Best Craft Beer Bars in Capri for Serious Beer Drinkers
Words by
Giulia Rossi
If you came to Capri thinking you would only find limoncello and wine, you have not hit the main streets and side alleys where the serious beer scene thrives. As someone who has spent years hopping bars from Capri town to the quieter corners of Anacapri and even Marina Grande, I can tell you the island is quietly becoming one of the best craft beer bars in Capri for anyone who takes hops as seriously as olive oil. You just have to know where to pour yourself a seat and what to drink once you do.
What surprised me when I started poking around a few years ago was how tied the craft movement here feels to the island’s love affair with contrasts: ancient cliffs and modern espresso; fishermen’s gossip on harbor walls; English expats complaining about the heat; and Italian brewers dead‑set on turning Mediterranean herbs into drinkable art. Local breweries in the Campania region started popping up around the same time that a handful of Capri bar owners got bored with Birra Peroni on tap. They slowly replaced their dusty selections with taps from microbreweries across the peninsula and beyond. Walking into a bar today here can mean running your finger down a chalkboard of ten to twenty taps: IPAs, stouts, Belgian‑style tripels, all served with an almost suspicious level of seriousness in a place better known for Aperol on the piazzetta terrace.
This guide is less a ranking and more a map of recurring stops for serious beer drinkers: places where the staff will talk you through a flight without rolling their eyes, and where the soundtrack might be the clack of table football rather than some villa‑party DJ set. I focus on spots with real taps and not just bottles hiding in the back of the fridge, places where the owner either brews or has strong opinions about who does. Some are right in the thick of tourist traffic, others tucked far enough in Capri’s side streets or in Anacapri’s quieter lanes that you will forget Instagram exists for a while.
Before diving into names and streets, a quick note on language. When you walk into a bar here and say “birra artigianale” you will generally get pointed to the good stuff. “Birra industriale” is what you drink if you enjoy disappointment and hangover headaches from low‑cost lagers. If you want to nod your approval and sound like you belong: ask what is “alla spina” (on tap) and whether they have anything “di produzione locale” (locally produced). That alone will put you leagues ahead of the guys who walk in asking if they have Heineken. Now, for the actual places worth your euros and attention.
1. The Beer Landing Point in Capri Town: artigianale corner near Via Catterdrale
You might expect the famous Piazzetta to be the beer hub of Capri, but the first truly serious taps are a few streets up, closer to Via Cattedrale’s corner bars that most visitors walk past without noticing. A tiny bar here (the kind where three outside tables fit if everyone agrees to be friendly) has quietly become the island’s unofficial craft landing zone. As you step off the main lane from the Piazzetta, you will see a chalkboard outside with often eight to ten taps from Italian and European brewers, rotating enough that I rarely see the same lineup twice in a month.
What sets this spot apart is its obsession with microbrewery releases; the owner emails small Campanian and Puglian brewers whenever something limited shows up and will put a special batch on a particular Tuesday afternoon. One week it was a heavily dry‑hopped pale ale from a garage brewery an hour north of Naples; another, a rosemary-infused saison that somehow tasted like the clifftops of Capri when the sea breeze cuts through the heat. When I sat there on a random Thursday last summer, the staff spent nearly fifteen minutes walking me through the list without making me feel rushed or stupid. If you arrive midweek, late afternoon to early evening, you get the best vibe: locals stopping by after work, tourists appearing and disappearing, the cat that has adopted the bar asleep on an unused chair.
Here is the insider detail most visitors miss: behind the bar there is a second, smaller fridge. If you ask what “birra segreta” they have, they will sometimes pull out a bottle or an unmarked keg that somehow didn’t fit on the front list. I once tried a nearly black imperial stout aged for months in rum barrels, and it disappeared the next week. This first corner bar in Capri may be physically small, but it serves as the unofficial tastemaker for the island; local breweries use it as a test market here, gauging how Capri drinkers react to experimental styles before sending them to bars further out.
2. The Harbourside Hangout at Marina Grande: salty air, stout in hand
If you came directly off the ferry from Naples, you probably did not expect your first serious beer to be near the dock. The harbour strip at Marina Grande definitely leans tourist, but one long, narrow bar close to the water has quietly turned itself into a go‑to for locals who work the boats and taxi services. There is a jukebox in the corner playing whatever the owner’s kids are into that week, and the taps are a mix of Italian microbrews and a couple of reliable German imports, kept at a proper temperature that you can actually taste.
