Hidden and Underrated Cafes in Capri That Most Tourists Miss

If you have walked the main drag of Capri and dismissed it as just another tourist town, you have not yet found the hidden cafes in Capri that the locals actually frequent. I have spent years on this island, tracing every winding stairway and side street to sit with a coffee where the residents go, not where the cruise ship guides point. Most visitors never wander far beyond the Piazzetta, where the big outdoor cafes charge five euros for a single espresso and seat you shoulder to shoulder with two hundred strangers. The real island runs along the side streets and down toward the water, in places you could easily walk past without noticing.

1. Cafe de Paris on Via Camerelle, Capri

I last sat on the terrace of Cafe de Paris last Thursday morning, watching the light shift across the rooftops toward the sea. The place has been on Via Camerelle since the early 1900s, when the island first started drawing artists and writers who wanted to be near the center but away from the harbor noise. Order the cappuccino and a sfogliatella, because the pastry comes warm from a bakery partner just two streets away. What most tourists do not realize is that the second-floor tables face away from the street and toward the garden courtyard, giving you a completely different atmosphere from the front room. This spot connects directly to Capri's golden age, when the Via Camerelle corridor became the island's primary social artery for foreign creatives and Italian aristocrats alike. Among the hidden cafes in Capri, this one carries the deepest historical weight without a single tour group in sight on weekday mornings.

Local Insider Tip: Ask for the table near the back wall on the second floor, the one with the wicker chair that faces the inner garden. On weekday afternoons after 2 PM, the server sometimes brings out a small plate of almonds with a limoncello chaser if you have finished your coffee, a courtesy they do not advertise.

Go here on a Tuesday or Thursday before 10 AM, when the terrace is empty and the light hits the terracotta roof tiles at the best angle.

2. Bar Columbus Near the Marina Grande, Capri

Bar Columbus sits just a short walk from the Marina Grande ferry terminal, tucked close to where the bus drops you off from the island's main piazza. I remember ducking in here one Sunday evening after a long hike up the Phoenician Steps, completely exhausted and craving something cold. The bar faces the small square near the water, and the almond granita they serve over ice is hands down the best I have had on the island. What most visitors miss is that Columbus has been run by the same family for decades, and the espresso machine is the older lever type that takes three minutes to pull a shot but rewards you with a much fuller crema. The place captures the working waterfront character of Marina Grande, a neighborhood that has always been fishing-first and tourist-second, even as boats from Naples have grown shinier over the years. This is one of the honest off the beaten path cafes Capri locals point to when they want something cold and fast without the pretense of the upper town.

Local Insider Tip: Order the granita al mandorla and ask for it with a shot of espresso on the side, what locals call granita caffè. Do not sit at the tables facing the square if you can help it; the bar stools along the counter give you the full experience of watching the bartender work and the fishermen passing through.

Visit on a weekday afternoon between 3 and 5 PM, when the afternoon schoolchildren crowd has thinned and the bar gets peaceful enough to have a real conversation.

3. Nikos Bar on Via Camerelle, Capri

Nikos has occupied a stretch of Via Camerelle for longer than most of the current generation of residents can remember, and walking through the door feels like stepping into a living archive of the island's social history. I went there on a wet Wednesday in November, one of those days when the clouds hang low over the bay and the streets run silver with rain. The interior is dark wood and old mirrors, and the bar pulls a solid espresso that does not try to be fancy, just strong and consistent. What tourists typically overlook is the back room, a small space with a few tables where regulars gather for Greek ouzo and mixed nuts well past midnight, a tradition that started decades ago when Nikos himself catered to the island's small but tight-knit international community. Sitting there connects you to the broader story of Via Camerelle as the long social spine of Capri, a street that linked the Marina Grande to the higher neighborhoods before cars and funiculars made everything seem smaller. This ranks among the underrated cafes Capri residents will quietly recommend if you ask the right person at the fish market.

Local Insider Tip: Head to the back room after 9 PM on any night except Saturday, when the bar hosts a small gathering of local musicians who play informal sets on acoustic guitar and mandolin. Ask for the house red wine, a simple Cilento pour that costs a fraction of what the same bottle would run you in the Piazzetta.

Best on a midweek evening after 8 PM, when the tourist crowd has retreated and the room fills with a mix of island faces you will not see during the day.

4. Cafe Le Opere Near the Gardens of Augustus, Capri

Cafe Le Opere sits within easy walking distance of the Gardens of Augustus, and I have spent many an hour on its small terrace watching the tourists stream in and out of the shaded park. The cafe itself leans toward the artsy side, with framed prints on the walls and a menu that tilts slightly toward creative cocktails alongside the standard Italian coffee list. Try the caprese salad here, because the buffalo mozzarella comes from a farm on the Sorrentine peninsula and the tomatoes taste like they were picked the same morning. What most visitors do not know is that the cafe hosts occasional small gallery shows in the back room, featuring work from Capri-based painters and photographers who use the space as an informal studio annex. The spot reflects Capri's long-running identity as an island that has attracted visual artists since the time of Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen, when the northern cliffs and winding paths offered solitude for creative work. These cultural exhibitions make it one of the more genuinely interesting secret coffee spots Capri has to offer, far from the souvenir-shop corridors of the main square.

Local Insider Tip: If a gallery show is happening, the back room opens at 11 AM and stays accessible until the exhibit ends around 7 or 8 PM, separate from the main cafe seating. Grab the far corner seat facing the terrace railing, where you can see down toward Via Camerelle without the glare of direct sun even at midday.

Visit on a Sunday morning when the gardens are not yet crowded, then walk directly to Le Opere for a late coffee before the midday heat builds.

5. Bar Italia Near Via Roma, Capri

Bar Italia sits along the stretch of road heading away from the central piazza toward the Faraglioni cliffs, a section of Capri that most visitors drive through without stopping. I found myself here on a Saturday morning by accident, following a local recommendation from a shopkeeper who told me I was wasting my time at the bigger spots downtown. The espresso here is poured from a traditional lever machine that the barista, Salvatore, has maintained with religious care for over fifteen years, and you can taste the difference in the crema, which sits thick and dark on top of every shot. A single espresso runs about one euro twenty, which sounds like a small thing but compared to the three-euro cups near the Piazzetta it tells the whole story of what you are paying for in central Capri. The street itself carries the residential rhythm of the island, with elderly men in linen caps standing at the bar for their morning