EBG Rating: 8.4/10

Choice/Quality of Drinks:
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Reasonably wide but utterly peculiar selection of strong lagers and ales, mainly not in the sophisticated bracket but weird enough to be a novelty.

Style/Décor:
❤️❤️❤️
Casual, colourful and a little ramshackle. The layout of the premises doesn’t lend itself well to a communal area with the exception of the terrace at the back.

Atmosphere/Character:
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Relaxed, welcoming and with a truly varied crowd, a haven in a hostile world, atmospheric outside in the evenings and when music is played.

Amenities/Events:
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Culture centre with varied events and roster, food, snacks, shop, outdoor seating, merchandise

Value For Money:
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Decent value for food and drinks, affordable gigs.

Description:
The other side of Bergamo untouched by tourists is Malpensata. Most are not likely to venture this side of the tracks unless they fancy a wander to the airport (a genuinely possibility to arrive on foot here, for a change).

Il Circolino is a venue which could only be for locals too, and represents a pleasing antidote as a result. A cultural centre which does political work assisting those persecuted across the globe, with a distinctly left-wing slant.

The space has to be versatile in order to accommodate the various meetings it hosts, from musical get-togethers to women victims of violence.

The bar itself has a reasonably wide but utterly peculiar selection of strong lagers and ales, mainly not in the sophisticated bracket but weird enough to be a novelty.

They also fire up the pizza oven from mid-late afternoon to give you something to munch on to knock those back.

There’s a pleasant outdoor area and you know it will be atmospheric when the evening comes.

Have a search around and you’ll find a stage area, pub rooms and all sorts.

I really enjoyed the underlying hospitality of the place, the fact it welcomes people from many different backgrounds and hosts important cultural events, the sort of place I’d be at frequently if I lived here.

(Added December 2025)