Taki Li's approach to creating cocktails and customer service has shaped her drinking spot into a top nighttime destination, Li Yingxue reports.

On a busy night, Taki Li barely looks up. Her hands move instinctively- measuring, stirring, adjusting — each action precise and economical. There is no excess, no wasted gesture. Even at full capacity, with orders stacking and voices rising, she remains composed. It is this restraint, more than flair, that defines her.

It also explains why, at a moment when Bar Leone HK sits at the top of The World's 50 Best Bars 2025 by the namesake academy since 2009, Li has become one of the most closely watched bartenders in the industry.

Recently, that attention has extended beyond Hong Kong. As part of the Symposia cocktail series at Bvlgari Hotel Beijing, the 35-year-old bar manager brought her approach to a different audience -less as a showcase, more as an exchange. The format was collaborative, built around shared ideas rather than individual signatures.

For Nicola Turturro, director of the bar and restaurant at the hotel, what stood out was not just technical ability, but presence. "Very natural hospitality. She is super engaging and always smiling. Even though the bar was packed with people waiting outside, she was very calm and elegant in her movements."

That balance — between intensity and ease — is central to Li's practice. "It's a huge pleasure and honor to have her with us," Turturro adds. "She brings something, and we bring something. The two menus join together to create the drinks."

A meeting of philosophies

For Li, collaboration begins with alignment rather than contrast. "This time we used Amaro, which has floral notes, as one of the main ingredients. It fits very well with our identity as an Italian bar."

The four drinks she presented follow a clear logic: classical foundations, restrained execution, and subtle contextual references. One, Amber Night, draws directly from its surroundings. As Turturro explains: "It is inspired by the pine trees we have outside. We use a liquor made with pine needles and rum to remind guests of the warmth of our hospitality."

The emphasis is not on novelty, but coherence.

This focus on understanding how elements come together was not something she developed overnight. In fact, Li's path into bartending began with uncertainty rather than intention. "My first shift behind the bar was as a part-time server in a tiny spot," she recalls. "A guest ordered an amaretto and I hadn't expected the almond hit to be so strong and, unsurprisingly, he complained."

The moment could have passed as a routine mistake, but it became a turning point. "The bartender pulled out all the bottles and showed me how it was done," she says. "He explained the flavors, how everything comes together. I was hooked."

At the time, Li was still a student, working without any clear sense that it might become a career. The experience triggered a deeper curiosity -one that stayed. After graduating, she stepped behind the bar full time, beginning what would become a long-term commitment to the craft.

"I hadn't expected it to become something so serious," she reflects. "But once I started learning, I realized how much there is behind every drink."

With a background in design, she brings a strong sense of structure and detail to her work. "My design background taught me creativity and an eye for beauty. The number one rule is to be mindful of details."

Her early career was shaped in leading hotel bars in Hong Kong, but after years within that system, she sought a different environment.

"I'd only worked in hotels, and I wanted the experience of a stand-alone bar, to work more closely with a team, which felt almost like family."

That transition came in 2023, when she joined Bar Leone's opening team in Hong Kong under Lorenzo Antinori, a signature mixologist from Rome.

Bar Leone's concept is built on cocktail popolari — a return to accessible, classical drinking. The bar avoids complex machinery and modernist techniques, focusing instead on fundamentals.

For Li, this framework sharpens rather than limits creativity.

"I prefer classic styles, focusing on reducing elements to their essence. With limited elements and steps, creation becomes a different kind of challenge."

Her process begins with structure. "I usually start with a classic I want to nod to, then build around it with flavors, ingredients, or a concept I want to explore."

Balance remains central. "The right garnish not only makes the drink look good but also lifts the whole experience," she says.

A place with strict standards

At the bar, volume and precision operate simultaneously. The bar fills quickly — often within the first hour- and maintains a steady flow until closing.

"It's a high-volume state," Li says." We have strict standards — drinks must be delivered within 8 to 10 minutes."

Maintaining consistency under pressure requires coordination."Teamwork is very important, guests don't interact with just one person. "As bar manager, Li's role is to align the team's rhythm as much as its output.

For Li, technical skill is secondary to interpersonal ability. "Personality is more important than technique," she says. "Technique can be trained. Personality is core."

She distinguishes between competitive bartending and daily service. "Competition is a one-way presentation, daily operation is two-way communication."

There, the experience is structured around this interaction."Guests step into the bar and the drink is the last thing they experience." What precedes it — conversation, guidance, atmosphere — is equally critical.

"We want guests to feel like they have been invited into our Italian home."

The spot's rapid rise has amplified expectations. Asia's No 1 in 2024, followed by World's No 1 in 2025, has placed the bar and its team under sustained global attention.

"When we got Asia's No 1, I was more nervous. When we got World's No 1, I kept telling my colleagues: 'Hold me, don't let me cry!'"

The recognition carries wider industry weight. As Turturro notes: "It doesn't happen every day that a bartender from the number one bar in Asia creates a cocktail with you."

Yet Li remains focused on the original intent. "We want to be a neighborhood bar, not just a place people wait in line for."

Her priorities are shifting toward leadership and development. "In the past 10 years, I focused on bartending. In recent years, I moved into management. I enjoy it."

Collaborations like the Beijing guest shift suggest a broader trajectory.

As Turturro observes: "Guests now look for the story behind the drink, they want to understand why."

Li's answer remains consistent: strip away the unnecessary, focus on balance, and build connections. "If my bartender is happy, the drinks will be good," she says.

It is a simple principle — one that, in her hands, is executed with exacting precision.

Contact the writer at liyingxue@chinadaily.com.cn