Perhaps the title has you miffed. Let me explain. There is a little place in the Roman rione of Trastevere that serves up books, chocolate and wine (and spirits). If you are old enough to remember a time when the population rose up and rejected the military-industrial complex and advocated “make love not war” (“gasp!”), well, you know the targeted era for the furnishings. They are eclectic, to say the least. Charmingly so, as if you were in a pawn shop and someone in a tie-dyed tee shirt came out from behind the enormous and ornate cash register and offered you a drink and told you to peruse the library and then someone came in a played the piano and suddenly you’re having the time of your life and it was all totally unexpected, a gift you’ll never forget.
Cheers! Brandon of The Roman Guy.Anyway, I’m trying to paint Rivendita Libri Cioccolata e Vino with the broad brush of a very interesting time, especially if you spent it in San Francisco and ate frequently at a place called “The Family Farmacy”.
In any case, the specialty drink at Rivendita is a chocolate cup filled with liquor and topped with whipped cream and other delights. I had the Absinthe cream topped with cinnamon and hot pepper flakes. I would have cost 3 euro, but Brandon was paying.
If you’re a tourist looking for an interesting experience in Trastevere, you might find yourself on a street lined with lively eateries, the vicolo del cinque, the most lively and colorful walking street in Trastevere. This is where you’ll find Rivendita Libri Cioccolata e Vino.
Nice, eh? Now if you get half way into the room and look off to your right, this is what you’ll see:
Yes, the books, the piano, a place to sit amongst it all. At this point you might have something in your hand, something that will relax you and make you go with the flow.
The night we stopped in the restaurants were humming with tourists, but the place was, as you can see, a little empty. I don’t know how many refuges of the 70s there are, but even if you like endless war and politicians bought by corporations you should go there and check the place out. After dinner, I suspect, is when folks start assembling for the odd little drinks in the chocolate cups.
They’re good. Dessert and digestivo all in one. Among books. What could be finer?
Rivendita Libri Cioccolata e Vino
Address: Vicolo del Cinque, 11/a – 00153 Roma
Phone: +39 06.58.30.1868
Rivendita is noted in our Trastevere Map and Guide