20-05-2025
Lorenzo Antinori and Simone Caporale to launch Montana, a bar inspired by Cuban soul and Miami disco in Hong Kong
Montana will open on Hollywood Road with live rhythms, rotisserie pineapple and razor-sharp classics from the minds behind Bar Leone and Sips
Montana's concept wasn't sparked by a business plan, but by a bottle of tequila. 'It wasn't Lorenzo, Simone and a bottle of tequila,' recalls Simone Caporale. 'It was a bottle of tequila… then Lorenzo and Simone.'
The Italian duo—Caporale, best known for Barcelona's Sips, and Lorenzo Antinori of Hong Kong's Bar Leone—first met more than a decade ago in London. 'We met in London,' says Antinori. 'Simone was at the Artesian and I was working at the Savoy.' They stayed in touch over the years, crossing paths through the industry and rekindling their connection in Madrid during the 2024 50 Best Bars ceremony. That's when the idea for Montana emerged, rooted in mutual admiration and a shared obsession with hospitality. 'Whatever we do, Lorenzo and I, we always do it based on what we feel in the chest,' says Caporale. 'Feelings don't lie.'
Their new project, Montana, channels the energy of 1970s Cuban migration to Florida—a cultural blend of rhythm, rum and resilience. 'The Cuban cocktail culture created hundreds of cocktails that are not that famous, but they're delicious,' Caporale explains. 'But there isn't a bar in the world that tells the real story of the Cuban migration to Florida in the 1970s and '80s. So we said, 'Why don't we do that?''
Above Simone Caporale and Lorenzo Antinori bring over a decade of friendship, craft and rhythm to Montana, their first Hong Kong project together