What to order here depends on the season. In colder months, their robust porter with notes of espresso and chocolate is perfect when the wind whips off the sea. During summer, I lean toward their rotating wheat beers and lighter sour ales. One local trick is to come at that odd in‑between time, usually late afternoon before the evening dinner rush, when the staff are relaxed enough to chat. On Sundays, regulars off the fishing boats drop in for their “birra della domenica” and you will pick up more honest gossip about the island than any guidebook offers. Keep an eye out for the chalked specials near the till; they occasionally tap something experimental from microbrewery Capri‑adjacent sources, such as a lemon‑infused pale ale with actual island citrus that appears for only a week or two.
Most tourists never realize this harbour bar routinely brings in special kegs from mainland Campania because those brewers land their test batches here after seeing how the owner runs his taps. It also makes this spot a kind of informal capital for local breweries, a place where the producers hear directly from people who balance outdoor labour with late‑night pints.
3. Craft beer on the slopes above Via Camerelle: the terrace with a rebellious pint list
You know Via Camerelle mainly for designer shops and occasional celebrity sightings. But head just off that road toward the residential lanes climbing up toward Via Croce and you will find an understated wine bar that keeps slipping more craft beer onto its list. On any given visit there are four to six taps from Italian microbrewers alongside their expected selection of local whites and reds. The owners are wine people at heart, but they admit they fell down the beer rabbit hole after visiting a now‑legendary microbrewery near Florence and kept going from there.
The best time to visit is midweek around five in the afternoon when you can nab one of the outdoor tables overlooking the terraced hillside. I once stayed until sun started dropping behind the Faraglioni, sipping a citrusy session IPA from a brewer near Salerno while a couple next to me debated whether the acidity matched the lemon oil from their granita. The staff here are brilliant at helping you pick between styles they know well versus something wildcard they are still learning. If you ask for “birra artigianale con note agrumate” (craft beer with citrus notes), they will not just point at the IPA; they will walk you through the differences between a hop‑forward citrus bomb and a more delicate wheat beer with actual lemon peel.
What most visitors do not know is that this terrace bar occasionally hosts informal tasting nights with mainland brewers, usually announced only by a small sign near the door and word of mouth. I once stumbled into a vertical tasting of three vintages of a barleywine, and the brewer himself was there explaining how the island’s humidity affected the aging. It is one of the few places where you can see how local breweries and wine culture overlap, with the same attention to terroir and seasonality that you would expect from a sommelier.
4. The Anacapri Anchor: a quiet bar on the road to Monte Solaro
Anacapri feels like a different planet compared to the Piazzetta circus. The pace is slower, the streets wider, and the tourists more likely to be reading a book than taking selfies. On one of the lanes leading toward the Monte Solaro chairlift, there is a small bar that has become my default stop after the hike down. It is not flashy; the décor is more “someone’s living room” than “Instagram backdrop,” but the taps are serious. You will usually find a mix of Italian craft lagers, a couple of hoppy ales, and at least one darker option like a porter or stout.
What makes this place special is its connection to the local community. The owner knows the chairlift operators, the guides who lead groups up Monte Solaro, and the older residents who have watched Anacapri change over decades. When I stopped in last autumn, he was explaining to a group of hikers how a particular pilsner from a microbrewery in northern Italy was brewed with water from Alpine springs, and why that mattered for the crisp finish. If you come in the late afternoon, you will often find a mix of tired hikers, locals on their way home, and the occasional expat who has decided that this is the only bar worth walking to.
Here is the insider detail: if you ask for “birra del giorno” (beer of the day), they will sometimes pour you a small taste of something they are considering putting on the main list. It is a low‑pressure way to try something new and give honest feedback. This bar also quietly supports local breweries by giving them a platform in a part of the island where most places still default to mass‑market lagers. For serious beer drinkers, it is a reminder that craft beer taps in Capri are not limited to the main town.
