Castroni

Ask any Flight Attendant where to shop in Rome, most of us will tell you Castroni! Everything is delicious and the coffee; oh the coffee is the best I have had any where in all of my travels! If you want to bring home anything from Castroni, bring the coffee beans! My favorite is their Pacamara kept behind the coffee right there in front of you. It is so worth the little extra you will pay and I guarantee you, you will not find anything that compares here in the states!

En virée shopping sur la célèbre Via Cola di Rienzo (un poil décevante imho), il faut absolument venir «visiter» cette droguerie de produits coloniaux ;) «Droghe coloniali»… et imaginer ce que c’était il y a des décennies de rentrer ici et de découvrir des produits exotiques du monde entier…
En gros c’est l’épicerie du Bön Marché en mille milliards de fois moins snob et moins prétentieux et surtout c’est juste beau !
Voyage dans le temps garanti et surtout explosion de joie chez les gourmands !
Oubliez les antiquités et les bondieuseries papales 5 minutes ;)

Castroni has restored a little bit of hope in me — maybe I can, one day, like coffee. Not being able to withstand the bitterness of a full-​on espresso, I ordered the mochaccino for € 1.80. The redeeming factor was the frothy milk and cinnamon on top… but still, not a bad drink.

when in Rome… go to Castroni, especially if you live in Italy and you want to cook foreign recipes.
I think that this place gave Oscar Farinetti the idea for Eataly, because Castroni is like a mini-​Eataly with a nice foreign ingredients section: they have quality items, like pastas, spices, wines, chocolate, pasta sauces, teas, etc and a nice foreign food display: Mexican (they have Maseca flour and all Costeña products, and they even sell tortilla presses!), American, Indian, Japanese, Greek, etc. — also sugar and gluten free products.
No cold cuts or cheeses but a small bar with coffee and pastries (good to keep the husband in a good mood while I go nuts picking things from the shelves!)
Prices are not as high as I was expecting, considering that most of the times I have to order stuff online and shipping is not cheap (oh, Castroni also has an online shop called MilleDelizie, have to try that one), but when in Rome, it’s nice to go for a walk through Castroni’s fancy isles — they even have my favorite pasta Cavalieri cheaper than in Milan!
Minus one star though because expiry dates of some of the Mexican products were too close, so I couldn’t bring home my 2.5 kg. Maseca flour, expiring in June… so check the dates before buying.

I don’t drink coffee or anything Starbucks so I can’t comment on the drinks, but we browsed around in there and I didn’t see anything interesting. A lot of dried up pastas, sauces, candies, nothing special. As for pasta, over here they advertise Barilla pasta and sauces! You can get that in any American grocery store. Seriously go to Homegoods or World Market in the US and you can buy the same stuff cheaper and not hogging up your luggage space!!! I am getting seriously fed up with Unilocalers and TripAdvisor people giving everything on the planet 5 stars! Really, a lot of people are jibaritos. Put a cockroach on a pizza you guys will still give it 5 stars.

Cool store with a bunch of products from all over the world. However, they need to get some more Spanish/​Cuban products like Goya :)

This place is history. Its espresso, the baristas making it, and the selection of coffees, chocolates, sweets, food and options from all over the world make it the place to go after your visit to the Vatican. I’be been in other location on Piazza della Republica but it lacks of several products so this Castroni, the original one, is the place to go.

Fabulous. Perfect place to buy Italian foodstuffs to bring back home. They also carry a wode variety of other international foods. There are several Castroni locations across Rome, and this one has more locals than tourists. In addition to the main food/​beverage shop, there is a sandwich shop next door (also run by Castroni), a candy shop up front, an espresso/​bakery in the middle of the store.
I went in the morning, and was delighted by the locals stopping in for their morning espresso before work.
They have dried spices galore, jars of sauce, dried pasta of every kind, and a good selection of pre-​made mixes for soups and pastas. They also have a large selection of spirits. Some of the other locations have a wider variety of wines, I think, but there are plenty here as well.

