Credit: All imagery Fred Siggins

“One of the reasons we picked Shanghai is because it’s so international and the bar scene is impressive. There are some top industry personalities here too,” says Antinori, who previously held roles at The American Bar at The Savoy and London’s Dandelyan.

“Shanghai is also geographically very closeto Hong Kong and there’s a historical connection between the two cities. I’d say Shanghai’s bar scene is the best in mainland China and certainly the most competitive.

“One of my business partners’ family is from here too and that’s such an important point – to find someone who understands the scene you’re opening in and understands the mission.”

Following the First Opium War, Britain claimed Hong Kong Island in 1842 and subsequently developed it as a deep-water port for the colony. That same year, under the 1842 Treaty of Nanjing, Shanghai was opened to foreign trade. However while Shanghai came under communist rule in the late 1940s, Britain ruled Hong Kong until 1997 which ingrained different cultures and styles of hospitality.

“Of course Hong Kong is a more international place than Shanghai so there are some differences in culture,” adds Antinori. “For example in Hong Kong people are happy to lean or perch anywhere they can whereas in Shanghai it’s unusual not to be seated in a bar, so we’ve had to explain this to some guests because it’s not part of the culture.

“But most of all it was the curiosity of the consumers. I think having accolades generated interest and now I’m happy with how they’ve embraced the Leone ethos. People are coming in just to have a good time, they aren’t necessarily studying the menu and asking about the practices, which is exactly why we opened the first bar in Hong Kong.”

Bar Leone isn’t the only Hong Kong brand to open in Shanghai. Penicillin and Coa, two household names in Asia, also opened larger secondary sites in Shanghai in the past 12 months and both venues, unlike their Hong Kong originals, are split across multiple levels – as is Leone.

Bar Leone Shanghai is therefore twice the size, more or less, of the Hong Kong site. Such is the consistency of décor that upstairs guests could be forgiven for forgetting which city they’re in, while downstairs a custom-built horseshoe bar takes centre stage, distinguishing it from the original space.

Antinori adds: “I’ve been very impressed with the infrastructure of Shanghai and the speed at which the bar has been put together, especially compared with Hong Kong.

“It’s also been easier from our perspective because we’ve already learned from the mistakes we made in Hong Kong. For example, we knew exactly what lighting we wanted and how to achieve it in the Shanghai space. One thing I didn’t think about was our social media because suddenly we’re balancing multiple venues from the same account.”

A common temptation when opening a second venue under the same name is to find a point of difference, but Antinori is aware of preserving a flourishing brand.

“Quite often bars have different concepts on different floors. But everyone coming here wants to experience Bar Leone so across both levels the offering is 90% the same. It’s just that upstairs is a bit darker and moodier and downstairs is lighter and a little more casual,” says Antinori.

“There are some signatures on the menu exclusive to Shanghai and the same for Hong Kong, but our own classics sit across both such as the Yuzu Negroni, Olive Oil Sour and the Filthy Martini. Both venues are built from classics but we then try to swap in some ingredients to make our own creations.

“People might see this as playing safe, but ultimately it’s a financial decision because we’re providing what we know people want, not what we think they’ll want.

“If I want to see Bar Leone scale up, this Shanghai sight is the first exercise to see if we can make a bar slightly different to Hong Kong but with the same quality and ethos.”

One of the big questions, which will be answered at The World’s 50 Best ceremony in Milan this October, is if both venues could make it onto the list. Not since the original Milk & Honey in New York City closed in 2013 has two bars of the same name been in the same ranking, albeit it under different ownership.

Antinori concludes: “I think the pressure is less on the ranking but more on the expectation of the customer. Because of the accolade of number one in the world people are willing to travel to the bar and wait because ultimately it’s become a destination bar. But now the scary part is delivering on expectations.”