Behind a nondescript curtain, with no signs or hints to guide the way, lies a bar that doesn’t wish to be easily found. Its name is Scuro, and it lives in the heart of Bologna as a hidden enclave where conviviality mingles with a veil of mystery. The second soul of Allegra, the bar-and-trattoria on Via Galliera, it glows with the diffused light of a chandelier reminiscent of the moon, visible to guests from the balcony above.
Scuro Has a Secret Soul
“Scuro is a hidden bar — no signs, no clues. You stumble upon it almost by chance. That’s part of the magic: you climb the stairs, brush aside the curtain, and find yourself somewhere you didn’t expect. It’s not meant to select our guests, but to surprise them,” explains Andrea Panizzi, known to everyone as “il Pano,” a Bar Manager with more than twenty years in the trade who has turned secrecy into a playful trait. “Yes, I have plenty of secrets, but professionally I hide nothing. I am very open and I believe in passing knowledge on: everything I’ve learned through experience I always share with colleagues and with the younger generation,” he confides.
The Rise of Andrea Panizzi
His story begins far from here, in the dining rooms of Bologna’s venues, to the encounter with his mentor Giacomo Diamante, and the decisive leap in 2015 with Casa Minghetti, the experience that cemented his role among the city’s leading figures. “Like most of the old guard, I started out on the floor. Diamante, who brought me into Enjoy, was happy behind the bar while I darted between tables in those heady days of clubbing and lounge bars. That’s when I realized I wanted to be on the other side.” Then came Scotland, consultancy work, new openings, even a bar of his own in the suburbs, until the call from Lorenzo Costa arrived: Scuro had been open only a few months and was looking for a Bar Manager able to shape an evolving project.
The Vision That Shaped Scuro
Panizzi accepted, bringing with him a clear vision. “At the beginning, the concept was very technical, inspired by Tony Conigliaro and London bars with their avant-garde labs. I wanted to put the guest back at the center. Today Scuro feels like a friend’s home, where you meet people you know and others you don’t, and perhaps share an unrepeatable night with them.” The secret of the venue’s success — listed among the top ten new European cocktail bars by Tales of the Cocktail — lies beyond exclusivity. It reveals itself in the unexpected connections. A single communal table dominates the room, with twenty seats.
The Art of Being Together
Guests sit side by side without choosing, the seating arranged by the team to encourage encounters. Whoever walks in must accept this simple rule, a natural filter: only those willing to open up can truly experience the night. “It’s a dynamic that surprises visitors from other cities, used to more rigid settings. The table,” Panizzi says, “rules the room. That’s where conversations, laughter and complicity are born. The secret of Scuro is this magic sparked between strangers.” It’s an international atmosphere too, with guests from America, Japan, France, Eastern Europe finding themselves side by side. “In those moments, we become a little like conductors, creating warmth or kindness through a cocktail, which becomes a special bond between people.”
Unexpected Experiences with Andrea Panizzi
Unexpected moments abound. “Sometimes we like to add a touch of cinema: climbing onto the tables as we serve, asking guests to prepare shots for everyone. Not to mention the Boiler Room nights with Italian and international DJs, when stools vanish and everyone stands.” A theatricality that amplifies the quality of the cocktails, which remain a given — though never the main point. Here too, the unspoken is a constant presence: the invisible that Panizzi pursues in the perfect temperature, the texture of a drink, its dilution. “I believe the success of a cocktail doesn’t lie so much in the ingredient list, but in what remains unspoken: the way a mix is twisted and tailored to the guest. Often our menus are cryptic, because we prefer to tell the story of each drink directly to our guests.”
The Past and Present of Andrea Panizzi
His most treasured memory is tied to a great classic. A Martinez at the Stravinskij Bar in Rome, “when Massimo D’Addezio was still there. It was a late spring evening, and I was surrounded by actresses and famous faces,” he recalls. “It’s the cocktail that made me fall in love, and it remains the one I carry with me everywhere. In any bar I’ve worked, there’s always a variation of it.”
A memory entwined with the present of Scuro, a bar nourished by rituals, gestures, and secrets shared with those who step inside. Ultimately, the philosophy is simple: “We’re happy to serve a Spritz or a Porn Star Martini, as much as a cocktail you won’t find anywhere else. What matters is that, if you come to Scuro, you experience a unique moment of conviviality. What brings us joy is the people — the cocktails come after. We all know how to make them, but what remains is the shared experience.”
And so, every evening before stepping on stage, the Bar Manager performs his ritual. A few breaths, almost a quick yoga. Then he smiles, because “Anything can happen in life, but ours is a beautiful job.”
The article first appeared on Coqtail – for fine drinkers. Order your copy here
Images credits of Alberto Blasetti x Coqtail – all rights reserved
