1930

A Basement in Colonne di San Lorenzo, and What Happens Below Ground

The Colonne di San Lorenzo is one of Milan's more atmospheric corners, a stretch of Roman columns that has drawn late-night crowds for decades. The neighbourhood has always had a certain theatrical quality to it, which makes the recent arrival of 1930 into its underground feel less like coincidence and more like a natural fit. The bar now occupies the basement of Mag La Pusterla, a space that was once a historical Milanese café. Exposed brick vaults, low lighting, and the particular hush that comes from being below street level set the register before anyone orders a drink.

Milan's cocktail scene has developed along different lines than Rome or Florence. Where Camparino in Galleria draws on a century of Campari heritage and positions itself as a living monument to aperitivo culture, and where Moebius Milano operates with a more open, contemporary format, 1930 has staked its identity on controlled access and theatricality. The Prohibition-era reference embedded in the name is not mere decoration. It shapes the entire entry experience, the membership structure, and the sense that something deliberately sequestered is happening here.

The Membership Layer and How to Get In

Access to 1930 works on a two-tier system that remains consistent with how the bar has operated since its earlier location. A membership of 193 holders can book in advance, a number that is not accidental: the name of the bar, the year of American Prohibition's repeal, the capped community. Everyone else drinks at Mag La Pusterla upstairs, which shares ownership with 1930, and asks the staff whether space is available below. If it is, a host leads the guest to the entrance. The ritual is deliberate and unhurried.

This format places 1930 in a specific tier of the global bar scene, one where scarcity is structural rather than the result of popularity alone. Bars operating this way, whether through private membership, fixed-capacity formats, or invitation-adjacent entry, position themselves against a different competitive set than high-volume hotel bars or neighbourhood aperitivo spots. The tradeoff is that the experience depends entirely on what happens once you're inside. At 1930, that question has a consistent answer: the bar has appeared on the World's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2019, reaching number 20 in 2021 and holding a top-50 position as recently as 2024, when it ranked 50th. For comparable intensity in Italy's bar scene, Boeme in Rome and Gucci Giardino in Florence represent different but neighbouring points of reference.

The Menu Architecture: Kitchen Logic Applied to Bartending

The cocktail programme at 1930 is where the bar earns its ranking rather than simply inheriting it. Under co-owner and head bartender Benjamin Cavagna, the current à la carte menu is structured across five sections that mirror a restaurant's progression: from appetisers through to desserts. This is not a gimmick of presentation. It reflects a genuine commitment to applying culinary technique to liquid form, treating flavour sequencing, temperature, texture, and course logic as bartending problems worth solving.

The Tortellini in Brodo illustrates the approach with precision. A reinterpretation of the boulevardier built on nutmeg-infused whiskey, it arrives in hot chicken broth, directly referencing the pasta dish it is named after in both temperature and vessel. The Parmigiano Colada takes the tropical framework of a piña colada and introduces parmesan cheese foam, truffle oil, and pepper, each addition functioning as a seasoning decision rather than a novelty. These are not drinks designed to provoke; they are drinks designed to think through.

Broader context here is that the boundary between bar and kitchen has been dissolving across the top tier of the global cocktail scene for the past decade. Fermentation, fat-washing, sous vide infusion, and course-structured menus have migrated from fine dining into bars operating at this level. What distinguishes 1930 is that the culinary logic is applied within a framework that still values execution of the classics. The team handles both registers, the 21st-century kitchen-informed creations and the foundational drinks of an earlier era, without treating either as the lesser obligation.

For contrast within Milan, Nottingham Forest has long operated with its own experimental sensibility, and Backdoor 43 brings a different take on the low-profile format. The approaches are distinct, but they share a city that takes bar culture seriously enough to sustain several internationally recognised operations simultaneously. Globally, bars like Bar Leather Apron in Honolulu operate with comparable attention to craft and format discipline at the premium end of their respective markets.

Positioning and Peer Set

Since 2019, 1930 has held a consistent position inside the World's 50 Best Bars framework, which places it inside a peer set of perhaps two dozen bars globally that operate at this combination of creative ambition and restricted access. Its 2025 appearance in the Top 500 Bars ranking at number 158 reflects how the scoring systems weight different criteria year to year, but the sustained multi-year presence across both lists is the more meaningful signal. A Google rating of 4.3 across 396 reviews is, for a bar of this format and access level, a secondary data point rather than the primary credential.

The move to the Colonne di San Lorenzo neighbourhood represents a shift in geography that carries its own implications. The area is less central than some of Milan's established aperitivo corridors, which filters the audience further toward those who know specifically where they are going. That friction is consistent with the bar's operating logic.

Planning a Visit

For non-members, the practical path to 1930 runs through Mag La Pusterla, the café-bar above it on Via Giuseppe Ripamonti, 150, in the Colonne di San Lorenzo district. Arriving early in the evening, ordering at Mag, and speaking with the staff about downstairs availability is the recommended approach. Members of the 193-strong club book directly. There is no public phone number or website listed for advance reservations through standard channels, which is consistent with how the bar has always managed its exclusivity. The surrounding neighbourhood, given its proximity to the Roman columns and the bars and restaurants clustered nearby, offers reasonable alternatives if the basement is full on a given night.

For a broader view of where 1930 sits within Milan's drinking scene, the EP Club Milan bars guide covers the range of formats across the city. Those planning a full trip can also consult the Milan restaurants guide, the Milan hotels guide, the Milan wineries guide, and the Milan experiences guide for a complete picture.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I try at 1930?

The à la carte menu is structured in five courses mirroring a restaurant progression, so the most direct way to approach it is to treat it as you would a tasting menu: start at the beginning and follow the sequence. The Tortellini in Brodo and the Parmigiano Colada are two of the most documented drinks from the current menu, both representative of the bar's approach of applying culinary reasoning to classic cocktail frameworks. The bar also executes pre-Prohibition classics, so if you prefer a historically grounded drink, that option exists alongside the experimental programme. The team, given 1930's sustained World's 50 Best Bars recognition, is equipped to guide the choice.

What is the standout thing about 1930?

The membership structure is what makes 1930 different from virtually every other internationally ranked bar in Italy. With 193 members holding advance booking rights and all other guests subject to availability at the bar above, the access model is built into the identity of the place rather than being incidental to it. That structural scarcity, combined with a cocktail programme ranked in the World's 50 Best Bars since 2019 and peaking at number 20 in 2021, puts 1930 in a very small category globally. Milan, as a city, supports several strong bar programmes, but none with exactly this combination of format, ranking history, and culinary ambition.

What is the leading way to book 1930?

If you are not among the 193 members, advance booking is not available through public channels. The path in is through Mag La Pusterla, the bar above at Via Giuseppe Ripamonti, 150, where you order a drink and ask whether space is available in 1930 below. A host will escort you to the entrance if there is room. For members, the booking process operates separately through the club's own arrangements. There is no public phone number or website listed, which reflects the bar's deliberate approach to managing access.

Has 1930 always been in its current location, and why did it move?

No. 1930 relocated to its current basement space beneath Mag La Pusterla in the Colonne di San Lorenzo neighbourhood in 2025, having previously operated from a different address. The new venue retains the defining elements of the original, exposed brick, low lighting, restricted access, and the full cocktail programme under Benjamin Cavagna, while the shared ownership with Mag La Pusterla now provides the above-ground gateway through which walk-in guests make their approach. The World's 50 Best Bars ranking history, continuous since 2019, bridges the two locations as a single ongoing project.