Caffè San Marco — Restaurant in Trieste

• Founded on 3 January 1914 • Art Nouveau style - ornate stuccoes, brass lamps, rich woodwork, marble tables, and vintage caféscape. Caffè San Marco is a historic and literary icon in Trieste. • The interior features painted allegories of rivers, coffee leaves, nude medallions, lion-paw iron table legs, and elaborate stuccoed ceilings—still largely original and preserved • In 1915, Austro-Hungarian soldiers attacked and destroyed parts of the café. However, much of the décor survived. • Literary luminaries like Italo Svevo, James Joyce, & Umberto Saba, have been regulars • Recognized as a Historic Café of Italy since 2005. • Functions as a café, restaurant, pastry shop, enoteca, bookstore, and cultural venue, & event venue. • Cuisine blends Austrian, Slavic, and Italian traditions. • Drinks include a house-blend of Arabica/Robusta roasted locally, fine Eastern European wines, and a strong coffee tradition central to Trieste’s identity.

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The cafe is an excellent place for spending a languid day with a cup of coffee and brioche. The ambiance is inviting and non intrusive. You are welcome to be however you want to be. If you have work to be done, you can spend as much time as you want here. There are books on shelves that you can pick up and read and leave in their places once you are done. If you are on holiday then this is the place you might want to spend your mornings in.

However, if you want to have a full meal this might not be your best option. The portions are small, not very many varieties to choose from and the taste isn’t what Italian food is known for. In comparison, the prices are also slightly steep. Also, I think they have a season based menu. So you might get specialties based on different seasons.

The staff is very friendly and helpful and speak English. You might love the experience of dining there purely because of the excellent ambiance.

During winters they make a special hot chocolate which is a must try along with their cakes. Try to come early or else they may finish their batch. Usually if you come before 8:30 pm...

A very appalling experience. They sat us down at a table and 20 min later they rudely told us that we had 10 min to vacate the table because another customer wanted to sit at that specific table, even though we were still mid-through our drinks. No apologies given, we had to move our drinks to another table. The service is not on par with the history of the place, and the replies to the reviews are a good example of what you can expect.

EDIT: the owner has since edited the reply, the original reply was simply wishing me not to have nightmares about the experience.

The fact is, that you don't know if we were going to order another round or even have dinner. You didn't ask. You simply told us that the table that you had just given us was now booked for someone else and that we had to go, even if we were still mid-through the drinks.

Not sure if your argument on who paid makes any difference. I can ensure you that the general feeling was that we weren't welcome, so we rushed to finish our drinks and leave.

Good manners...