A quiet lion of Italian hospitality, a craftsman of precision in the glass, a master of details: Gregory Camillò has ridden the finest waves of Italian and international bartending over the past decade without ever needing to shout about it. His path has taken him from Massimo D’Addezio’s Chorus Café in Rome to Soho’s Bar Termini during its golden years, and even to one of Asia’s finest, Jigger and Pony in Singapore. For the past two years he has returned to his roots at the Jerry Thomas group — where he once served as head bartender — now steering operations as Group Operation Manager.
Today, Camillò oversees both the historic Jerry Thomas Speakeasy and its younger sibling, Jerry Thomas Bar Room, which he built from scratch in the heart of Trastevere.
Where Hospitality Sets the Tone Jerry Thomas Bar Room
Speak of Gregory and one word inevitably surfaces: hospitality. Warm wooden interiors, a bar counter designed like a train trolley, a vast mirror that amplifies the intimacy of the room — Jerry Thomas Bar Room exudes comfort in every detail. “I didn’t choose to fall in love with hospitality, it was a calling,” says Camillò. “I was born and raised in a small Calabrian town where, especially in summer, hospitality is in your skin. As a child I realised I loved serving others’ enjoyment — helping my grandmother and aunts prepare long lunches, watching the gestures, the jars of preserves, these little kitchen brigades. I have two passions: recipes and conversation. And people, with a drink in hand, open up even more.”
Gregory Camillò Opens the Doors to Jerry Thomas
The menu is deliberately lean: a “Champagne Martini”, an impeccable “Bloody Mary”, a “Champagne Cocktail”, and a handful of other classics, familiar or half-forgotten, all tuned to perfection and served in the right glass. But the true magic lies in the hidden details — like the soundtrack of “Murder on the Orient Express” in the bathroom, or coasters designed so that every glass sits precisely centred. “Running a bar like this is like putting on a continuous show,” Camillò explains.
“It’s theatre, it’s film — you need the right crew to build the bones of a place that feels warm. My obsession with details is well known, but they’re what set the temperature. Literally — the climate of the room — and figuratively, the warmth of the spirit. With Bar Room I had fun: it was my first chance to create a bar from the ground up, built as I believe true hospitality should be.”
An Elegant Way to Drink in Trastevere
The playlist matters, the glassware matters — but above all, “It’s the people, both us and our guests, who make a bar.” In its selective aesthetic, Jerry Thomas Bar Room remains remarkably versatile: the perfect spot for a first date, but also the kind of place you want to return to every day. And its greatest secret? Communication — or rather, the lack of it. “Like with the Speakeasy, we let word of mouth do the work. It’s the mystery of a wooden door in Trastevere’s nightlife that draws people in.”
Only two years after opening, the Bar Room has already become a neighbourhood institution — an apparently inaccessible bar that is, in fact, open to all. A bar more discreet than secret. “To be in Trastevere, one of Rome’s most vibrant quarters, and to offer an elegant alternative — it’s a privilege,” says Gregory. “We live in symbiosis with the neighbourhood, as if this little alley has hosted us forever.”
Gregory Camillò and the Olive-Press Trick
And then comes the final confession, with a wry smile: “For our Dirty Martini, we don’t use brine, but the juice from olives crushed with my grandmother’s wooden press, the same she used for making ‘sottolio’. We have thousands of euros’ worth of high-tech equipment, but the answer was an old wooden tool from Calabria.” The music flows, the bartenders crack jokes, and the coupe glass fills again with Martini — secretly, as if by magic. To sit at Jerry Thomas Bar Room is to step inside a hushed bubble. The moment you walk out into the street, you already want to return.
The article first appeared on Coqtail – for fine drinkers. Order your copy here
Images credits Alberto Blasetti x Coqtail – all rights reserved
