Milan has gained a room that feels both hidden and inevitable. Behind a teal green door on Via Borsieri 32, Bob The Other Side has opened as the newest chapter of the Chinese Box Group, the creative duo behind some of the city’s most recognisable hospitality landmarks including Chinese Box, Bob Isola, Agua Sancta and Percento Lab. This new project lives beside Bob yet breathes differently, offering an atmosphere shaped for focus, intimacy and a slower way of experiencing mixology. It is a room designed to connect Milan with the wider world, not through spectacle, but through attention.
A Room Apart
The Other Side feels like an atelier of light and shadow. The space is intimate, wrapped in warm woods, bronzed reflections and soft calibrations of light that draw the gaze toward a striking hexagonal counter designed by Studio SGSM. The bar feels almost sculptural, and with only 35 seats and room for up to 50 during private events, it encourages stillness, a feeling of being invited into a quieter corner of the city. Here, guests settle into an atmosphere that invites them to savour both the drink and the moment.
A Space for Precision and Dialogue
The bar’s creative lead is Cesar Araujo, who has been the face of Bob since 2018 and guided it into international recognition. Here, in close dialogue with Percento Lab, he unveils six new signatures that echo Bob’s most beloved drinks while refining them with sharper, contemporary profiles.
- Hidden Love with N°3 London Dry Gin, tomato and pomegranate cordial, Percento tonic and a scent of Timut pepper
- Ray of Illusions with 1615 Pisco Puro Quebranta, black sesame distillate, Tio Pepe Fino Sherry, apple, matcha and CO₂
- Holy Water with Woodford Reserve Bourbon Whiskey, five-spice honey, citric, coconut milk and Lapsang
- Drunk in Ukiyo with Roku Japanese Gin fat washed with miso and shiso, toasted rice vermouth and Campari infused with toasted cacao beans
- Deepest Kiss with Beluga Vodka, ají amarillo distillate, yuzu honey, citric, Champagne and CO₂
- Old Time Bob with Michter’s Bourbon Whiskey, Vecchia Romagna Tre Botti, toasted pumpkin seeds, orgeat syrup and Essential Tiki Room N°1
Food That Belongs to the Glass
The food follows the same philosophy. The menu does not stand beside the cocktails, it moves with them. Pata negra, Italian caviar, Irish meats, Iberian cured cuts and a pork katsu sando shape the savoury offering, accompanied by a thoughtful vegetarian selection. This is food designed to resonate with the drink, to complete it without overwhelming it.
A Culinary Extension of the Experience
The kitchen works with the same attention that defines the bar. Plates are shaped as extensions of the liquid narrative, combining raw materials of high quality with a restrained, contemporary touch. The offering ranges from refined Iberian and Japanese influences to smaller sharable bar-bites, creating a sense of continuity between drinking and dining that belongs very much to this room alone.
Guest Shifts That Redefine the Game
What gives The Other Side its distinctive identity is the way it draws international talent into its intimate space. The bar welcomes guest bartenders from abroad on a regular basis, creating a setting where techniques, cultures and perspectives arrive from outside Milan and take shape at the hexagonal counter. It is not a grand stage. It is a small room where global voices can be heard up close, where an international horizon meets the quietness of an atelier.
The opening night already revealed this intention. Palma de Mallorca’s Sala de Personal, featured in 50 Best Discovery, presented a liquid dinner in collaboration with the kitchen, transforming the building blocks of cocktails into edible forms. It felt like the beginning of a conversation, a moment where another city entered the room for a night and left something behind.
A Philosophy of Care
«We wanted to create a space that is different not only in its design, but in its way of living time and drinking,» says Araujo. «In an era where everything is fast, here we return to calm, to conversation, to the detail of care.»
This philosophy shapes everything. The cocktail list evolves every few months. The whisky collection, nearly one hundred labels, reflects the roots of Bob while opening the door to new interpretations. Service feels patient, attentive, and naturally aligned with the atmosphere the Hu brothers envisioned.
A New Chapter for Chinese Box Group
The Other Side is the room where the group’s research and creativity find their own dedicated space. With intimacy, precision and an international curiosity woven into a high-end neighbourhood setting, it stands as a new focal point in Milan’s cocktail landscape. Here, global influences enter quietly, finding a home within the calm geometry of a small, carefully crafted room.
Cheers!