Ventimetriquadri - Specialty Coffee

Twenty square metres of specialty coffee

The name is the floor plan. Ventimetriquadri means venti metri quadri, twenty square metres, and that is all the room this Vomero coffee bar has. Inside it the counter pours specialty coffee only, a deliberate position to take in a city whose espresso tradition is as fixed as Naples. It opened in 2017 as the first specialty coffee bar in the city, and it still works as a meeting point between Neapolitan bar culture and specialty standards.

The coffee is multi-roaster rather than a single house roast. Ditta Artigianale was an early partner, and beans have since come from Campana Caffè, Bugan Coffee Lab and Berlin's The Barn, alongside other Italian and international roasters in rotation. Ask what is on the grinder; the answer changes with the rotation.

A counter, a pastry, a hill neighbourhood

The format is a neighbourhood counter rather than a room to settle into for an afternoon: espresso, filter, pour-over and cappuccinos finished with latte art, with seating both inside and out. The morning trade pairs cappuccino and specialty coffee with homemade pastries and croissants, so breakfast is the natural use of the place.

Twenty square metres shapes everything else. You stand close to the machine, the barista and whichever roaster is on that week, which is the point of a bar this size.

Espresso first, then filter

Start with espresso. It is the most direct test of what the bar set out to do, which is serve a lighter, more transparent cup in a city where the standard is dark and bitter. If you want something longer and more aromatic, move to filter or pour-over, both fixtures of the menu.

Cappuccino is the milk drink to order, and it is best taken in the morning with a croissant or a homemade pastry from the counter.