Nick Favaro talks 10 years of Bar Torino

The Hendrick’s Curious Gin Trail is back at Adelaide Fringe right now, with 10 great bars to visit showing just how good the cocktail scene is in Adelaide right now.

10 years of service is a long time in the hospitality business — crossing that 10 year mark moves any bar into the institution category. And that, folks, is precisely the milestone that Adelaide’s Bar Torino chalks up in 2025.

As bar manager Nick Favaro tells Hendrick’s ambassador James MacRae — better known as Wee James — in the interview below, Bar Torino offers a little something for everyone, whether you’re in need of a quick bite, an aperitif (Martinis, anyone?) or if you’re settling in for the evening.

JAMES: How long has Bar Torino been here?

NICK: We’ve been here for 10 years now in about a month. So it’s pretty exciting, got a big year ahead.

I’ve got two fantastic cocktails here. Can you tell me a little bit about them?

Using the Hendrick’s Flora Adora, it’s quite herbaceous, you can smell it, it’s delicious, it’s quite an intense bit of musk, we’re using creme de violette, a bit of citrus, and coriander oil, and as well as a coriander dust.

Quite delicious.

It’s a very, very perfumed beverage. And then we have Hendrick’s Lunar here, which is our grapefruit oleo, a grapefruit verjus, bit of salt, and then a salted grapefruit meringue on top.

I could eat that with a spoon all day, love it. Tell me about the Fringe period, and how busy is it for you guys?

It’s pretty busy. People come in before and after. You never get out early when that happens. having that amount of people down there, they’re still roaming Hutt Street. It’s good having Latteria across the road as well — it’s just a bit busier on the street, which means it’s more of a hub now. We’ve been here for a while and I dare say the boys from Latteria are going to be there for a while as well, which is a bit more of a community, neighbourhood feeling.

This was my second ever bar that I visited in Adelaide, back in 2018. Fell in love with it straight away. But for someone who’s never been here, how would you describe it?

It’s all about how you want to take it. You plan your own adventure here. So we have a menu for people with snacks. You can share a full dinner, do a Feed Me. You can come for a cocktail, you can come for a bottle of wine, champagne, oysters. It’s entirely how you want to do it.

The Curious Gin Trail — obviously, we have you guys here, right next to Latteria. On a night out, what would be your start point? And maybe your finishing venue?

Usually you’re starting at Latteria or you’re finishing at Latteria a lot of the times, or Memphis Slim’s. Hains & Co., we always go through there. I love it. It’s a consistent venue that never changes. You know what you’re to get which is amazing.

And in the East End, go to Roxie’s when it’s nice and a hot day like today, and the misters are going — it’s fantastic. Where would I finish? Yeah, Latteria, but honestly the hidden gem is always going to be Proof. They’ve been there for a long time and those boys do it better than anyone else.

Grape-Lova

Ingredients

• 60ml Hendrick's Lunar Gin
• 30ml grapefruit verjus
• 30ml grapefruit oleo
• 20ml fresh lime juice
• torched foam

That Floral One

Ingredients

• 45ml Hendrick’s Flora Adora Gin
• 15ml creme de violette
• 30ml coriander oleo
• 15ml ginger syrup
• 25ml fresh lime juice