The Povera Philosophy

The name Povera is first and foremost a nod to "cucina povera," which refers to a grandmother's cooking that uses the entirety of products without waste. Much like Arte Povera, we will take ordinary products and try to elevate them to a higher status, restoring their nobility. We will apply these principles to cocktails, striving to waste nothing, and even reaching out to local restaurateurs or producers to reclaim what they usually discard. For example, using bean pods to create oil, syrup, or juice. The idea is to be a bit more relevant and thoughtful in our usage. Of course, the ultimate goal remains taste; creating good things is our primary vocation.

The local dimension is central to this project – in Nice, we have an immense aromatic palette and diversity around us, with amazing producers – as well as a commitment to respecting the seasons. When I talk about localism, it’s more of a holistic vision rather than restricting ourselves to 40 km around us. This includes all culinary heritage, whether historical or contemporary. So, if a beautiful product comes from Ventimiglia or a bit further across the border, we won’t close the door, because it’s part of the region and its pluralism. Furthermore, we want to explore the Nice hinterland where you can find almost everything.

Next, the decor of Povera retains this same imprint: keeping and elevating the codes of an old Provençal house without falling into cliché. Offering something current, but with a nod to a Japanese design movement that is very dear to me, wabi-sabi, with the idea of valuing an element – even if broken or damaged – for its history, its past life. We appreciate the aesthetics of worn things and elevate them.

The Establishment's Physionomy

The bar has an area of about 83 square meters, with around fifteen tables, accommodating between 50 and 60 seated guests. We also have two or three spaces where customers can stand, using old parts of the bar as counters to lean on, effectively doubling our capacity. Povera can be both an intimate meeting place or offer a festive and friendly atmosphere.

The skeleton is there, but the place will live on its own, and it will be up to us to be attentive to understand how to optimize it to make it as pleasant as possible for customers. From experience, I know that it’s never really what you project that happens.

The terrace is not yet on the agenda. Unlike Paris, where establishments close directly at 2 AM without exceptions, in Nice, due to a lack of special authorization, everything closes at midnight. Therefore, we prioritize obtaining permission for late closing first, and once that is secured, we will apply for the terrace.

A Menu Focused on Seasonality and Local Ingredients

Our philosophy is rooted in the desire to use the products around us, reduce our footprint a bit, have high turnover on the menu, and get closer to an idea or approach of family cooking.

A cocktail can very well stay on the menu for only three weeks if seasonality demands it.

Being free to play with small quantities, reclaiming leftovers from restaurateurs to use in cocktails stimulates creativity. We don’t aim to "rotovap" everything we find, but rather to seek inspiration from cooking techniques or old grandmother's recipe books. Sometimes, a citrus broth will replace lemon, because in the end, peels are often discarded while they represent 40% of the fruit. We need to be imaginative and consider this as an exercise rather than a constraint.

All types of cocktails will be represented, but I want the menu to "roll," especially for non-alcoholic options. Initially, ten alcoholic cocktails and two non-alcoholic ones were planned, but we might pivot, as destigmatizing non-alcoholic drinks is very important to me. This part will particularly evolve according to desires and seasons. If good ideas come, it’s entirely possible to offer three or even four non-alcoholic drinks. The goal is to sell this category as an offer in itself, not as a fallback alternative.

As for the choice of spirits, there is no room for compromise on quality. Everything produced in the region – as long as it’s good – is likely to interest us. For example, a distillery has just opened in Nice, and we will take a bottle of gin from them to play the game. More and more brewers are setting up small stills illegally just for fun, but there is no Nice equivalent of a distiller like Julhès with his Distillerie de Paris. Additionally, since we are located near Italy, the bar will have a nice selection of vermouths. But if a spirit is better made elsewhere, that one will be favored. We’re not going to try to find an agave spirit from the Côte d’Azur; we’ll go get it in Mexico like everyone else [laughs].

Aside from cocktails, we offer a bit of natural wine, with about two whites, two reds, one orange, and one sparkling, plus beer from local brewers. On the food side, the offer will be limited but coherent. We are not cooks, but we will buy quality products – typically focaccias from a very nice bakery that works with ancient flours – and make sandwiches with regional ingredients. I didn’t want cutlery, but something convivial.

