Drink Kong team to open new bar in Rome
The team behind Drink Kong in Rome have unveiled plans to open a new establishment in Italy’s capital this spring.
The original Drink Kong has been a fixture on the World’s Best Bars lists since its launch in 2018, placing 40 on the ranking last year.
Located in Rome’s historic Campo Marzio district, at Via dei Prefetti, the new bar is intended to be an evolution of the first Drink Kong rather than a replica or an expansion.
It is slated for an early March opening.
Founder Patrick Pistolesi said: “I’ve long felt the desire to bring Rome’s historic centre back to the forefront. This project is a projection where mixology meets design, music meets silence, tradition meets desire.
“Drink Kong Campo Marzio is a temple for those who believe a bar is not just a place to drink, but a universe to inhabit — among soft lights, velvet, jazz and digital vibrations.”
Designed by architect Roberto Antobenedetto (who is behind designs of other well-known venues in Rome such as Baccano and La Zanzara), the space will be split into three areas.
One section is the main room fitted with an eight-metre bar counter and full-height back bar. The second is a lounge area with a communal table, and the third was inspired by Nite Kong, an exclusive lounge that opened in 2023 within Drink Kong, and which is described as secluded and darker. It will feature elements of traditional Japanese architecture with sliding doors, cherry red accents and a circular fireplace.
As with the original Drink Kong, the new venue will also carry a ‘retro-futuristic’ aesthetic, but with it’s own soul, headlined by three-dimensional installation inspired by one of the most iconic scenes in the film Blade Runner.
The cocktail programme meanwhile is described as ‘refined back to basics with a contemporary edge’, where signatures from the original Drink Kong will be joined by well-executed classics, including a special dedication to Martinis.
Pistolesi added: “It’s our personal tribute to a Rome that seduces, a city that breathes beauty and contradiction, unafraid of being theatrical.
“Because today, true luxury lies in the authenticity of a gesture – the sound of ice, the voice that looks at you and says: ‘Welcome home’. It’s a toast, with a classic cocktail in hand, to a return to the future.”
Once open, the bar’s hours will run daily from 6.30pm to 2am.
Elsewhere from Europe’s cocktail scene, the region will get its own 50 Best list this year.
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