5. The Late‑Night Spot near the Piazzetta: when the wine bars close, the taps keep flowing
Most visitors assume that once the sun sets, Capri’s drinking scene collapses into overpriced cocktails and limoncello shots. That is true in many places, but there is a small bar not far from the Piazzetta that keeps its taps running later than most. It is the kind of place where the lighting is dim, the music is low, and the crowd is a mix of locals, hospitality workers on their break, and the occasional tourist who wandered off the main drag looking for something quieter.
The beer list here is compact but well‑curated. You will usually find a reliable Italian pale ale, a Belgian‑style ale, and a rotating guest tap that changes every week or two. What I like about this spot is the lack of pretension; nobody is going to lecture you about IBUs unless you ask. If you show up after ten in the evening, you will often find the owner behind the bar, happy to talk about the latest batch from a microbrewery he visited on the mainland. One night he poured me a small glass of a smoked porter that had just arrived that afternoon, and we spent an hour debating whether the smoke was too much or just right.
The detail most tourists miss is that this bar is one of the few places where you can taste experimental batches from local breweries that are still figuring out their recipes. Because the owner is friends with several small brewers, he often gets “test pints” that never make it to the official lineup. If you are serious about craft beer, this is where you come to hear about what is coming next, not just what is already famous.
6. The Family‑Run Trattoria with a Secret Beer Cellar: off Via Le Botteghe
Capri is full of trattorias that will happily serve you pasta and a carafe of house wine. But there is a family‑run place on the quieter stretch of Via Le Botteghe that has quietly built a small but impressive beer selection in its cellar. The dining room is simple, the kind of place where the tablecloths are paper and the nonna might peek out from the kitchen to see if you are eating enough. Yet behind the scenes, the owners have been collecting bottles from Italian microbrewers for years.
What to order here is simple: start with whatever they recommend as their current favorite. On my last visit, it was a rich, malty doppelbavarian‑style lager from a microbrewery in the north, served in a proper glass that made me do a double take. They also keep a few stronger options for after dinner, like barleywines and imperial stouts, which pair surprisingly well with their desserts. If you come for an early dinner, around seven in the evening, you will have time to linger over a second beer without feeling rushed.
The insider detail is that this trattoria occasionally hosts small, informal beer dinners where a brewer comes in to explain the pairing logic behind each course. These events are not widely advertised; you usually hear about them by word of mouth or by asking the staff directly. It is one of the few places where you can see how craft beer taps in Capri are slowly weaving themselves into the island’s culinary traditions, not just its bar culture.
7. The Rooftop Bar with a View and a Tap List: above the main shopping streets
Capri has no shortage of rooftop bars with views of the Faraglioni and the sea. Most of them are content to serve overpriced Aperol spritzes and forgettable house wine. But there is one rooftop spot above the main shopping streets that has started taking its taps more seriously. The view is exactly what you expect: terracotta roofs, distant islands, and the occasional yacht that looks like it belongs in a car commercial. The difference is that instead of just wine and cocktails, you will find a small but thoughtful selection of craft beers.
What I like about this place is the contrast. You are sipping a well‑made Italian IPA while watching the sun set over the same cliffs that have inspired poets and emperors. The staff here are used to explaining beer styles to people who usually order prosecco, so do not be shy about asking questions. If you come in the early evening, just as the light starts to soften, you can grab a table near the edge and enjoy one of the best views on the island without the midday crowds.
The detail most visitors do not know is that this rooftop bar has started collaborating with local breweries to create small‑batch beers inspired by Capri’s landscape. I tried a saison brewed with local herbs that tasted like a walk through the island’s gardens, and a pale ale with a hint of sea salt that somehow worked. It is a sign that craft beer taps in Capri are not just importing trends from the mainland but starting to reflect the island’s own character.
8. The Hidden Garden Bar in the Hills: a quiet escape above the noise
If you are willing to walk a bit, there is a small garden bar in the hills above Capri town that feels like a secret. The path up is not well‑marked, and you might wonder if you are going the wrong way until you see the tables scattered among the trees. The beer selection here is modest but carefully chosen, with a focus on Italian microbrews that complement the peaceful setting. You will usually find a couple of lighter ales, a darker option, and something seasonal.
What makes this place special is the atmosphere. There is no loud music, no crowds, just the sound of birds and the occasional distant church bell. It is the kind of spot where you can sit for hours with a single beer and a book, or with a friend and a long conversation. If you come in the late morning or early afternoon, you will often have the place almost to yourself, with just the owner and maybe one or two other visitors.