Diversity of Inspirations

There aren’t too many rules for creating the menu, except that the spirit does not dictate the rest of the recipe. I explain this to everyone who works with me: alcohol is a "enhancer," it highlights aromas rather than being the focal point and the building block of a cocktail; unless we are striving to showcase a spirit, but that’s another exercise.

For Povera, several approaches exist: starting from a fresh product to highlight by finding all possible variations to explore different aromatic notes and have a mono-product cocktail. But also, drawing inspiration from combinations: for example, we wanted to explore fermented honey, and this ingredient pairs perfectly with roasted seeds. Finally, an idea can be the origin of a recipe: a cherry wine inspired by the Italian Fragolino (with a taste of wild strawberries) will feature on the menu, or a grape variety somewhat endemic to the region above Nice that develops raspberry notes. I’ve wanted to create a product like this for ages, but around cherries. To achieve this, we need fresh cherries in various forms, a little amaretto to bring that cherry pit flavor, accompanied by sherry and a wine-based aperitif.

During the construction of a menu, we know that certain categories of glasses will be more successful than others, but that doesn’t mean they will become signatures of the establishment. That decision belongs to the customers. Moreover, Nice is quite a new market for this type of cocktails, and I can’t wait to see the clientele's reaction to this offer and to be attentive to their palates. But we hope that some drinks from this menu will become classics because we love them a lot.

Key to Building a Sustainable Team

The team will consist of three or four members, with a focus on stability and retention. I don’t want people leaving after two months. I try to work with young locals from this beautiful hotel school in Nice and favor personalities over skills or knowledge at this time. In my view, training is key to having a loyal staff. They need to love the place to stay for a while and be in the same dynamic as me.

To start, I called Damien Lemercier, who worked with me at the Experimental, where he was an "Experimental Cocktail Club Traveller". Damien has worked at the New York bar Double Chicken Please and oversaw the opening of establishments in Mexico. He’s a bit of a wandering bartender. I proposed that he join me for the opening for a few months to set up the processes; he’s someone I can rely on completely. This time will allow us to truly reflect what I want from the bar, show what we are capable of, and thus be attractive to the staff. The team consists of Damien, plus another person at the bar, with part-time shifts on weekends.

As for me, I will be behind the bar every evening. After supporting others in opening their establishments – like Margot Lecarpentier and her project Combat, for example – it’s important that I dedicate time to Povera, my first "baby." Once the solid team is established, I can occasionally take two days off to attend consulting meetings and return with peace of mind. For now, I am very motivated and confident in the potential of the bar and the team we are putting together. I believe that the vision around Povera and the proposed model are quite meaningful.

Bartender by Night, Consultant by Day

My consulting work has developed quite organically. I had been managing the Experimental Cocktail Club in Paris for some time, and when the group exploded in terms of success, I was asked to design the workspaces for new establishments and create the first menus. Over time, the package grew until I found myself responsible for all the sales points and openings for the Experimental group.

I received more and more requests for this type of mission, as at the time – eight years ago – no one in the market offered this type of service. Additionally, the Experimental Group gave me a great image and visibility. So, I ultimately decided to open my own company alongside my work for the group, and it gained some traction.

The consulting part is very interesting because it’s always a little challenge. I like to adapt to the project, not provide standardized solutions. Thinking according to the country of establishment, the clientele, the setting; it’s quite stimulating from a creative standpoint. Over time, I transitioned from a consulting role to that of a project manager. What I love about my professional evolution is that each time elements are added, at the request of a client or in response to the situation. Now, I can deliver certain turnkey missions, with a pure bar opening part, meaning budget management, dealing with architects, and designing technical spaces related to kitchens. No mission is similar, and I’m fortunate to learn with many involved actors. Finally, it’s always satisfying to see a place we’ve worked on come to life.

With my company, I work a lot remotely, from home or in cafes. I go to projects maybe three times: first to follow up on the work, then just before the launch, and finally to launch the establishment. Therefore, I didn’t have much reason to stay in Paris, as I had this attachment to Nice, where I’m from. Observing the dynamism on site, I thought it would be great to open a place here. I started doing visits thinking it would allow me to meet local actors and understand the state of the market. On the first visit, I stumbled upon this gem, and I had to decide very quickly. It wasn’t at all planned at that moment, but circumstances dictated otherwise. I continue the consulting activity because it’s a daytime job with the bar as a nighttime activity. I like to impose quite a workload on myself; it’s a family tradition [laughs].

