World’s 2020 leading bartender Tato Giavannoni in residence at pop-up that is open from now until the end of January 2022
Dubai, UAE: Argentina is well-known for its wine, but its Buenos Aires cocktail scene is second to none. World renowned Argentinian bartender and bar owner Renato ‘Tato’ Giovannoni, founder of Florería Atlántico in Buenos Aires, will be shaking up his signature cocktails and offering a unique culinary experience at Iris Dubai, for just three months.
Creating the ultimate free-spirit and sensory experience, Tato and his team will take over one of the four bars located within Iris Dubai, reflecting the synergy between both brands and their values towards innovation and free-spirit.
Florería Atlántico was established in 2013, and is a florist, wine shop and an award-winning hidden bar. When the sun sets, a refrigerator door opens stairs, which lead to an atmospheric basement space located beneath the flower and wine shop. Guests will soon discover the celebrated underground home to inventive cocktails, which features shelving stacked with bottles, a peeling ceiling, and art on the wall, decorated in the style from the first decades of the 20th century.
Buenos Aires is a port city that has been shaped by immigrants from across the globe, and those who have never travelled there may not be aware that the city also has a rich cocktail history, dating back over 100 years. Florería Atlántico is essentially a love letter to Argentina as it is the history, flavours, and tastes that were introduced and relished by migrants between the 1900s to 1920s that the bar celebrates.
At the legendary bar’s pop up within Iris Dubai, diners can enjoy a cocktail menu that is divided into the countries which provided the largest immigration flows to Argentina during that period. The menu will clearly explain every story behind each state-of-the-art drink, which have all been carefully created by ingredients that reflect the different palettes and flavours of settlers at the turn of the century.
Guests can expect the Yamanas, from tierra del fuego Argentina, the Ostende, or meaning “Far East” in Flemish, inspired by the Belgium colony, the Colonia Lujan, enthused by the presence of the Japanese community in Argentina, the El Dorado, stemming from the German, Swedish and Danish families arriving by boat to Puerto Piray, the Villa Elsia, which has used the Vallesans, Piedmontese Savoyard colony as its muse, and lastly, the Valcheta, reflecting the Syrian and Lebanese immigration movement to settle in the southeast of Río Negro.
A similar approach is evident in the food menu. At the pop-up, guests can relish in the unique flavours that are Argentina at every opportunity and devour dishes such as the succulent grilled squid, ’whole fish of the day’ which is grilled on the BBQ with caper butter, “Argentinian style” steak on the grill, mouthwatering seafood on the BBQ, and a delicious panzanella salad. Before a flourishing finish, diners can choose from either the cachaça flambé pineapple, served with fresh homemade ricotta or the renowned dulce de leche crème caramel.
Its distinctive elucidation of time and place took Florería Atlántico to the World’s 50 Best Bars list in the same year it opened. In 2019, the bar took home third place in the esteemed ranking, making it the first ever Latin American bar to make the top three. In 2020, it was crowned the Best Bar in South America, and its mastermind Tato Giovannoni, the Altos Bartenders’ Bartender 2020.
Renato ‘Tato’ Giovannoni himself is the embodiment of the modern international bartender. In 2019, he spent roughly 40 weeks abroad, travelling between pop-ups, guest shifts and masterclasses, taking his brand of drinks craft to five continents. Through his travelling spirit, he constantly learns from other bartenders, whilst discovering new ingredients, which ultimately make his drinks the best in the world.
Now, this spirit is in Dubai.