This café was inaugurated in 1867, in the heart of Borgo Teresiano, the urban development carried out by Maria Theresa of Austria in the 18th century, in the height of the town’s golden era. The haunt of the irredentist intellectuals, during the Anglo-American occupation, it became a dance hall where many love stories began between the “mule” (girls) of Trieste and the American soldiers. Nowadays, even without the billiards table and the bar of that time, the mirrors and stucco work are still reminiscent of Austria and literature. James Joyce read the pages of his Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man to his brother here. In addition to being a place to savour cakes and drink tea, the café also puts on photographic and painting exhibitions.