A drink with Salvatore Calabrese, the record-breaking bartender who conquered London
21st June 2017
Share This Article:
If there is something that Salvatore Calabrese’s story has taught me, it is that sometimes bad luck clears the most unexpected paths to success.
Mr Calabrese nostalgically imparts his very own fairy-tale, as we sit on a vintage sofa opposite the Manhattan Room, in one of the bars he helped design. Over the speakers, Marvin Gaye’s voice guides us in this trip back to the 1960s, when Salvatore’s journey started...
As a child, Salvatore had to give up on his dream to become a captain of a ship due to an injury. From then on, he spent his days quenching the thirst of foreign tourists on the Amalfi Coast, hungry for a taste of La Dolce Vita.
Some 50 years later, in 2017, Salvatore is an award-winning, record-breaking bartender. He left his sunny hometown for London, where he is currently residing.
"My career started with an accident," he says, describing his first job as a bartender at the Dukes Hotel.

- Article continues below...
- More stories you may like...
- Book Review: Snack Hacks by Claudia Christian
- The secrets behind the UK's most famous dishes
- Restaurant Review: Honest Burgers, Tottenham Court Road
You might also like...
People who read this also read...
TRENDING
TRENDING CHANNELS
CONTRIBUTOR OF THE MONTH