Photo by Beatrice Tamagno
Some things my Italian girlfriend said at Bar Leone that enhanced my experience of the shrine to Italian pop-culture:
• “The façade resembles a tabacchi, like the kind where I used to buy cigarettes when I was 16.”
• “The floor is proper terrazzo! Well, that’s what the rest of the world calls it. In Italy we just call it ‘floor.’”
• “These tissues! We like to joke that they’re practically plastic, but it’s so spot on to see them here.”
• “They have the sexy Catholic priest calendar! Iconic.”
Calendario Romano aka the “sexy priest calendar,” a bestselling souvenir among tourists visiting Rome. Photos by Sammi Sowerby
Cocktail afficionados should already be clued in: Bar Leone Shanghai — which began service in November 2025 — is the first international outpost of Bar Leone Hong Kong, the “number one bar in the world” (according to the World’s 50 Best Bars Academy).
In a cultural moment where brash luxury has started to feel gauche and community carries real cachet, the bar’s easygoing cocktail popolari philosophy — “cocktails for the people” — has struck a chord.
That said, there’s an obvious elephant in the room: when cocktails creep past 120 kuai, does “for the people” still hold?
Photos courtesy of Bar Leone
Without an Italian in tow, some humour might fly over your head — like the intentional placement of an ad for men’s toupees next to a photograph of Pierluigi Collina, former football referree and posterchild for commanding baldness.
Even without a Roman reference point, it’s easy to fall for the charming space full of pictures of popes, priests and pop culture icons. I might know nothing about hunky footballers, but I sure am glad to let my gaze fall upon them, especially while slightly inebriated.
The warm lighting and wood panelling extends throughout the space, which is bigger than Hong Kong’s, but the second floor, which only opened in December, is slightly dimmer and more date-appropriate.
There are about a dozen drinks on the menu and we sampled a third of the offerings, which are almost carbon copies of Hong Kong’s.
Founder Leonardo Antinori was out of town during our visit, but head bartender and Shanghai native, Melinda Hong is another face who defines the bar.
OLIVE OIL SOUR 🫒
After years of restaurants and bars obsessively cataloguing provenance — from farm names to the individual livestock — “Italian olive oil & honey” might sound sparse. Still, crediting every tree or bee behind a vial of EVOO or honey would just be silly.
Instead of announcing itself aromatically, the olive oil works in the background, bringing a lovely rounded body.
FIG LEAF NEGRONI 🥃
I know a guy who’s built his entire personality around his love of Negronis (fun or sad, you decide). I wonder if he’d like this one.
“It’s kind of like a Negroni,” said Bear upon first sip, and I immediately got the gist. Fig leaf has a young coconut flavour, which can be lots of fun, but might not be for everyone. Here, it’s handled with a light touch, lending the drink a tropical character without tipping into excess. As a non-purist, I was very into it.
FILTHY MARTINI 🍸
The cocktail that we’ve used as click-bait to bring you to this article and a bestseller at Bar Leone Hong Kong, the Filthy Martini isn’t even listed on Shanghai’s menu, for one simple reason: it’s not as popular here. Until now, possibly.
Spun using olives smoked using cherry wood, it is the saltiest, strongest and smokiest cocktail I’ve ever sipped. Just two of these would knock me flat on my back.
YUZU AMERICANO 🍋
Preceding the caffeinated Americano by a comfortable margin, the alcoholic Americano dates back to 1860s Italy, whereas the former was invented during World War II, also in Italy. Both Americanos poke fun at ‘weak’ American palettes and have long histories that make for fun side-reading.
If the original Americanos were about toning bitterness down, Bar Leone’s heightens aromatics, slipping in shiso alongside a clean hit of citrus.
Aside from the fat olives in our Filthy Martinis, we only ate one thing: the viral mortadella sandwich. 🥪
Photo by Sammi Sowerby
If this review were a film script, this would be the moment the villain finally admits eating this sandwich had been part of her plan all along.
Slightly obscene, with pale-pink folds spilling out from between fluffy foccacia, said sandwich is more satisfying than revenge served cold.
Seriously solid drinks, snacks worth lingering over, and proof that “for the people” doesn’t have to mean cheap, but good enough to justify closing the tab with ceremony.
Bring an Italian friend (mine’s available if you’re buying) who’ll be able to explain the subtle cultural nuances of Bar Leone to you.
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