EBG Rating: 8.7/10

Choice/Quality of Drinks:
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Excellent selection of wines from humble to upmarket, which are refreshed regularly and change in line with the seasons.

Style/Décor:
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
A one-off interior with historic character, which celebrated its 100th year in 2025. Red crackled paint, candlelight, old tools fastened to the walls and rugby memorabilia abound.

Atmosphere/Character:
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Surprisingly pubby and casual outside of mealtimes, with a working class feel, social and bunker-like. A truly distinctive venue considering the wine focus.

Amenities/Events:
❤️❤️❤️
Food, snacks, limited outdoor seating

Value For Money:
❤️❤️❤️
Fair value overall given the offerings, but it fluctuates so pay attention to the menu.

Description:
Osteria da Marino was opened as a café in 1925. It was forced to close in 1940, due to its Jewish origins (Hi Nazis). At the end of World War II the bar had opened again under the ownership of the eponymous Marino, who transformed it into a meeting place for several generations of students, artists, and wine lovers.

After some small changes between the early and late 1980s, the historic passing of the baton came in the 1990s to Maurizio and Barbara, who brought their passion for rugby to the venue, making it a point of reference for rugby lovers. This can be seen today in its interior decorated with memorabilia from decades past.

Since 2017, Ivan has been in charge, maintaining its casual feel.

The timing of your visit will strongly affect your experience, so be careful. Pay attention to the below:

The Osteria transforms from a bar to a diner during mealtimes, including the appearance table cloths, candelight etc, before then morphing back into a bar.

The best times to go for a casual drink are aperitivo time between 6-8pm or later in the evening.

It’s a real bunker-like, unpretentious and working class fixture of the city where wines can be bought from the humble to the upmarket and enjoyed in a very pubby setting.

We thought it was superb, and providing you pay attention to its casual times, you can sample a hint of the evenings thousands have enjoyed down the years here.

All cities should boast a real institution venue and there’s no doubt for Osterias this is Trieste’s.

(Added January 2026)