Andrea Aprea is a well-known name in the Milanese gastronomic scene. Neapolitan, after years of training spent in some of the most important kitchens in Italy and abroad, he built his latest restaurant project on the top floor of the Luigi Rovati Foundation, in a magnificent historic building that houses the Foundation Art Museum. It's also there next door his Bistro, with a dedicated cocktail bar. Behind the beautiful counter – designed like all the spaces by the architect Flaviano Capriot the young man is found Alejandro Pellejero, two-time winner of the championship Pan-American Bartender and recognized in 2017 and 2018 between Top 15 Best World Flairbartenders. He, a Uruguayan of Italian origin, takes care of the cocktail menu of this informal place where drinks and cuisine dialogue in a single space.
Andrea Aprea's café bistro
The architectural inspiration is that of the cafés of cosmopolitan and bourgeois Milan of the early twentieth century, with this iconic semi-circular counter that welcomes customers from breakfast to dinner. Inside, the enchanting designer glass space creates an informal but elegant atmosphere, but the real gem is the outdoor space, in the dehor overlooking the secret garden of the Palace. One of those hidden corners of Milan that play the precious role of giving life to places that leave the urban frenzy outside, while you sip a good cocktail enjoying the greenery.
Alejandro, can you tell us a little about your story?
“I am Urugayan of Italian origin, and I have been in Italy for eight years. I come from a bartending tradition: both my grandfather and my uncle were bartenders, so I grew up in this sector from an early age, and it has always been a great passion for me. I competed all over the world for four years and then last year, at the opening, I arrived at Andrea Aprea's bistro“.
How is the cocktail proposal structured?
“It is designed above all for aperitif time. The chef, Andrea Aprea, we care that every moment has a separate proposal, lunch, tea time, aperitif and dinner. It is not a drink menu designed for actual food pairing, but we have cocktails in which the ingredients of the dishes are found."
How does the aperitif work?
“The drinks are accompanied by tapas, which change often: cashews, olives, polenta sticks, tapioca chips, Neapolitan taralli. One of our flagships, for example, is the food pairing proposal created for the Conte in Ferie cocktail: a bite of toasted bread, in which the flavor of the anchovies is balanced by the sweetness of the banana puree, accompanies a twist on the Negroni which uses Red Vermouth and Bitter as a base and, instead of gin, sees 18 year old Flor de Cana rum infused for four days in the banana peel. To give an aromatic note, Braulio Riserva is then added.".
Can you tell me a little about the cocktail menu?
“It is divided into two parts: the contemporary one, with drinks of my own creation, and then the classic one. Among my signatures I wanted to pay homage to the Italian aperitif: I took typical ingredients of this moment and structured them with a more original way of offering them. For example, there is the Campari Punch, with a red fruit infusion and a jelly to eat before drinking the drink made of Aperol, pink grapefruit, pink pepper and lemon zest. Or there is the Sarto Sardo, made with a Sardinian gin infused with rosemary and bergamot liqueur, yellow Chartreuse, lime and tonic water with oak extract: a mix between a gin and tonic and a The Last word”.
What's your favorite cocktail?
“The American. I find it has a beautiful balance between bitters and vermouth.”
And your heart spirit?
“Whiskey, without a doubt.”
