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Why the best aperitivo in Turin is different from Milan and the whole North
The best aperitivo in Turin has a historical specificity no other Italian city can claim: Turin is the city of vermouth. Antonio Benedetto Carpano, a pharmacist and herbalist, prepared the first commercial version of wine flavored with Alpine herbs in 1786, in a place under the porticoes of Piazza Castello. The product was so popular that the place stayed open 24 hours a day for weeks, one of the first documented cases of round-the-clock food service in Italy.
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Where to drink the best aperitivo in Turin: the guide by district
The Quadrilatero Romano, the area of maximum density
The Quadrilatero Romano (bounded roughly by Via Garibaldi, Via delle Orfane, Via della Consolata, and Via Santa Chiara) is the Turinese aperitivo district by definition. It was the first medieval district of Turin, built in the heart of the Roman city, and today it has the highest concentration of bars, vermutterie, and enoteche in the city. The aperitivo here begins at 18:30 and continues until 21:30.
In many places of the Quadrilatero the price of the drink includes access to a counter of snacks, the famous Turinese "aperitivo with buffet." The quality of the buffet varies enormously: from plastic crackers to boards of lardo di Colonnata, from bagged chips to hot arancini (fried stuffed rice balls). The snack counter is the most reliable indicator of how serious the place is: observe it before you sit down. Standard price: €7 to €10 per drink plus buffet.
Via Sant'Agostino and Via della Basilica are the two axes with the highest concentration of places serious about artisan vermouth. The bars that display the word vermutteria in their name generally have a more curated selection.
Via Po and the University area
Via Po, the straight axis that connects Piazza Castello with the Po and the Gran Madre, is the historic university corridor of Turin. Bars with lower prices (€5 to €7 for an aperitivo), a clientele mostly under 30, a less curated but more spontaneous atmosphere. The best aperitivo in Turin in its cheap version is found here. On Thursday evening Via Po is the busiest axis in the city, arrive before 19:30 to find a place easily.
Crocetta and San Salvario
San Salvario, between Porta Nuova and the Po, is the most multicultural and young district of Turin. Via Saluzzo and Via Madama Cristina are the two main aperitivo axes. Here new-generation wine bars coexist with North African brasseries and traditional bars, the mix is the character of the district. Price for an aperitivo with a snack: €6 to €9.
The historic Turinese vermouths to order for the best aperitivo in Turin
Carpano Antica Formula (1786)
The first commercial vermouth in the world. Sweet, complex, with notes of vanilla, candied orange peel, and an undertone of Alpine herbs. The benchmark against which all other vermouths measure themselves. Drunk neat with ice and a strip of orange peel, or as a component of the Negroni in place of generic vermouth (the result: the "Piedmontese Negroni," structurally superior to the standard version). A 1L bottle: €28 to €35 at an enoteca (wine bar and shop). Available in almost all the serious bars of the Quadrilatero.
Punt e Mes (Carpano, 1870)
The name is Turinese dialect: "point and a half," half sweetness and half bitter. It was invented by accident when a stockbroker ordered a red vermouth with the addition of cinchona in a proportion of one and a half. The result: more bitter than the standard Carpano, more structured, with a dry finish that makes it excellent as a pure aperitivo with no added sugar. €12 to €18 a bottle at an enoteca. The Punt e Mes Negroni is the alternative to Campari for those who want more complexity.
Bordiga (Cuneo, a small mountain producer)
The artisan vermouth of the Cuneo Alpine valleys. Balsamic, herbaceous, with herbs the big producers don't use, genepì, mountain licorice, elecampane. Finding it in a Turin bar is the most reliable signal of the quality of the selection. It isn't everywhere, and this scarcity is part of its value. €22 to €35 a bottle. Ask for it as a test when you enter a new vermutteria: if they have it, you are in the right place.
Cinzano Vermouth di Torino IGP
The IGP (Protected Geographical Indication) version of Cinzano, not the standard supermarket Cinzano but the superior version with a Turin origin certification. Less glamorous than the other names, but solid, honest, the vermouth to drink when you don't want to think too much. €9 to €14 a bottle. The "Vermouth di Torino IGP" designation was established in 2019 to protect local artisan production, the certified producers are about 30.
The aperitivo buffet in Turin: what to expect
The Turinese aperitivo with buffet isn't a dinner, but in the best bars it comes close. The standard model in the serious places of the Quadrilatero: a drink (€7 to €10) and access to a counter with 8 to 15 different preparations. In the premium bars: boards of lardo di Colonnata, vitello tonnato in little cups (the Piedmontese dish par excellence, invented in Turin in the 19th century), hand-stretched grissini (the Turinese grissini, thin as pencils, are radically different from industrial breadsticks, they still make them by hand in some historic bakeries), taggiasca olives, cheeses of the valleys.
