Speakeasies are all the rage these days, in part, we suspect, because of the frisson of the unexpected, especially the space itself once you manage to find it.
The owners behind Mr Simon have been assiduous in cloaking its precise location, admitting only to the fact that it’s set ‘inside a newly-opened restaurant in a very famous mall of the town in Udine’. A telephone reservation is required on a vintage white phone in the restaurant, following which one goes through the toilets, enters an employees-only broom closet, ring a bell, and the cement wall swings open.
The dimly lit interiors by Visual Display are a treat – a short concrete tunnel opens up into a deep blue nook furnished like the living room of the titular Mr Simon, a fictional fin de siècle botanist and alchemist, with blue velvet sofa, marble bar top, period prints, back-lit illustrated sconces, and vintage glass lamps.
Owner Simone Maion also tends the bar, shaking up cocktails from a stock of Italian vermouths, Japanese whiskeys and boubons – the lethal mix of choice being the Dietrich, a floozy concoction of candyfloss, London Dry Gin, tonka beans, dried orange and tonic water. If you’re abstaining for Lent, the small finger food menu comprises fresh oysters, wagyu and tartare burgers.
-
'‘I wanted to create a sanctuary' – discover a nature-conscious take on Balinese architectureUmah Tsuki by Colvin Haven is an idyllic Balinese family home rooted in the island's crafts culture
-
‘Concrete Dreams’: rethinking Newcastle’s brutalist pastA new project and exhibition at the Farrell Centre in Newcastle revisits the radical urban ideas that changed Tyneside in the 1960s and 1970s
-
Mexican designers show their metal at Gallery Collectional, Dubai‘Unearthing’ at Dubai’s Gallery Collectional sees Ewe Studio designers Manu Bañó and Héctor Esrawe celebrate Mexican craftsmanship with contemporary forms
-
2,734 metres above the sea, a northern Italian hotel ensures peak happinessDesigned by Senoner Tammerle Architekten, hotel Santnerpass Hütte offers the perfect off-grid retreat amid a Unesco-protected landscape
-
Retreat to Lecce’s reborn Palazzo Zimara, a baroque gem from 1557Architect Raffaele Centonze transforms the 16th-century Palazzo Zimara into an 18-room boutique hotel in the historic city centre
-
Stella D'Italia is a Renaissance haven that tells a story of FlorenceStella D’Italia is the Florentine boutique escape by local hoteliers Matteo Perduca and Betty Soldi to know
-
Experience Cardo Roma, the contemporary Roman holiday you didn’t know you neededCardo Roma, the inaugural property of Cardo Hotels, part of Marriott Bonvoy’s Autograph Collection, caters to those seeking to merge business and pleasure
-
La Pergola, one of Rome’s most coveted reservations, gets a sumptuous renovationJouin Manku re-envisions La Pergola, the acclaimed restaurant atop Rome Cavalieri, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel
-
Surrender to these six swim-perfect outdoor hotel poolsDiscover the best outdoor hotel pools, from Amankila’s aquatic triptych by Ed Tuttle to Nicolas Party’s swimmable artwork at Le Sirenuse
-
Serenity reigns at Porto Ercole’s La Roqqa hotelStudio Palomba Serafini has designed La Roqqa, a new hotel in Italy’s Porto Ercole, with retro nods, Tuscan flair and contemporary luxury
-
New hotel Palazzo Cordusio is a tribute to Milan’s enduring panachePalazzo Cordusio, Gran Meliá’s Milan hotel debut, is set within a neo-classical icon moments from some of the city’s best-known landmarks
