Bar Amigo Giannotti maintains a bohemian tradition for five decades at Bexiga

A man with almost white hair, elegantly combed with gel, with a mask on his face and arms crossed behind his back, observes the agitated movement of the cars that cross Rua Santo Antônio, in Bexiga, in the center of São Paulo.

It is in front of a narrow two-story house built in 1910, painted in the colors of the Italian flag —red, white and green— and with a sign indicating the name of the establishment it houses: Amigo Giannotti.

Antônio Luis Giannotti is the very friend who gives its name to the bar founded five decades ago, one of the most traditional in the region. At the age of 90, Antônio welcomes the clientele and circulates around the salon serving cold beers and snacks with the disposition of a boy.

Son of Italian immigrants, he was born in the Santana neighborhood, in the north side, and moved to Bexiga as a child. “My father settled here and stayed. I’ve known the neighborhood since I was a kid, when it only had hills”, he recalls.

Before dedicating himself to the bar, Mr. Antônio was a tailor, ran a tire repair shop, repaired cars and stoves. You’ve done it all. “That was my life, just working. I’ve always worked like this, back and forth.”

In 1969, he bought the little house on Rua Santo Antônio and, alongside his wife, Midya Carmelingo Giannotti —whom, now a widower, he affectionately calls her mistress—, opened the Amigo Giannotti.

They started by serving pasta and snacks for lunch. They didn’t take long to notice the growing nightlife in the region and began to serve until dawn from the mid-1970s onwards. “The Bexiga, at that time, was the bohemian neighborhood”, he says.

The pub became a meeting point for those who frequent the theaters and clubs in the region, from the beginning to the end of the night. When the hall is full, which is not difficult, the movement spills over to the sidewalks.

The colors of Italy also feature on the interior walls of the house, decorated with antique objects and trinkets — army helmets, meat grinders, soccer team jerseys and even a stuffed alligator.

The menu is simple: six beer labels, three types of wine and doses of drip with honey. Among the appetizers, fogaça reigns, a savory dish whose recipe was inherited from Mydia’s mother, with fried dough and 15 options of hearty filling. In busier times, the bar sold up to 150 of these snacks per night.

The best order is the marguerita, with mozzarella, tomato and basil wrapped in a dough enhanced with Doritos —yes, the savory snack— to give it crunchiness, for R$27. Another highlight is the gnocchi da fortuna, served every 29th of each month, as the Italian tradition dictates to attract luck and money.

At 52 years old, Amigo remains faithful to the “root pub” style, serving practically the same usual menu in that improvised decoration environment.

Today, the house is open from Wednesday to Sunday, from 4 pm, and closes around midnight. “If we can go further, we will,” says Antônio. He recalls the uproar of the past: “The night was beautiful, we worked all night, left around 8:00 in the morning.”

But times have changed. When the hype migrated from the center to neighborhoods like Vila Madalena in the mid-1990s, Bexiga lost part of its status as a bohemian stronghold — a title that it regains. In addition, of course, the Covid-19 pandemic shook the movement in the region.

“There is an old clientele that comes, but the group is still afraid to drink. This week I was even scared, I only sold half a case of beer”, says Antônio.

Despite closing the house early, he is not discouraged. When he reopens the doors of the bar, he renews his sympathy to receive the customers who come to have a snack, drink and chat with their friend Giannotti.