Martini cocktails, martini bars and martini culture
The second stop of my recent NYC bar tours was the Katana Kitten, an award winning bar created by famous Japanese bartender Masahiro Urushido, author of The Japanese Art of the Cocktail, a book that I used a lot for my own book (if you read Italian you find my book here). Upon entering the …
The Sip & Guzzle, in bar-paradise West Village, was elected the best North American cocktail bar in 2026, just after two years of life, so it had to be my first stop in a recent NY bars mini-marathon. The bar is the result of a collaboration between NY barstar Steve Schneider (former Employees Only, another …
Even if it is one of the most known bars in town, both because of its connection with the historic Michelin-starred restaurant Il Cambio and of the quality of its drinks (we'll get there), the Bar Cavour is a miracle of Torinese understatement. No sign on the street, just an ancient door in one of …
Throughout my long and joyful barfly career, when I am in a new city for two nights I try to visit at least two bars, to get an understanding of the local "bar scene". Well, not in Bangalore: the SOKA bar was so good that I just went there two evenings in a row. The …
Let's start from this: the Sips bar was elected best bar of the world in 2023, and scored third both in 2022 and 2024. So, even if rankings such as the World 50 best bars are sometimes disappointing, my expectations were rather high. Now, the Sips is a fantastic bar, both for the concept - …
Barflies will agree that the more a town is filled with self-defined cocktail bars, the more it is difficult to get a proper drink. Following this universal law, getting a good Martini in Malta is nothing but hard. Still, after a few failed attempts on which I will not report, I found THE place in …
Sometimes, when I am in a cocktail-friendly city like Madrid, I like to choose my bar not by looking at rankings and reviews, nor by asking friends and fellow barflies. I just open a (google) map, pick a bar that inspires me, and just try it. I did that with the Harvey's cocktail bar, in …
Musso & Frank is the oldest restaurant in Hollywood and is famous, among other things, for having been the first US restaurant to serve the mighty fettuccine Alfredo (a dish with an Italian name totally absent from Italian cuisine) in 1927. Also, the place is famous for its Martinis: in 2008 GQ magazin elected it as the …
"Kissa bars" originated in Japan in the 20s, as places where to go, get a drink and listen to jazz music, at the time when imported jazz records were way to expensive for ordinary people. In a very Japanese fashion, these minimalist bars prioritized the experience of listening to music in intimate and peaceful spaces, …
After a few years visiting bars, I have developed a sort of an instinct: when I enter a bar, especially if I am alone, I can tell whether that will be a memorable evening or not. It has to do with the energy in the place, the "partner in crime" smile of the bartender, the …
The Martini Hour 