The atmosphere is more international and polished than the other places on this list, which makes it an excellent entry point for visitors less familiar with the craft beer world. The food side is strong: the burgers are genuinely good, there is an extensive vegan and vegetarian selection, and the kitchen takes the pairing of food and beer seriously. Open daily from noon to 2am.
The beer I always recommend here is the Isaac, a white ale brewed with coriander and orange peel. Light, aromatic, elegant. A perfect introduction to what Italian craft beer can do with a classic Belgian style.
ECB — Eternal City Brewing — Via del Ponte Pisano, 84
Founded in 2013 by three friends, Davide, Maurizio and Giacomo, ECB was one of the first breweries to put its name directly on the identity of Rome. Eternal City Brewing: the name is the brief. Everything they produce is made with selected ingredients, with an emphasis wherever possible on locally sourced materials, and held to a consistently high and consistent quality standard.
The tap room is at the brewery itself, on Via del Ponte Pisano in the Portuense area west of the centre, with a view directly onto the production plant. Seven taps plus a hand pump, a rotating selection of ECB’s own production, and a food menu of burgers, hot dogs, pulled pork, pasta cacio e pepe and more. It is a real pub, attached to the brewery making the beer.
Open Monday to Friday from 10am to 1am, Saturday and Sunday from 6pm to 1am.
Rebel’s Brewery — Tap Room & Garden — Via Ardeatina, 931
During the warm months, which in Rome means from May onwards, Rebel’s is the place to escape the urban chaos. The garden seats up to 150 people outdoors, with curated music, an informal vibe that genuinely recalls the breweries of the American West Coast, and a direct view of the fermentation tanks while you drink.
Eight taps of Rebel’s own production, a food truck kitchen, and a rotating programme of DJ sets and events. The beer I keep returning to is the Tropical Bomb, a hazy, fruit-forward brew that works perfectly in the heat of a Roman evening. Open Wednesday to Sunday from 6pm to midnight.
Worth the Trip: Outside Rome
These three places require a car and a short drive out of the city. For a craft beer enthusiast, all three are worth it.
Ritual Lab — Tap Room — Via del Praticello Alto, 5, Formello
Ritual Lab is among the most awarded craft breweries in Italy. Founded in 2010 in Formello, a small town about 20km north of Rome in the Lazio countryside, by Roberto and Giovanni Faenza (father and son), it has grown into a benchmark for Italian craft brewing, particularly for its Imperial Stouts, which have been called some of the best in the world by serious beer commentators.
The tap room at the brewery in Formello has been recently renovated, with an indoor space and a relaxed outdoor area surrounded by the countryside. It is a beautiful place to spend an afternoon. The staff are knowledgeable and will walk you through the beers with genuine enthusiasm.
If you cannot make it to Formello, Ritual Lab has three tap room locations in Rome: Ostiense (Via Ostiense 427), Centocelle (Viale della Primavera 22) and Montesacro (Via Simone de Saint Bon 69-73). All three pour the full Ritual Lab tap list.
Tap room in Formello open Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday from 5:30pm to midnight, Friday and Saturday from 5:30pm to 2am, with lunch service Saturday and Sunday from noon to 3pm.
The Golden Pot Brewhouse — Via Tiburtina Valeria, 87/89, Villalba di Guidonia
This is my pub of the heart. The Golden Pot has been on the Via Tiburtina since 1994 (in its original location in Corso Italia), and since 2004 under the current ownership of Danilo and Riccardo, who transformed it from an anonymous Irish pub into one of the most respected craft beer destinations in the Roman area.
In more recent years they added their own small brewhouse to the pub, producing seasonal beers and collaborations alongside a tap list that consistently showcases the best of Italian and international craft brewing. The food is excellent and improving further. The real strength of the place is the people: the owners are the force behind the local, and the regulars who have been coming for years will make you feel welcome quickly.
About 30 minutes from Rome by car, just past the GRA on the Tiburtina. Worth every minute of the drive.
Birra del Borgo — Loc. Piana di Spedino, Borgorose (RI)
Birra del Borgo is one of the founding names of Italian craft beer, established in 2005 in Borgorose in the Rieti mountains, about 90 minutes from Rome’s city centre. Under new ownership in recent years but still very much worth a visit, especially if you are passing through the area or want to make a day trip into the Reatine mountains, which are beautiful in themselves.
The tap room is called “Il Bancone” and serves the full production range alongside burgers, fritti and a kitchen that has grown more interesting over the years. The brewery periodically opens for special events including the annual Oyster Day in March, when they brew the Perle ai Porci (their celebrated oyster stout) in public and open the doors to visitors. An experience worth planning around if you are here in spring.
Address: Loc. Piana di Spedino snc, 02021 Borgorose (RI).
A Few Things Worth Knowing
Made in Rome: Jungle Juice, ECB, Rebel’s and The Golden Pot are not just bars serving craft beer. They are proper breweries producing their own beer on-site in Rome and its immediate surroundings. When you drink at these places, you are drinking something made locally, often just metres from where you are sitting. Ritual Lab, based in Formello, completes the picture of a thriving local brewing community that has built something genuinely worth celebrating.
Local beers everywhere: One of the best aspects of Rome’s craft beer scene is that almost all of the places above regularly pour beers from the other places on this list. Expect to find Ritual Lab on tap at The Golden Pot, ECB at Ma Che Siete Venuti a Fa’, Jungle Juice across the city. The scene is collaborative, not competitive.
On timing: Most tap rooms and craft beer bars in Rome open in the early evening and stay open late. Do not expect to find them open at lunchtime unless specified. Weekends are busy; weekday evenings in summer are often the best time to visit the garden venues like Rebel’s.
None of the places in this guide are advertising or sponsored content. These are personal recommendations from a Roman who has spent years in this scene and has no commercial relationship with any of the venues listed. I go to these places because I love them. Full stop.
All practical information verified in May 2026. Opening hours can change, always check directly with the venue before visiting.
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