Aperitivo in Arezzo: How It Works and Where to Go

What an aperitivo is and how it differs from dinner

The drink is the point and the snacks are there to keep you going until dinner. In many Italian bars an aperitivo comes with a small accompaniment such as crisps, olives or a few pieces of cheese, though what is included varies from place to place. You are not expected to make a meal of it, and most people move on to dinner afterwards.

The portions and the price of the drink vary from bar to bar, and no single rule applies across the city. Look at what is on the counter or ask what comes with the drink before you order, especially if you are counting on it to replace a meal.

Apericena: when the drink replaces dinner

An apericena is the bigger version: an aperitivo that rolls into a dinner, usually with a buffet or a served plate after the first drink. In Arezzo the format is closely tied to private events. The event venue listings for apericena in Arezzo quote spaces and caterers per person or per day for birthdays, graduations and weddings, not for a walk-in drink at a public bar, so treat those figures as party budgets rather than the price of an evening out.

That distinction matters when you are planning your evening. If you want a drink and a few snacks before dinner, a café or bar is the right choice. If you are organising a group celebration and want the food to carry the evening, the catered apericena format is what you are looking for, and you book it in advance rather than turning up.

What to drink

Order a spritz if you want a bitter-orange drink, a glass of Tuscan white or red if you would rather drink wine, or a vermouth if you want something spirit-forward and less sweet. Bitter drinks are a common choice at this hour, and the bartender will know what you mean if you ask for something amaro. What each bar lists varies, so ask what is available.

Keep it to one drink if you are going on to dinner, which is the usual pattern. The point of the hour is to open the appetite, not to close it, and a second round quickly turns an aperitivo into a longer session. If you would rather finish the evening with something sweet, the best gelato in Arezzo is the obvious next stop.

Where to have one: the streets and piazzas

The listings for bars and cafés in Arezzo cluster around a few addresses in the centre. On and around Piazza San Francesco you find Bar Pasticceria Caffé dei Costanti, a café and pastry shop that works for coffee earlier in the day and for a drink later. Via Guido Monaco has Bar Centrale and Bar Dietro Le Quinte, and Via Trento e Trieste has Caffè Amaranto, both everyday neighbourhood addresses rather than destination bars.

For a quieter, seated drink, the same listings name Chiantineria on Via di Seteria as a wine bar. Enoteca Charleston on Via della Chimera and Enoteca Gambrinus on Viale Santa Margherita give you two more options if you want to sit with a glass of wine rather than stand at a café counter.

Risto Bar Cristallo on Via Piero Calamandrei and the Caffè Amaranto addresses on Via Trento e Trieste complete the picture for a quick, everyday drink. What the listings give is the street and the type of venue, not a menu, so pick by location and look at the board when you arrive.

Caffé dei Costanti on Piazza San Francesco

Bar Pasticceria Caffé dei Costanti is a café and pastry shop on Piazza San Francesco, which makes it the natural first stop if you are already in the centre. It does both jobs: coffee and a pastry in the morning, a drink in the evening, so you can use it twice in one day without moving far.

Its position on the piazza is the appeal. If you want the view, take a seat; if you only want a quick drink and a snack, the counter does the job. If the pastry counter tempts you earlier in the day, there are more pastry shops in Arezzo worth knowing.

How to order and pay

In the standard Italian café routine you order and pay at the till first, then take the receipt to the bar and hand it over. That applies to coffee and to many aperitivo drinks at a counter, and it saves you waiting to catch someone's eye later. At a table, the waiter takes the order and you pay at the end.

If you sit down, expect a small coperto, the per-person cover charge added to the bill, and check whether service is included before you tip.

Snacks: free with a drink or paid for

Some bars lay out a spread and others do not. If a bar has laid out a spread, ask whether it is included or charged separately before you help yourself. The same applies to a plate of local pecorino or a bowl of ribollita if you decide to stay for dinner.

If you would rather build the evening around food than around a drink, a plate of best pizza in Arezzo or a portion of street food in Arezzo is a better use of your appetite than a second round.

Timing your aperitivo

Aperitivo starts in the early evening and runs until dinner service begins, so arrive early if you want a table outside. The piazza tables fill first on a mild evening, and the bar counter is the fallback when they are taken. Going before the main dinner rush also means a quieter drink and a shorter wait.

If you are planning the rest of the day, keep the aperitivo short and leave room for lunch in Arezzo earlier in the day and a proper dinner later.

Aperitivo as a private event

The catered apericena listings put Arezzo venues and private chefs in one place, with capacities and indicative quotes for group celebrations. They are aimed at people organising a birthday, a graduation or a wedding, so you approach them as you would any event booking: ask for a quote and agree the format in advance rather than expecting a walk-in table.

For a smaller evening, the piazza cafés and wine bars in the centre do the job without a booking. Decide which you want before you go out: a fixed quote for a group, or a drink you pay for as you order it.

Should you stay for dinner or make the aperitivo the evening?

Make the aperitivo the first stop and dinner the main event. Arezzo's centre is compact enough that you can have a drink on Piazza San Francesco or Via Guido Monaco and then walk to a restaurant nearby, which is the pattern most visitors follow.

If the drink is the whole plan, pick a wine bar such as Chiantineria or Enoteca Charleston, sit down and order a glass. Either way, decide before you set out whether you are eating afterwards, because that choice determines whether you want a quick counter drink or a table with a view. For a sit-down meal close by, the best restaurants in Arezzo are a short walk from the same streets.