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Bar Leone
Hong Kong
- The World's Best Bar 2025, sponsored by Perrier
- The Best Bar in Asia 2025, sponsored by Perrier
A tribute to timeless Italian drinking culture in the heart of Hong Kong
Opened in June 2023 by multi award-winning Italian bartender Lorenzo Antinori, Bar Leone's meteoric rise to success can be attributed to two things: a great bar programme and an even greater sense of humour.
Rome-born Antinori comes from serious pedigree, having worked at the finest bars in London, Seoul and Hong Kong. Passionate about cocktail history, Italy and football, all roads eventually led Lorenzo to open Bar Leone – a bar designed to pay tribute to cocktail popolari, Italian pop-culture and the art of classic bartending.
Bar Leone channels the soul of Rome's traditional neighbourhood bars – unpretentious, convivial spots that anchor the city's 21 districts, and Trastevere in particular. Its namesake, Leone the lion was once the emblem of Rome before the Renaissance and remains the symbol of Trastevere to this day. The bar's beverage programme follows a low-intervention approach, reviving classic cocktails with a focus on craftsmanship, quality ingredients and seasonality, avoiding re-distillation and any complex equipment. The bar takes a deliberate step away from current trends, embracing simplicity. This pared-back approach celebrates the classic art of bartending and allows guests to truly understand and appreciate what goes into each drink. Lorenzo is also determined to revive the bellini, served in a small tumbler just as at the iconic Harry's Bar in Venice, where it originated. Featuring almond eau de vie and peach, it is topped with a fluffy cream, in stark contrast with the fruit-forward base.
At Bar Leone, while the cocktails are what draw guests in, it's the warm service, the welcoming neighbourhood atmosphere and the near-viral mortadella sandwiches that keep them coming back.
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