The brand new area on 108 Hollywood Highway, one road down from Antinori’s thriving Bar Leone, combines the hedonistic vibes of the Nineteen Seventies with Cuba’s historic cocktail tradition, which introduced a crossover between disco power and Daiquiris.
“Hong Kong has an enormous urge for food for high quality cocktails, but additionally having enjoyable. With Simone’s deep understanding of Cuba’s historic cocktail scene and my data of Hong Kong, we are able to’t wait to get began,” says Antinori, throughout an unique viewing of the brand new web site.
“Since I arrived in London in 2011, Simone has been an inspiration to me, so it’s like a dream to now be enterprise accomplice with somebody that I’ve seemed as much as for therefore lengthy.”
Montana is known as after a forgotten traditional within the cocktail guide of Membership de Cantineros – Cuba’s legendary bartender society of the early twentieth century. The bar itself sits at road stage with an inside mezzanine splitting the 50-cover venue. Coming into the bottom ground, company might be welcomed by the sense of a excessive power elevated Florida dive bar with a vibrant Latin funk soundtrack.
Upstairs might be seated service with spherical sofas and a temper wall depicting pictures and memorabilia of Cuban and worldwide popular culture icons of the Nineteen Seventies – suppose iconic well-known baseball gamers, Gloria Estefan and Muhammad Ali. Additional nods to Cuba’s affect are additionally evident within the workers’s conventional black tie uniform, silver tray service and legendary drinks.
“There are many bars all over the world with a Cuban theme, and plenty primarily based on the US within the Nineteen Seventies. However few are combining each ideas,” provides Caporale. “We needed to create a time machine to showcase the power of this era however with the fashionable methods and hospitality of in the present day.”
The menu, impressed by Cuba’s historic cocktail legacy, options twists on the classics. The El Presidente is married in a dulce de Leche-coated bottle whereas Montana’s Rum & Coke Bitter reimagines the Cuba Libre with Italian amaro, ginger falernum, cola syrup and lime.
The Santa Marta Daiquiri follows the unique recipe discovered within the 1930’s version of the Membership de los Cantineros – rum, lime, maraschino and a float of kirsch eau de vie, whereas its Piña Colada additionally pays tribute to the traditional, however with the addition of barbecued pineapple juice and toasted coconut and served as a playful slushy.
Its meals providing will function its signature dish, BBQ Pineapple Helado, which makes use of spiced rum-marinated pineapple which might be slowly roasted on a rotisserie by the bar and served with vanilla ice cream.
“Our objective is to marry collectively nice executed drinks with an incredible vibe. Montana needs to be a enjoyable expertise and we hope company will come for the drinks and keep for the service, the music and the rhythm of the venue,” provides Antinori.
“The essential factor for us is that, sure the meals and drinks might be scrumptious, however the vibes might be unapologetically enjoyable. We would like individuals to bop and get excited via the power of a terrific playlist and the legacy of Cuba’s cocktail heritage.”
Montana is because of open in summer season 2025 and might be open Tuesday – Saturday 6pm-late.