The insider detail is that this garden bar is one of the few places where you can taste beers from local breweries that are experimenting with Capri’s own ingredients. I once had a wheat beer brewed with local wildflowers that tasted like spring, and a darker ale with a hint of smoked wood that reminded me of the island’s old stone fireplaces. It is a reminder that the best craft beer bars in Capri are not just about importing great beer but also about finding ways to make the island’s own flavors part of the glass.
When to Go and What to Know: timing your taps on the island
Capri’s beer scene is not as rigidly scheduled as its ferry timetables, but there are patterns worth knowing. Midweek, especially Tuesday to Thursday, is when you will find the most relaxed atmosphere and the best chance to chat with owners and brewers. Weekends can be busy, particularly in the main town, and some smaller spots may run out of special kegs faster than they can replace them. If you are visiting in peak summer, aim for late afternoon or early evening to avoid the worst of the heat and the crowds.
Most bars here open around midday and close around midnight, though some stay open later on weekends. If you are planning to visit multiple spots in one day, start in the main town and work your way out to Anacapri or the hills. Keep in mind that some places may close for a few hours in the afternoon, especially in the hotter months. It is always a good idea to check opening times in advance, either by asking at your hotel or by looking for signs outside the bars.
One more thing: while many places accept cards, some of the smaller spots are still cash‑only. It is worth having a few euros on hand, especially if you plan to visit the more out‑of‑the‑way bars. And if you are serious about trying as many local breweries as possible, consider asking the staff for recommendations on what to look for on the mainland. Many of them have friends in the industry and can point you to breweries worth visiting if you have time to hop over to Naples or the Amalfi Coast.
Frequently Asked Questions
How easy is it to find pure vegetarian, vegan, or plant-based dining options in Capri?
Capri has a growing number of restaurants and cafes that offer vegetarian and vegan options, though the selection can be more limited than in larger cities. Many traditional trattorias will have at least one or two vegetable-based dishes, such as pasta with tomato sauce, grilled vegetables, or salads. Some of the more modern eateries and bars, especially those catering to tourists, are more likely to have clearly marked vegan options. It is always a good idea to ask the staff about ingredients, as some dishes may contain hidden animal products like cheese or fish sauce.
Is Capri expensive to visit? Give a realistic daily budget breakdown for mid-tier travelers.**
Capri is generally more expensive than many other parts of Italy, especially during the high season. For a mid-tier traveler, a realistic daily budget might include around 100 to 150 euros for accommodation, 50 to 80 euros for meals, and 20 to 40 euros for transportation and activities. Drinks at bars can range from 5 to 10 euros for a beer, with craft beers often on the higher end. Keep in mind that prices can be significantly higher in the main tourist areas, so venturing a bit off the beaten path can help stretch your budget.
What is the one must-try local specialty food or drink that Capri is famous for?
Capri is most famous for its limoncello, a sweet lemon liqueur made from the island’s abundant lemons. Many bars and restaurants offer their own versions, and it is often served as a digestivo after meals. Another local specialty is the “torta caprese,” a rich chocolate and almond cake that is a must-try for anyone with a sweet tooth. While these are not beer-related, they are an important part of the island’s culinary identity and worth trying during your visit.
Are there any specific dress codes or cultural etiquettes to keep in mind when visiting local spots in Capri?
Capri is a relatively relaxed island, but there are a few cultural norms to keep in mind. While beachwear is fine at the beach, it is generally expected to cover up when visiting bars, restaurants, and shops. Some of the more upscale establishments may have a smart-casual dress code, so it is a good idea to bring a change of clothes if you plan to visit these places. Additionally, it is polite to greet staff with a simple “buongiorno” or “buonasera” when entering a bar or restaurant, and to say “grazie” when leaving.
Is the tap water in Capri safe to drink, or should travelers strictly rely on filtered water options?
The tap water in Capri is generally safe to drink, as it comes from the same sources as the rest of Italy. However, some visitors may prefer the taste of bottled or filtered water, especially if they are not used to the local mineral content. Many bars and restaurants will offer both tap and bottled water, so you can choose based on your preference. If you are staying in a hotel or rental, it is worth asking about the water quality and whether they recommend using a filter.
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