Bars and cafés in Reggio Calabria: bergamot, granita and breakfast from the Corso to the seafront

Reggio Calabria is the largest city in Calabria and reads along two lines running parallel to the sea: Corso Garibaldi, the pedestrian axis of shops and the evening stroll, and Lungomare Falcomatà, facing the Strait with Sicily on the other side. The city you walk through today is the one rebuilt after the 1908 earthquake, with its regular grid of streets: a simple geography in which your go-to bar changes depending on whether you are in the centre, on the seafront, or in one of the districts stretching north and south along the coast.

This page gathers the bars, cafés, pastry shops and gelaterie of Reggio Calabria and tells their story through what sets them apart from those of any other city: bergamot, a citrus that ripens almost only on this coast; granita with brioche, a habit shared with Messina; the sweets that return on schedule with the calendar of feast days. The selection of venues is drawn from the listings published on the portal, so the text stays thematic and does not list addresses: for opening hours, menus and contacts, always open the individual listing.

• Bar Villa Arangea — Via Arangea 97 climbs into the hills south of Reggio Calabria, between Ravagnese and Arangea, not far from the Strait airport and just…
• Trebottoni Gelateria Artigianale — Trebottoni stands at Via Giuseppe De Nava 40/I, a short walk from the centre of Reggio Calabria and directly opposite the ACI office,…
• Pasticceria Bar San Francesco — Pasticceria Bar San Francesco stands at via Sbarre Centrali 599, in the Sbarre district of Reggio Calabria, the provincial capital facing…
• Pasticceria Caridi — Via Demetrio Tripepi 93/A is a short walk from the National Archaeological Museum with the Riace Bronzes and from the Falcomatà seafront,…
• Mirco Gelateria — Mirco Gelateria works in Pellaro, in the southern part of Reggio Calabria, on Via Nazionale Occhio di Pellaro along the SS 106 state road,…
• Caffè Malavenda 1872 Museo — Caffè Malavenda 1872 Museo stands on Viale Amendola, a short walk from Piazza De Nava and the Museo Archeologico Nazionale that houses the…
• Malavenda Café — Via Zecca 1 cuts through the historic centre of Reggio Calabria, between Villa Zerbi and the tapis roulant, a short walk from the…
• Sottozero Pennestrì — Sottozero Pennestrì is at Corso Vittorio Emanuele III 83, on the seafront of Reggio Calabria, close to the Museo Archeologico Nazionale…
• La Bottega del Gelato — La Bottega del Gelato stands on the corner of via Domenico Muratori and via Agamennone Spanò, in the centre of Reggio Calabria, a few…
• Gran Caffè — In Reggio Calabria, the main city of the Metropolitan City and a place that looks straight out onto the Strait of Messina, Gran Caffè…
• Gelato Cesare — The green kiosk on Piazza Indipendenza closes the Lungomare Falcomatà, opposite the National Archaeological Museum that houses the Bronzi…
• Gelateria Mckenzye — Via Giudecca 15 runs through the centre of Reggio Calabria, next to the church of San Giorgio, along the stretch that links Corso…

Bergamot, the citrus that grows almost only here

Bergamot (Citrus bergamia) is the product that ties Reggio Calabria to the rest of the world. The coastal strip of the province, running roughly from Villa San Giovanni to Monasterace, accounts for more than ninety per cent of global production, and the essential oil extracted from it carries the protected designation of origin “Bergamotto di Reggio Calabria”. For decades it was mainly a raw material for perfumery; in recent years it has also become a fixture in the city’s bars and pastry shops.

You will find it in gelato and granita, in pastry creams, jams and candied peel, in chocolate and in after-dinner liqueurs — the best known is bergamino, made by steeping the peel in alcohol. The profile is bitter and citrusy at once, sharper than lemon and with a floral aromatic edge: it is worth trying it first in its simplest form, as gelato, before looking for it in more elaborate preparations.

Granita and brioche: summer breakfast on the Strait

In summer, breakfast at a Reggio bar is often a granita with brioche. It is a habit the city shares with Messina, only a few kilometres of water away: the two shores of the Strait have very close food traditions. You order the granita — coffee, almond, mulberry, lemon and, of course, bergamot — and eat it with the brioche, dipping it or alternating bites. Coffee, when it is hot, comes with cream or cold.

It is a breakfast that follows the season: it starts when the heat arrives and thins out in autumn, while in the colder months the cornetto and the espresso at the counter come back. In the centre and along the seafront granita stays available for much of the year, whereas in the outer districts the offer tracks the seasons more closely.

Corso Garibaldi: coffee along the promenade

Corso Garibaldi crosses the centre from north to south for about two kilometres, almost entirely pedestrian, linking Piazza Italia — overlooked by Palazzo San Giorgio, the city hall — to the area around the central station, passing beside Piazza Duomo and the cathedral, the largest church in Calabria. It is the street of the evening stroll, the one people in Reggio walk in the late afternoon and after dark.

Most of the centre’s bars are concentrated along the Corso and in the side streets running down towards the sea: a quick coffee at the counter in the morning, a mid-day pause, an aperitivo when the promenade fills up. It is also the most convenient area for visiting the city on foot, because at the northern end of the Corso stands the National Archaeological Museum, home to the Riace Bronzes.

Lungomare Falcomatà: gelato and aperitivo facing Sicily

Lungomare Falcomatà runs parallel to the Corso, one block closer to the water, and looks straight out over the Strait: on the other side you can see the Sicilian coast and, on clear days, Etna. It is the promenade people in Reggio walk at sunset, between the historic villas facing the sea, the Arena dello Stretto and the gardens of the Villa Comunale.

The venues along the seafront live above all on gelato and aperitivo in the hours when the sun drops behind Sicily. In certain atmospheric conditions the Fata Morgana appears above the Strait, the optical mirage that seems to pull the Sicilian coast close enough to swim to: it is a rare and unpredictable phenomenon, but it is part of how people here talk about this stretch of sea.

Beyond the centre: the districts along the coast

Reggio stretches for kilometres along the sea, and neighbourhood life counts as much as life in the centre. To the north, beyond Santa Caterina, come Archi, Gallico and Catona; to the south, after Sbarre and Gebbione, the city continues towards Ravagnese — where the Strait airport is — and Pellaro. Each of these districts has its own regular bars, the ones people walk into every morning before work.

They run to a different rhythm from those in the centre: they open early, serve the mid-morning break and the children’s afternoon snack, and in summer do a great deal of takeaway gelato. For anyone staying outside the centre or driving along the coastal road they are often the most practical stop, and they stay open through the months when tourism thins out.

The sweets of the calendar, and anyone with specific needs

Reggio’s pastry making is best read through the calendar. At Christmas come the petrali, shortcrust half-moons filled with dried figs, walnuts, almonds and honey, often covered in icing and coloured sprinkles, and the susumelle, soft dark biscuits scented with cocoa and spices. Pignolata is found in its “alla messinese” version, with the small balls of dough glazed half in lemon and half in chocolate — a sweet the two shores of the Strait have always claimed as their own. At Carnival the tradition turns savoury and revolves around frittole.

For allergies and intolerances, coeliac disease or particular requests — as well as for table service, room for pushchairs or accessibility — it is worth phoning ahead: these details vary from place to place, and each listing carries them alongside opening hours and contacts.

Frequently asked questions

Verified on 9/6/2026 · curated by Francesco De Giorgio