In mediocre bars: bagged crackers, peanuts, chips. The difference is visible from 20 meters. If the snack counter is prepared before opening and isn't refreshed during the evening, the place isn't serious about its buffet.
Questions about the best aperitivo in Turin
What is the best aperitivo in Turin for someone who wants something typically Turinese?
Vermouth Torino IGP neat with ice and orange peel, this is the correct and authentic answer. If you want more complexity, the Negroni with Carpano Antica Formula in place of generic vermouth is the most Turinese cocktail available. The Bicicletta (Campari plus still white wine plus soda) is the compromise for those who find vermouth bitter. Avoid ordering a Spritz in the Quadrilatero Romano, technically they make it, but you'll earn an expression from the bartender worth more than any explanation.
Does the best aperitivo in Turin always include a free buffet?
In many bars of the Quadrilatero yes, but not all. The practical rule: before you sit down, check whether there is a visible counter with snacks and ask if it is included in the price of the drink. Some bars have a free buffet. Others charge for it separately. Others still serve small snacks automatically with the drink without a visible counter. The places with the most generous buffet are those that aim at the volume of the evening rather than the margin per glass. Look at the counter before choosing the place.
What time does the best aperitivo in Turin start and finish?
18:00 to 18:30 is the standard opening time of the aperitivo. The peak attendance is 19:30 to 20:30, arrive before this range to find a place easily in the best bars. The bars take down the buffet between 21:30 and 22:00, but keep serving drinks until midnight. Thursday is the best day: busier than Tuesday and Wednesday, less chaotic than Friday evening when the Quadrilatero becomes hard to get around after 20:00.
Where to buy Turin vermouth as a souvenir?
Enoteca Lavazza (Via San Tommaso 10, center), the widest selection of artisan Piedmontese vermouths in the city. Gobino (Via Cagliari 15/b), sells vermouth in a gift box paired with gianduiotti, a perfect combination. The Porta Palazzo market on Saturday morning, stalls of artisan producers from the Cuneo valleys with vermouths impossible to find elsewhere. Souvenir budget: Carpano Antica Formula 75cl €18 to €22 at an enoteca, artisan Bordiga €25 to €35 from the producers, Punt e Mes in a 500ml can €8 to €10 in the premium supermarkets.
What is the difference between the best aperitivo in Turin and the one in Milan?
The modern Milanese aperitivo developed around the Spritz and the Negroni, with a strong orientation toward the international cocktail. The Milanese buffet is more elaborate in the Navigli and Brera areas. The best aperitivo in Turin is more rooted in local production: the vermouth is Turinese, the grissini are Piedmontese, the vitello tonnato is a regional dish. Milan has more cosmopolitanism. Turin has more identity. Both are quality experiences, but the Turinese one is more specific, less replicable elsewhere.
Is the best aperitivo in Turin suitable as a substitute for dinner?
In the best bars of the Quadrilatero, with a generous buffet, yes, a drink plus an abundant buffet comfortably replaces a light dinner for two people at €14 to €20 total. If you want to dine seriously afterward, the right time is from 20:30: the Turin restaurants take bookings from that hour. The Piedmontese tradition calls for a real dinner after the aperitivo, not in place of it, the main courses of Piedmontese cuisine (brasato al Barolo, vitello tonnato as a formal starter, bagna cauda in winter) are too serious to be replaced by a buffet of snacks.
The Caffè Al Bicerin: the precursor of the best aperitivo in Turin
It isn't an aperitivo, but it is impossible to talk about Turinese bar culture without mentioning the Caffè Al Bicerin in Piazza della Consolata. Since 1763. The bicerin (little glass, in Piedmontese dialect) is a hot drink in three unmixed layers: hot dark chocolate at the bottom, a ristretto espresso in the middle, whipped cream on top. You drink it without stirring, savoring the transition between the three layers.
The original recipe is protected, the bar is among the first in Italy to have registered a preparation as intellectual property. The cost: €5.00 for the drink, consumed seated at the marble table in the original setting. It isn't cheap, but it is one of the most authentic bar experiences in Italy. Closed Wednesday. Open 8:30am to 7:30pm on the other days.
Related reading: Turin Guide | Piedmont Wines | Turin Chocolate | Piedmont Guide
Turin Food Tour
A vermutteria in the Quadrilatero, gianduiotti and hand-stretched grissini, with people who know the difference between an authentic Carpano and an industrial copy.
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