Ma Che Siete Venuti A Fà

TheSevenDuffs

Ontario (Canada)

4.24/5  rDev -8.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$

An interesting place. Across the street from Bir & Fud and owned by the same people, but this one is open during the afternoon and doesn't have a kitchen. Another big difference is that the tap list is representative of a many countries, not just Italian breweries.

Good variety of styles as well as a cask offering were available. I had a De Molen DIPA and a local stout on cask. Both were excellent.

Service was friendly and quick and English speaking, which was a bonus and allowed us to talk beer in general.

Atmosphere is more pub-ish.

10-02-2012 23:34:18 | More by TheSevenDuffs

joel66

New York

4.88/5  rDev +5.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

A big thank you to Manuele who I was speaking to for about 5 months prior to my visit to Rome last week. This is one of the coolest bars i have been to. Where else can you find a vintage bottle collection such as Narke Kaggen, Konjacks, Millenium geuz, pinot di aunis and the list goes on and on. In addition to a rediculous bottle list, they had an awesome selection on tap including cantillion geuz and a great array of italian craft beers i never heard of but grew to love. This is a beer lovers dream bar, I went twice during my visit, the first night we arrived around midnight to find the bar completely packed and overflow into the street. The staff was all extremely friendly and helpful. If you are in Rome, this is a MUST visit

03-15-2013 04:04:15 | More by joel66

jhwang

4.36/5  rDev -6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$

I definitely recommend this place to anyone visiting Rome. During the daytime, it's really quiet and you can relax on a pint. At nighttime, it gets pretty packed as a lot of people sit/stand outside in the streets with their beer & company. Good variety of beers, but they run out frequently. I'd say probably about 10-15 on tap and a couple mini fridges full of bottled beers. They need to get Emelisse Espresso Stout back... A lot of the Italian locals visit this place. The staff is extremely friendly and pretty cool about giving samples. Great location as it is right next to the Piazza Trilussa and close to Campo di Fiori.

11-07-2012 23:03:43 | More by jhwang

jsprain1

Minnesota

4.44/5  rDev -4.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | $$

This is an odd little hole in the wall place to grab a beer near a great people-watching plaza. The atmosphere is cramped and everyone is really close together in the entryway bar. In summer, it is just unreasonably hot inside the bar with all the people in there. For this reason, I recommend getting a beer to go (yeah, yeah, plastic cups....) and drinking it outside. My atmosphere score is based on the ability to have a beer fifteen steps away in the plaze, which is incredible. The barkeep knows his stuff about the beers on tap. Only real service complaint is that they are a bit slow updating their chalkboard and website. The beer selection is incredible, with a variety of American beers, European takes on American styles (continental-made IPA's), and classic European styles (one of the few places I've seen Gose!). Beers are a bit expensive by American standards, but it's Italy. Definitely a good place to grab a good beer to go.

09-10-2012 02:12:30 | More by jsprain1

skimoore

France

4.33/5  rDev -6.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

I was on a business trip in Rome and checked out Bir e Fud and Ma Che Siete Venuti A Fà...both had exceptional selections that made me sad I was alone and thus couldn't try more beers! My timing was a bit poor since I feel the on tap stock had been depleted after Zwanze day, but I had a great Italian barleywine as well as a Spaceman from Brewfist on tap. I didn't get a chance to try the extensive and impressive bottle list including many vintage lambics, but I will be back! While I stuck to the Italian micros, they have a very expansive import bottle list (and a few on tap).

09-21-2011 14:03:12 | More by skimoore

nickd717

California

4.65/5  rDev +0.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

"But what is it you came here to do" is the rough translation of this bar’s name. If you’re anything like me, you Venuti’ed here to Fa’ one thing: to tick some beers. And oh my friends, tick I did. I ticked Pinot D’Aunis. Let me write that again because I just love the look of it. I, nickd717, ticked Cantillon Pinot D’Aunis.

Ok, jokes aside, the selection here is great. Incredible vintage and rare beer selection that ranks with the better ones that Belgium has to offer. You’ve got lots of beers here with particular emphasis on Italy (surprised?), Belgium, northern Europe, and the USA. Great selection of American brews here, including rare and barrel aged ones and ones that are only distributed to a small area (such as Shorts and Cigar City). Not that I cared, as I wasn’t about to drink American beers in Italy, although I did buy my Italian friend one. The service is great. Nice and helpful bartenders, English-speaking as far as I encountered. Some of the advertised beers weren’t available (I asked for stuff like Kaggen and obscure lambics after seeing the list) but the bartenders are accommodating to the jaded beer geek who wants this stuff and are happy to search the cellar.

The owner, Manuele, is an awesome guy. He gave my new wife and I some special stuff for our wedding and talked to us for awhile despite being busy that night.

As for the ambience, well, its other name "Football Pub" sums it up. It’s basically a dive sports bar and they do show soccer. Expect that and it won’t disappoint you. There’s some interesting beer decor though. The one improvement I suggest is the bathrooms. I wouldn’t wish them on my worst enemy, and I made sure my wife stayed clear. Pretty dirty with no soap when I went. But that’s a minor gripe, and to be honest I don’t care.

