Bartisans: Matthieu Torrano

By Noelle Mateer

In this month's Bartisans, Matthieu Torrano, the charming Frenchman behind the bar at Modernista, talks parties, shots and why he never drinks anywhere else.

What’s your title at Modernista?

[Matthieu is stumped, turns around and asks colleague what his title is.] The godfather?

Wait, really?  

[Laughs.] The thing is we don’t really have titles here. We should probably have, but I’m just like… one of the Modernista people.

How crazy do your happy hour shots get?

The happy hour shots are very, very crazy. Sometimes a show is happening that’s really amazing, and the musicians are playing and playing and we have hundreds of people around all doing a variety of things… and then it’s happy hour shots and people are ordering thousands of shots at once. I think a lot of people are surprised because they taste good, actually. They go down really smoothly and you can drink them and drink them and drink them until you don’t remember.

What’s your favorite shot?

I’d say the Jagerita. It’s Jager, tequila and lime. I don’t like tequila, and I don’t like Jager – but I like this shot.

When you go out, where do you go?

I have no time to go out anywhere else! I think when I have time to go for a drink, it’s in France for example, when I’m on holiday and I’m going out to small bars there.

What’s the best part about working at Modernista?

Unlike a lot of other places, Modernista isn’t only a bar, and it isn’t only a restaurant – it’s a place where a lot of crazy things happen.

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