Naples is increasingly establishing itself as one of the hubs of national mixology. Alongside the companies that have been at the forefront for many years, brands are emerging that are making themselves known for the quality of their mixology and more. This is the case of ScottoJonno, a multi-storey project hosted inside the Galleria Principe, which houses a cocktail bar, led by bar manager Mirko Lamagna from September 2024, and a Michelin-starred gourmet restaurant, signed by chef Marco Ambrosino.
The project
ScottoJonno It's a project of Luca Iannuzzi, Neapolitan entrepreneur known in the city also for his cocktail bar with kitchen Historical Archive and for the Nabilah beach club, located in Bacoli (NA). His goal, when he invests in a place, is not exclusively commercial, but also and above all cultural. In this case, the idea was to give back to the city what at the time was a café chantant, a meeting place for literary people, who met here to discuss culture. The place, at the time of Vincenzo Scotto Jonno, was recovered thanks to an important work carried out in collaboration with the artist Eugenio Tibaldi.
The result is an art deco place, where you can see original period furnishings and highly valuable details, which recall the Belle Époque. If on the ground floor there is a café, bistro and cocktail bar, on the first floor there is the gastronomic restaurant Sustànza, where you can taste the cuisine of chef Marco Ambrosino, recognized by the Michelin Guide since February 2024. The restoration work did not only concern the interior spaces, but also those outside, since the place is located inside the Galleria Principe di Napoli, built between 1873 and 1883 and abandoned since the First World War. Until 2021, the ScottoJonno spaces were home to the Municipal Treasury of the Banco di Napoli, which had completely 'clouded' the historical beauty of the rooms.
Luca Iannuzzi he did not only want to restore the architectural spaces, but also the activities once offered within them. This explains the choice to make available to guests a widespread library of 1,800 volumes and a cultural and musical program, which every week features publishing houses, authors and musicians.
The cocktail bar
It is on the ground floor of ScottoJonno, in the spaces shared with the café and bistro, the cocktail bar counter takes centre stage, led by the bar manager since September Mirko Lamagna and head bartender Angelo Angelotti.
With the new course, mixing has embodied a very innovative philosophy and at the same time anchored in the past.
“For ScottoJonno I thought of a mix of research. How could it be otherwise, after all” said bar manager Mirko Lamagna. “The protagonists are international ingredients: from tea to resin, passing through yuzu and fermented products, such as koji and kombucha”.
The menu features twelve signature recipes, truly unique, which, with the arrival of the laboratory, could acquire unique nuances. This is particularly the case with theOld Book, a twist on the Old Fashioned with an old book aroma, given through the enfleurage technique (dating back to Ancient Egypt). Another drink that well photographs Mirko's work It's Kandinsky. The recipe, born from the bartender's passion for the Russian painter, represents a canvas in which the bar manager used fruit cubes to reproduce the bright colors and perfect geometry of the painter's works.
The techniques used, however, also range beyond the field of mixing, to borrow secrets from the world of pastry making, cooking and beyond.
The kitchen
The kitchen of ScottoJonno speaks only one language, that of Mark Ambrosino, which comes in two different shades: the Michelin-starred restaurant Sustànza and the bistro. At the restaurant, the Mediterranean is explored not only on a culinary level, but also on an anthropological, cultural and sociological level.
“In choosing ingredients and techniques I also draw inspiration from the East, from which come fermentations, koji and miso, which marry with Mediterranean garum, colature and preserves”.
The result? Extremely researched dishes, told à la carte and in freehand paths. An example? Pasta and Bread Soup fermented, hazelnuts, anchovies, Mediterranean oil, one of the chef's signature dishes, who in this case enhances (and it is not the only case) only poor ingredients. The bread is fermented and mixed with the fish stock, to create the sauce for the Mischiato Potente pasta, a mix of seven different shapes produced by Pastificio dei Campi di Gragnano, completed with a broth made with typical Mediterranean plants, marinated anchovies, hazelnut mayonnaise and anchovy sauce. Even the desserts are no exception. Pastry chef Federico Andreini has developed, a few years ago, a personal chocolate recipe, based on fermented wheat. The reason? “Chocolate is not a Mediterranean ingredient and we wanted to recreate our own version.”
At ScottoJonno, however, the cuisine proposal becomes simpler and is included in the small deli menu, which can be ordered from noon to midnight. The scene is taken by bistro proposals, such as tacos, friselle or tartare, which do not lose sight of research, in this case focused on anecdotes and Neapolitan places. An example is the Ostricaro fisico, a tasting based on oysters, oregano oil and papaccella juice (a Neapolitan variety of round pepper), which takes its name from an honor that King Ferdinand II of Bourbon gave to the most deserving oystermen of the Santa Lucia market.
Who is Mirko Lamagna?
Born in 1988 in Naples, Mirko Lamagna He began working in the hospitality industry at the age of 17. A few years later he developed a passion for mixology. After a bartending course, he worked his way up as a barback and bartender, which anticipated the position he would hold a few years later: bar manager. His ambition led him to become a trainer first for third parties and then for his own school: the Mixology Lab academy. Since September 2024, he has been the bar manager of ScottoJonno.