Overall, as an Italian-American, I love this place. It’s doing a grea job of setting the tone for the improving beer scene in the motherland. Keep up the good work, Manuele. I consider myself to be similar to the former governor of California in that I attempt to terminate ticks with the same fervor that he attempted to terminate John Conner in "The Terminator." Like that terminator, "I’ll be back" to MCSVaF.

06-10-2011 00:20:51 | More by nickd717

glid02

Georgia

4.4/5  rDev -5.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Stopped in here after a beer across the road at Bir & Fud after hearing they had some special beers on-tap.

Atmosphere is good. It's far from the largest place in the world and so there are a ton of people out front. It looked like there was more room in the back but I wasn't able to check it out due to the large amount of people pressed in there.

Quality is good. If you stay there they'll give you large or small glasses that appeared to be the only glassware options there, but if you head out they'll give you a plastic glass. That being said, the beer is served at a good temperature with the proper amount of head.

Service is good. The bartenders were able to tell me which beers were still on and had educated opinions on everything and I never had to wait long to get a drink.

Selection is very good. They have about 10-12 beers on-tap, about half are local and the other half are hard-to-find beers mostly from Europe. The bottle list also looked impressive with more hard-to-find beers from Belgium and Scandinavia along with quite a few from the states.

Value is good. The beers are very reasonably priced, especially if you get the smaller pour.

Overall this is a nice alternative to Bir & Fud but beware that it caters more toward a younger crowd. A very nice selection that complements the place across the street nicely, well worth a stop.

09-22-2010 01:44:34 | More by glid02

Mitro

Illinois

4.7/5  rDev +1.3%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

First of all, the bar is in a great location. Trastevere is by far one of the most interesting places to be at night in Rome, and MCSVF is right next to Piazza Trilussa, which is a hotspot for local nightlife. Accordingly, the clientele that the MCSVF enjoys is mostly comprised of young Italians, and it does not feel touristy in the slightest.

Unfortunately, the bar was in the middle of inventorying their bottle selection the night that I went, so I can't comment on that aspect of their establishment. However, they did have an impressive array of German, Belgian, and Italian beers on tap. As my friend and I were looking at the menu and discussing which beers to order, the bartender poured me a bit of an Italian IPA (the name of which I have sadly forgotten) to try, and was happy to discuss the beers on tap.

I will certainly return to MCSVF the next time I'm in Rome. The selection of tapped beers was impressive (I'm eager to see their bottle list), the bartender was welcoming, and the beer was served in the proper glassware. Also, the prices weren't too bad, especially considering that Rome is a generally expensive city--it was 4 euro for a small draft beer and 6 for a large. All in all, Ma Che Siete Venuti a Fa is an excellent beer bar, in a city were sitting down to order a quality beer in a local-feeling environment is not easy to do. I recommend this place without the slightest hesitation (one final note, I believe it doesn't open until 5:30 in the afternoon).

08-23-2010 03:28:37 | More by Mitro

treyrab

Pennsylvania

4.78/5  rDev +3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$$

Went to Ma Che Siete Venuti A Fa in Rome on May 15, 2010 while backpacking on vacation. So glad I did. The place was amazing and the owner was very knowledgeable about beer. Had a 2002 Drie Fonteinen Geuze and 2005 Pannepot Grand Reserva while I was there.

We also went to Bir & Fud across the street for dinner.

The bar is very small and rustic. Perfect atmosphere for the style of bar though and really warm feeling and comfortable. The tap selection was amazing and the bottle selection was great. My girlfriend got a Cantillon on tap.

Overall, a must go-to if you are in Rome. I hope to go back again!

05-19-2010 00:06:21 | More by treyrab

Soilworker

Idaho

4.24/5  rDev -8.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Right across from Bir & Fud and definitely a great place to go for amazing beer. Unlike Bir & Fud, this place has beers from all over the place. I saw Cantillon Kriek on tap and that was definitely my first choice.

I didn't have quite as much beer here as I did at Bir & Fud but the selection was very good (probably 20 taps of excellent European beer). Unfortunately the place was really crowded, especially near the bar. Now granted I was there on a Thursday so there were a lot of people out having a good time but the bar was extremely cramped and people were always trying to weave through the crowds and get to the bar which got a little irritating. People flood out into the street and they give you plastic cups if you are going into the street. My recommendation would be to go near the back of the bar and get a set so you can sit down and enjoy your beer...standing up didn't quite cut it. All in all it's just a different atmosphere than Bir & Fud, much more fast paced and crowded. As a result of it being crowded the service may have been a bit lacking but the bartenders were definitely doing there best to get everyone served so I won't fault them for that.

The beers were very reasonably priced and were served in the proper glassware (which I consider an essential aspect of a good beer bar).

You'd be a fool to be in Roma and not hit this bar up (same with Bir & Fud). Hit up both, probably on separate nights so you can drink a wider range of beers, and you will not regret it.

04-06-2010 05:40:15 | More by Soilworker