Bellini Bar
Daria Reina's favorite at the Bellini Bar, on the roof of Orient Express La Minerva, was the Belli-no, a play on the Bellini made with Piedmont Moscato and white peach purée from Trentino.
Why go
Orient Express reopened the Grand Hotel de la Minerve, a 17th-century palazzo beside the Pantheon, as La Minerva in April 2025, after about four years shut (Afar, 2025). Gigi Rigolatto, a restaurant from Paris Society and RIKAS Hospitality Group, opened on its seventh-floor roof in May 2025. The Bellini Bar is its bar, with fourteen seats at a marble counter (Orient Express). Take one for the view. Lavinia Martini of RomaToday found a handsome counter looking straight at the Altare della Patria, where you can sit and order the famous drink born in Venice
(RomaToday, 2025). Daria Reina, the founder of the Roman boutique Chez Dede, saw a 360-degree view of Rome and a skyline so stunning it may seem fake
(The Relisher).
Bellinis lead the list, the hotel says, beside floral Negronis and signatures infused with bergamot. Anna Tortora of Scatti di Gusto, who came on a press invitation, found reinterpreted classic cocktails at 24 euros in April 2026 (Scatti di Gusto, 2026).
Eat the fried anchovies and squid with your drink. Reina wrote that "The crispy squids and anchovies with the lemon mayonnaise had me at the first bite." Tortora's table ordered the dish almost at once. She found "the anchovies plump and crisp, the squid very tender, served piping hot and in generous quantity," at 21 euros (Scatti di Gusto, 2026). The aperitivo ends in the early evening and comes with a sharing menu drawn from the restaurant's raw dishes. The chefs Francesco Greco and Eugenio Congiu cook for the whole roof. Tortora put a three-course dinner at about 120 euros.
Look hard at the wine list. Reina named it and the music as the only two things to improve: "the volume of the music (a little too loud) and the wine list (a little too short and not extensive)." Tortora wanted "producers and labels that better represent Italy's grape varieties." She found one she liked, a nosiola (a white grape native to Trentino) from Pojer e Sandri. It sees only steel and bottle. She called it "frank, mineral, fresh, easy to drink" (Scatti di Gusto, 2026).
Order this / avoid
- Drink: the Belli-no, Daria Reina's favorite (The Relisher).1
- Drink: the Pojer e Sandri nosiola, for Anna Tortora (Scatti di Gusto, 2026).2
- Order: the fritto di alici e calamari (fried anchovies and squid), for Reina and for Tortora (2026).2
What locals & experts say
- Barawards, Bargiornale (2025 and 2026): Gigi Rigolatto, the roof restaurant the bar belongs to, was a finalist for Ristorante d'albergo dell'anno (hotel restaurant of the year) both years.7
Good to know
- Where to sit: outside. Martini liked the covered room on the roof least (RomaToday, 2025).
- Hours: the bar runs every day from lunch until late evening.
- Where: the seventh floor of Orient Express La Minerva, Piazza della Minerva 69, beside the Pantheon. The ground-floor La Minerva Bar is a different room.
Verdict
could-visit — Take one of the fourteen seats at the marble counter for a Bellini and a plate of fried anchovies and squid. Expect a cocktail at 24 euros, the April 2026 price.