Bar Leone’s Lorenzo Antinori on meeting Hollywood stars at the Oscars after-party

When you’re already the best bar in the world, where do you go next? To the Oscars, of course.

Several weeks ago, Bar Leone’s founder, Lorenzo Antinori, took to Instagram in a sharp tuxedo to announce that he and his bar had been picked to pour libations at the Governors Ball, otherwise known as the official Oscars after-party.

Now back in town after the event, Antinori was finally able to let loose about what was undeniably a career high point for the self-professed film buff.

“It was incredible,” he says, breathlessly. “I was so excited, not only because it’s a brilliant event, but also because I just love movies. My grandparents were in the movie industry in Italy, and as you can see in Bar Leone, there are a lot of movie references on the walls.”

He gestures to the posters and memorabilia surrounding him, many of which belonged to his family, once hanging on the walls of their home in Rome before being shipped to Hong Kong to adorn what The World’s 50 Best Bars decided was the No 1 watering hole on the planet in 2025.

It was this love of cinema that spurred Antinori to reach out to Don Julio, the drinks sponsor of the Governors Ball, last summer, knowing that it was in the process of preparing for this year’s edition. Coincidentally, the tequila brand was also preparing to ask him, and so the conversation took off. By January this year, the Italian mixologist found himself in New York, shaking up a few cocktails for the organisers to try.