A beginner's guide to Italian apertivo in London

Pre-dinner drinks just got a whole lot better thanks to this Italian tradition
Frankie McCoy23 March 2017

When it comes to mixing booze with food, the Italians really do a brilliant job. Besides the glories of Super Tuscans and tagliatelle, the European epicures also have aperitivo hour: a version of happy hour far classier than half-price cosmos at All Bar One.

Instead of knocking back syrupy vodka on an empty stomach, aperitivo hour involves nibbling on something small but entirely delicious — a few slivers of salami, an espresso-sized portion of risotto, a shaving or two of ripest Parmesan — as you sip your first negroni of the evening.

‘The aperitivo is a big part of the Italian lifestyle, a special and very sociable moment to unwind at the end of the day and meet with friends’, says Alberto Rossetti, head chef at the Baglioni Hotel. He’s just launched a springtime aperitivo hour for the hotel’s Brunello Bar terrace, where every cocktail or glinting glass of wine served between 5 and 7pm is accompanied by a complimentary Italian snack, such as cured meat or cheese.

The Italian word aperitivo, say Marco Tassone and Ilaria Giovannini, owners of Bethnal Green watering hole The Hive on Vyner Street, ‘roughly translates as “to open”, although it is now a by-word for “the drinks and snacks we share with friends in a relaxed environment”’.

A health-focused café during the day, the Hive extends the sense of wellbeing with its evening alcohol offering, with all-natural wines coming with a vegetarian aperitivo recommendation. That translates to a suggestion of farinata, an unleavened chickpea-flour pancake typically served on the ridiculously gorgeous Ligurian coast in north-west Italy, when you order the velvety, flowery Nebbiolo, or the proposal of some olive oil-lathered artichokes to go with a glass of plummy Teroldego.

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At Obicà, the focus is largely on the creamiest, gooiest Italian mozzarella that can be tracked down. But there’s also a new ‘live aperitivo’ hour when, alongside the music, you can order a punchy Italian cocktail (the smoky, tart mescal negroni awakens your taste buds pre-dinner) and be rewarded with a free taglierino. This is a board of prosciutto, mozzarella, salami, artichokes, olives, nduja and two types of bruschetta. And the best thing? You’re not going to get tipsy as quickly. Rossetti points out that because ‘alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream more slowly when consumed with food’, you can ‘enjoy drinks with your friends for longer while trying lots of Italian dishes at the same time, without repercussions the next day’.

More food, more booze and minimal hangover? Bellissimo.

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