50
Milan
With an unpublished address and invite-only access, 1930 is one of Milan's better-kept cocktail secrets. The lucky few to gain entry through the unassuming shopfront step back into another time and another world. Prohibition style pervades, with desk lamps casting a warm glow on brick walls and statement wallpaper. The 1930s furniture is prevalent with stylish touches like an old-timey gramophone and manual cash register present. But the sharply dressed staff turn out cocktails that go beyond rehashed pre-Prohibition drinks.
Co-owner and bartender Benjamin Cavagna and team develop conceptual menus that dig deep into ideas. The current menu Play centres around sport with cocktails such as Tennis that expresses the sport’s duality, or Shaolin, that transports guests to an Indian monastery where this ancient Chinese martial art is practised. Notwithstanding its hush-hush nature, 1930 is still packed nightly with in-the-know locals, clued-up visiting aficionados and roving industry folk.