Nice, the New Marseille?

Nice doesn’t really have a classic historical bar. A few places have always had a cocktail offer, but they are hotel bars like the Negresco. Hotels have tried to open a bit and develop their bar offer, but, in my opinion, the people of Nice don’t yet – or perhaps will never – have the same Parisian mindset of entering a hotel for a drink. To make a distinction that I don’t particularly like, there are few pure cocktail bars of the "mixology" type. One or two people have been extremely proactive on the subject, former students of the Nice hotel school, which is a fabulous school for bar training and a true talent pool. In fact, when I worked at the Experimental Cocktail Club, I recruited several of them, especially for London. We observed an exodus of local talent because there wasn’t much happening locally. The only offers were very focused on Speakeasy, which, in a city that enjoys quite a bit of sunshine, was probably inappropriate.

A Nice bartender, Matthieu Pluta, had two establishments that were doing relatively well, but he has now opened a restaurant (Icô, editor's note) with a cocktail offer instead. The same goes for Babel Babel, which offers great cocktails, but it remains, again, a restaurant. Therefore, the aspect of a cocktail bar stricto sensu is poorly represented, even though I believe there is strong demand locally.

Today, many people are returning home, Niçois who have been through Paris or abroad and are looking for an establishment with an offer like ours. They are customers of bistronomic restaurants (which are currently on the rise) opened by young talents highlighting the Nice culinary tradition without being retrograde. I am convinced that there is an authentic parallel between this type of restaurant and the cocktail bar, where products are highlighted for their quality, with a suitable price.

We are fortunate to arrive at this moment in the scene. Many draw parallels with Marseille. Nice is such a promising city, with so much to offer: quality of life, setting, environment. Even the hospitality sector is dynamic: the Mama Shelter had a nice opening recently, as did the Hôtel du Couvent. We are at the very beginning of a beautiful wave.

From Palaces to the Experimental Group

Initially, I was in sports studies and considered it a bit like my job. But my whole family has always been involved in luxury hospitality: my mother was a general housekeeper in palaces like the Georges V and the Bristol, then in the south of France. My stepfather was a chef on the Orient-Express for 38 years. So I’ve always had this appetite for the approach to service and good things, whether food or drinks. When it came time to find a real job, I logically turned to studies in hotel management to become a director of establishment.

I worked at the Grand Hôtel in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, and upon graduating, I received many very nice offers for my age. However, I didn’t see myself at all behind a desk, coming out of that life of an athlete I had known before. My experience in the bar had interested me, and I bought all the available books on the subject. Quite naively, I searched for the mention "best bar in France" on the internet, and the answer was the Plaza Athénée. After pestering them a bit, I got a position there starting from the very bottom of the ladder, as a bar commis for a few months. I did preparations and a bit of service on trays, but not much behind the bar, except at the end. I stayed there for a year and a half, between 2009 and 2011.

It so happens that when I arrived in Paris, I had moved – by chance – near Montorgueil, and everyone was talking to me about this great neighborhood bar called the Experimental Cocktail Club. And I, of course, working in palaces, thought: "okay, I work in the best bar in France, but I’ll still give it a try."

I remember that first time absolutely in all the details: it was a Thursday night, Michael Mas was behind the bar, all the bottles were unknown to me, I didn’t understand anything on the menu, except that the drinks were delicious and the staff adorable. I then realized that I wanted to work here, and my free evenings were dedicated to sitting at the counter, tasting everything and asking them questions. Again, I persistently solicited them to work there, and when a position opened up, I left everything to join the staff as a bartender. The manager and assistant manager left, respectively, after 9 months and a year, and I found myself propelled to head bartender at around 20 years old.

One of the major strengths of the Experimental group is that you are not necessarily judged by your age, but by trust and results. And I will be eternally grateful to them for this mindset. I learned a lot, sometimes painfully, and I think it still helps me today in my approach to work and resourcefulness.