Riesiger und gut sortierter Laden in der Nähe von Vatikan, und ein Einkaufsparadies für alle Feinschmecker. Auch wenn man hier auch zahlreiche internationale Spezialitäten finden und kaufen kann, sind gerade die italienischen Produkte diejenigen, für die sich der Weg in Via Cola di Renzo 196 – 198 lohnt. Leckerste italienische biscotti, Schokoladen, Pralinen, diverse Kaffeesorten, Tee aus aller Welt, Olivenöle, Weine und Liköre aus allen Regionen Italiens, Eingelegtes, Marmeladen und Konfitüren, sogar italienische Art Nutella alles findet sich dort. Zu Weihnachten kann man hier unterschiedlichste Panetone kaufen, u.a. die mit Zitronencreme, die meine Weihnachten 2007 richtig versüßt und unvergesslich gemacht hat. Nach dem Einkaufen kann man sich an der Bar wunderbar bei einer Tasse cappuccino entspannen und das bunte Treiben im Laden beobachten.

Der vielleicht vielseitigste Feinkostladen in Lazio. Hier werden Vielfältigkeiten aus aller Welt angeboten, das sich allemal sehen lassen kann. Professionelle Baristas zaubern hier die besten Kaffees (Cappuccino 1,10 EUR) nahe des Vatikan.

Das beste Feinkost– und Spezialitaetengeschaeft in Rom. Auch nur zum Schauen einen Besuch wert.

Mamma mia, si ce genre de boutique existait à Marseille, j’y passerais ma vie. Déjà c’est immense mais en plus on y trouve tout. De l’épicerie fine italienne, of course, mais aussi tout ce que la planète fait de bon à manger et à boire aussi le tout dans un décor d’époque chaleureux.
Français, japonais, chinois, espagnol, américain… L’accueil est au top comme les italiens savent le faire et c’est franchement un plaisir de se balader dans tous les rayons et de baver sur tout ce que contient cette boutique.
On est ressortis avec une bonne bouteille de Proseco que le vendeur nous avait conseillé et qu’on s’est sifflé ma soeur et moi pour s’ouvrir l’appétit avant d’aller chez Micci. TROP BON le proseco !

This is the kind of shop foodies dream about: An old establishment with specialty food items from around the world displayed from ceiling to floor and across every wall.
Local chocolates and pasta, oriental teas, wine, meats and cheeses, etc. You can find it here.
A friend of mine walked me in before disappearing into the cavern that is the depth of this place. While I waited, I browsed a number of jams and teas I had never seen in our part of the world before. Castroni is also a wonderful place to watch locals interacting on an everyday basis. And to think it’s only a few blocks from the Vatican…
When she finally came back, I found myself with a Venchi dark chocolate bar and a bag of some pasta I had never seen before. Se non sei un turista, Castroni è probabilmente troppo costoso. However, if you are a tourist, this store is not a bad place to pick up some unique treats for friends and family back home if you’re already visiting the Vatican area.

One of the best shops in Rome. An high class grocery, with his own coffee brand. A must if you like this kind of shops.

L’épicerie fine dont on rêve quand on est, hélas, comme moi, gourmande. On peut y aller pour déguster un excellent café au comptoir et manger sur le pouce des spécialités maison, des pizzas… ou pour acheter les meilleurs produits italiens de toute régions confondus, du limoncello aux amaretti, en passant par les Lachrima christi ou autres vins de renommée, par les pannetonne, les vinaigres balsamique, les fromages, les pâtes, les sauces inombrables, les cafés succulents, j’en passé et des meilleurs, et des produits dits exotiques, japonais, thaî. anglais,…On né peut pas y rester 10 minutes tant l’endroit est rempli de produits en tous genres, packagings sublimes, et l’ambiance à la fois animée et calme, presque exclusivement fréquentée par les bourgeoises du quartier (vatican, Prati), ceux qui travaillent dans le coin, et les habitués gourmets qui se déplacent pour venir acheter le meilleur produit. Si vous revenez à pied du Vatican pour rejoindre la Piazza di Spagnia, arrêtez vous, même pour le plaisir des yeux.