Hong Kong’s Bar Leone recently became the first establishment to debut in the no. 1 position on the Asia’s 50 Best Bars list – doing so just as it celebrated its first birthday. Pretty good for a year’s work, and not bad when you consider that it is the first solo venture of Italian mixologist Lorenzo Antinori, who co-founded the establishment with two partners.
Antinori, who previously helmed the Caprice Bar and Argo at the Four Seasons Hong Kong, built a bar with a distinctive Roman identity. Think of it as a little piece of Trastevere in the heart of Hong Kong’s trendy SoHo district.
[See more: The St. Regis Bar makes it into the list of Asia’s 50 Best Bars]
Perfect the classics is meanwhile his approach to Bar Leone’s beverage programme. “Classic cocktails can be elevated too,” Antinori enthused during a presentation at the recently held trade show Restaurant Bar & Cafe Hong Kong.
Macao News spoke to him on the sidelines of the event.
What are the hottest trends in mixology right now?
Since the pandemic, I’ve been seeing this sort of nostalgia for classic cocktails. We’re coming back to simple serves, and back into experiences that are approachable, accessible and affordable.
Low- and no-alcohol drinks are here to stay too. Bars are now able to charge the same for a zero-ABV [alcohol by volume] drink as they do for a cocktail, which shows us how good zero-ABV spirits have become. I would not be surprised to see a zero-ABV bar open in the next few years.
The third trend I see, and this is happening globally, is bars betting strong on their food programmes. After the pandemic, we need to create operations that we can shift very easily. Just like our business models need to be flexible, we need to have e-shops, food offerings, maybe do deliveries.
People can’t stop raving about Bar Leone’s hefty mortadella sandwich.
Yes! Food is important, it allows us to cater to a larger audience. People don’t necessarily want to come for cocktails, maybe they’re in the mood for a non-alcoholic or food. It helps us bump up the average tab, it’s an extra source of income and, when done properly, bar owners can really see the results.
You also take coffee seriously. Is there a Cafe Leone down the pipeline too?
We did the first Cafe Leone pop up at Bar Leone during Asia’s 50 Best Bars and we’ll be doing the second in Madrid during World’s 50 Best Bars this October. We created it as a platform to connect with other brands and that could be interested in taking us on the road to deliver this experience. We’ll be partnering with Illy and Italicus in Madrid. It’s a lifestyle brand that can be translated in many different ways.
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You’ve also managed to build a strong brand identity for Bar Leone. Tell us about that.
Whatever you do in F&B, it needs to make sense 360 degrees, from the storytelling behind the concept to the design and merch. When things are cohesive, the message you send out is much more powerful.
Opening an independent bar, I had the opportunity of doing it around things that I love: family, food and drinks, pop culture, football. I also like to not take things too seriously, especially these days.
How do you see the fusion of cultures influencing the bar scene in Asia?
In this part of the world, Hong Kong and Macao, we have a melting pot of cultures and that results in a melting pot of experiences too. Being inspired by other people and cultures is what makes the food and beverage industry so exciting here.
There are things that people don’t understand about Bar Leone [chuckles], but it doesn’t matter. The ultimate goal is to give our guests a good time.
Has anything changed at the bar after Asia’s 50 Best Bars?
Only in the sense that more people come to visit us now. Honestly, we’re doing exactly what we were doing before the awards. Whatever we achieved is the result of hard work and we don’t take it for granted. But now we need to work even harder because people’s expectations are so high.
We’re a neighbourhood bar, we remain humble.
Do you feel any pressure to stay at the top?
We don’t stay at the top via rankings. We stay at the top by being relevant and creating new things.
