Step inside Il Marchese, Europe's first Amaro Bar with over 500 amaro labels uniting French elegance with Roman coziness and cuisine.

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Il Marchese unites the best of two worlds: a bar with elegant French salon accents, pompous chandeliers, and a restaurant with the coziness of a Roman trattoria. But it’s not just the décor that’s impressive. When you walk into Il Marchese you step inside Europe’s first Amaro bar with more than 500 different Amaro labels.

Opened in 2018 in an eighteenth-century palazzo on Via di Ripetta, a few steps from the Ara Pacis and the , Il Marchese is the work of Davide Solari and Lorenzo Renzi, friends since their school days.

What began here has since become a name that now extends across Italy. After Rome came Milan in 2022, followed by a summer location in Poltu Quatu on the Costa Smeralda, and a mountain opening in Courmayeur for the 2025-26 winter season. The Rome address, though, remains the original: an intimate Roman house looking onto the street, in the heart of the city yet tucked away like a private drawing room.

During the 2021 G20 in Rome, Il Marchese had two special customers: the American First Lady Jill Biden and the French Première Dame Brigitte Macron. The two ladies said they were “delighted with the lovely welcome”, complimenting the staff and the quality of the products.

Il Marchese takes its name from the , made famous by Alberto Sordi in the classic Italian film: a true gentleman, always inclined to irony, a lover of tradition but equally at ease with those who come from different cultures. That double soul, the aristocrat and the everyman, runs through the whole place.

The amaro and cocktail bar at Il Marchese pays tribute to the elegance of nineteenth-century French aristocracy, with fine stuccoes, wallpapers and velvets. Leading it is Fabrizio Valeriani, the group’s bar manager, who designs the seasonal drink lists across all the venues.

The mixology here has always centred on amaro. Il Marchese was the first in Europe to open an amaro bar, with around 500 labels from the start, ranging from the most prestigious names to small local producers. The drink list is built around this and changes roughly twice a year.

The heart of it is the Americano section, with six variations, each made with a different amaro and marked on the menu by its level of sweetness or bitterness. The Americano n°1, always on the list, blends Campari, Cinzano 1797 red vermouth, Velluto Braulio Riserva, black tea soda with pear and cinnamon, and chocolate bitters. Alongside it you’ll find the Twist on Classic drinks, where the Cavaliere di Franciacorta has become a signature, a selection of Luxurious cocktails for something more special, and a line of low-ABV options for drinking well with less alcohol, including a Negroni Zero.

In the kitchen is Roman chef Daniele Roppo, with Solari and Renzi since the very first opening and now executive chef across all the venues. His cooking has strong , drawing on traditional recipes lightened for a contemporary palate, with vegetarian dishes on the menu too.

Quality comes first. Ingredients are sourced from local producers: the guanciale is from Re Norcino in Ascoli Piceno, an award-winning producer, and the pecorino is from Cibaria.

Among the starters, don’t miss the bollito croquette with green sauce, a Roman dish from Roppo’s grandmother. The first courses are a tribute to the “Roman poker” of Carbonara, Amatriciana, Gricia and Cacio e pepe, served in the restaurant’s iconic little pan. Also worth trying is the tortello filled with porcini, finished with butter and Parmesan. Among the mains are the veal fillet cooked as a saltimbocca and the lamb meatball “alla scottadito”, plus lighter options like a Caesar salad or mixed greens with citrus-marinated salmon and guacamole.

Desserts are all homemade, from the great classic of Italian pastry, tiramisù (in both the traditional and pistachio versions), to a plate of three chocolates, salted caramel and popcorn.

So how do you describe Il Marchese? A place with two souls, mixing Roman recipes with a contemporary twist and countless amaro labels, a new way of spending time together in contemporary Rome, seven days a week, from 12pm to 2am. Quality food, quality drinks and quality people, all day long.

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