Much loved and frequented by celebrities, especially during Apertivio (7:00 PM – 10:00 PM), the historic lounge bar inside the four-star Hotel Locarno dates back to 1925. Antique Art Nouveau style furnishings, a fireplace and original decorations take you on a journey back to the Twenties whilst the music, informally dressed staff and creative cocktails offer a modern twist. There are 1920s inspired drinks and Head Barman Nicholas Pinna even offers Masterclasses.
It was really cool to see Nicholas make these drinks. He’s charming and his movements around the bar was smooth and fluid and every drink we’ve ordered was perfectly made. Balanced and flavorful. It has depth and complexity, even for the sweeter cocktails. It makes sense as to why this bar is popular with the locals and tourists alike.
The evening we were there, it was a little chill in the air but there’s heat lamps scattered around the courtyard to stay warm.
My friend and I started off our apertivo with the Serenissima and the Italian classic drink, Roma Bracciano. The Serenissima is a stirred drink with Champagne Premiere Cru, China L’Avinon d’Or, white peaches, raspberries. It’s a sweet but not too much and it’s a fruity drink with gentle effervescence. Roma Bracciano is similar to its distant cousin, Negroni but much more moodier, ponderous and bitter with a touch of sweetness at the end. The bracciano is made with Campari, vermouth cocchi “dopo teatro”, Amer Picon, and club soda.
For the next round of drinks were Earl Drunk and The Rocker. The Earl Drunk is presented in a charming teapot. The drink is made of vodka infused Earl Grey tea, lemon juice, and simple syrup. It’s wonderful cocktail that’s clean flavors of the bergamot from the tea and it’s gently sweet. The Rocker is a stirred cocktail made of a gently smoky and sweet, whisky Aberlour A’bunadh, and Figaro fig liqueur.
We had a great experience here. The bar and courtyard is beautiful. The drinks are spot-on delicious. The service was friendly and Nicholas was fantastic. I would definitely come back for drinks and to hang out at Hotel Locarno any time I’m in Rome.
For more photos, please CLICK HERE for the complete sets or see below:
[alpine-phototile-for-flickr src=”set” uid=”26389565@N00″ sid=”72157687501549472″ imgl=”flickr” shuffle=”1″ style=”gallery” row=”4″ grwidth=”1200″ grheight=”800″ size=”640″ num=”30″ shadow=”1″ border=”1″ align=”center” max=”100″]Information:
Hotel Locarno
Official Website
Via della Penna, 22
00186 Roma RM, Italy
Phone: +39 06 361 0841
