The story of La Bodeguita del Medio Milano
Not just a historic venue, but a cultural bridge between Milan and Cuba. This page reorganizes the story of Bodeguita’s origins, the Menoni family and the spirit that still defines the venue today.
1981
Born in Milan
La Bodeguita begins
1991
New home in
Viale Col di Lana
Cuba
Music, culture
and identity
Alegría
A guiding idea
from day one
Walls full of photos and signatures, iconic cocktails, Cuban cuisine and nights when music lights up the room. Our motto is simple: Defender la Alegría.
A visual archive of Bodeguita
A curated selection of historic photos sent by the venue: faces, music, bar rituals, friendships and scenes that built Bodeguita’s memory.
Gualtiero Menoni
The most symbolic face in the story of Bodeguita in Milan.
The bar as a stage
The counter has always been a place for encounters, stories and relationships.
Mixes and gestures
Even the most informal archive images return to the ritual of the bar: hands, bottles, rhythm and attention to detail.
Live music
Music never played a secondary role: it shaped the atmosphere.
Conviviality
The dining room has always carried a warm, personal and lived-in feeling.
Toasts and friendships
The venue’s memory also lives in shared tables, smiles and gestures repeated over the years.
Faces of the venue
Many archive photographs convey the intimacy of a place experienced like home and as a meeting point.
Cuba in the room
Music, colors and stage presence have always kept the experience alive.
Behind the counter
The bar remains one of the most iconic places in the venue’s identity.
A shared memory
Bodeguita’s spirit emerges most clearly in the most spontaneous scenes: tables, encounters, stories and continuity.
Gualtiero and his people
Gualtiero remains central in the venue’s memory, especially in the warmest archive images of toasts, encounters and shared evenings.
Faces and relationships
Many photographs tell the story of a venue experienced like home, where people returned and built lasting ties.
Stage presence
Not only documentation: some images capture the theatrical, visual and nocturnal side of the experience.
Dedications and memory
The archive also includes graphic traces, memories and materials that reflect the affection built over the years.
Milan around the venue
Bodeguita’s story is also a Milan story: neighborhood, streets, arrivals and returns.
A story across generations
1981
Born in Milan
After many journeys to Cuba and after directly experiencing the spirit of Havana’s Bodeguita, Gualtiero Menoni opens La Bodeguita del Medio in Milan.
1991
A new home
The venue moves to its current location in Viale Col di Lana and expands its identity: not only a cocktail bar, but also a Cuban restaurant.
Following years
Loretta and the family dimension
Loretta contributes to both the dishes and the decorative soul of the venue, making the experience warmer, more personal and more distinctive.
Next generation
Stefano, Cuba and Ariadis
After finishing his studies, Stefano joins the family project, lives in Cuba for four years, deepens his knowledge of the island and expands the bar program. It is there that he meets Ariadis, now his wife.
Gualtiero Menoni’s dream
Gualtiero Menoni spoke about Cuba, its red soil and its people with unusual intensity. It was not superficial fascination: it was genuine love for a country, its character, its humanity and its energy.
He had begun travelling there when Fulgencio Batista was still in power, and continued even after the revolution. From those journeys came a clear decision: to bring to Milan a place capable of preserving and reinterpreting that spirit.
Not a copy, but a true tribute
When La Bodeguita del Medio Milano opens in February 1981, it is not meant to be a simple replica. It becomes a sincere tribute to Cuban culture, conviviality and a way of gathering around music, rum, food and human connection.
In a city that at the time had not yet embraced the idea of a Latin cocktail bar, Bodeguita quickly becomes a recognizable place: warm, original, lively and full of personality.
From bar to cultural restaurant
In 1991 the move to the current venue marks an important transformation. Bodeguita grows stronger and becomes not only a cocktail bar but also a Cuban restaurant.
With Loretta contributing to the dishes and the atmosphere, the venue takes on an increasingly family-driven character: every detail tells the story of a passion that was truly lived.
Stefano and the bridge between Milan and Cuba
When Stefano joins the family project, the story continues rather than freezes. His relationship with Cuba is direct: he lives there for four years, deepening his understanding of music, rhythm, habits, spirits and everyday culture.
That experience expands Bodeguita’s identity: more rum culture, more Caribbean knowledge and a more authentic way of sharing the story.
Music, rum, cuisine, identity
Over the years, La Bodeguita del Medio Milano has become much more than a restaurant or cocktail bar. It is a place where Cuba is expressed through music, food, spirits and hospitality.
Every evening, every table and every detail reflects one central idea: defending joy as a shared cultural experience.
“Defender la Alegría” is not just a slogan: it is the principle that has guided the team and the identity of the venue through the years.
A Cuban cultural landmark in Milan
After more than forty years of history, Bodeguita can be seen not only as a nightlife or dining destination, but as a cultural reference point: a place where Milan meets Havana through memory, music, rum and tradition.
Para siempre
In the original story from the old website, Gualtiero Menoni remains there symbolically, seated at his table, welcoming his people. That is the truest measure of Bodeguita: a place built with passion, relationships, memory and vision.