What do you get when you mix three Italian creative men, a wealth of fashion, twenty years of cocktails and a slice of nudity served on the cobbles. The sophisticated concept bar and restaurant Room Service, is an eye-opening and mouth-watering place for rendezvous on the cobblestone drag, and authentic old quarters of Ibiza town. “It comes alive here after dark” says co-founder Riccardo Vimercati, whilst casually sitting on the terrace as if he were a client, with Japanese paper lanterns swaying to his left and straggly electricity wires adorning an apparently neglected dwelling, in true San Penya gypsy style, to his right. After leading most of his life in Italy and New York, Riccardo was intrigued by Ibiza and Dalt Vila the area holding history wall to wall “…with international people, passion and energy…”
Room Service opened its doors in July 2023 and tells a story by its three founders – Fashion photographer Riccardo Vimercati, who has portrayed the most beautiful women in the world for important brands and magazines, Roberto Rossi, cocktail “bricoleur” and Andrea Greci with background in Fashion and Design communications. The result is a cool hang-out that can be found more often in cities like New York, Milan or Paris “We felt there was a gap in Ibiza’s nightlife, a spot where you can enjoy high-end cocktails, accompanied by good food. Ibiza has a big club scene….but what if you don’t want to go to a club… fundamentally, this called for the sort of effervescent bar we’d like to visit, Riccardo tells me. “I got straight on the phone to my trusted friend and interior architect Michele Gentini. The cosy and provocative interior features military green walls, antique wood boiserie and round tables. A long onyx marble table oozes elegance and is the perfect spot for dinner. “Michele deliberately maintained the original bar structure with counter bar stools from where you can enjoy a good cocktail or a good wine and bite to eat. Our Ibiza layout is reminiscent of some bars in New York or LA” Riccardo tells me. Dominating the walls are jaw-dropping black and white unpublished portraits of female models “there is a fine line between vulgarity and elegance and I try as a photographer to bring elegance to it”.
“What’s your favourite cocktail?” I ask, “mine’s the Negroni” Riccardo replies. Slowly sipping on my Negroni poured by charming frontman Roberto, I quickly shifted to swift gulps enjoying its smooth and irresistible flavour, with gin, sweet vermouth and Campari. Roberto who previously collaborated with 1930 in Milan, Danico in Paris and Amalur Ibiza, shares the idea behind the brand “It’s tailor-made and ready to serve, a high-level service. It’s our job to know our client’s favourites”. The inspiration for “Room Service”’ comes from the three founder’s personal passions, research and frequenting bars around the world. I confide in them of my mixed thoughts about mixing cocktails “actually it’s more about the quantity of drinks that we should be conscious of”. Wouldn’t it be cool to try them all? I joked…. genuinely unknowing about the luxuries of Room Service “We have the answer to that, we have a tasting menu so you can sample half – for half the price of course”. The cheeky motto “Do Disturb” can even be seen stamped on the oversized ice cube inside my aperitif – clearly, it’s all about the details. “So, what is it about the Negroni cocktail that’s special?” I ask them. “Listen, I was in Ibiza and I took a bottle of Hierbas back to the U.S. with me. I opened it at my Williamsburg apartment and it just tasted so different, ” Riccardo says. Roberto adds “We use high quality products and yeah it’s the complete experience, the atmosphere, the music… imagine if you were to drink this right over there” as he pointed to the narrow street – “it wouldn’t taste like this!”.
Andrea Greci, entrepreneur in the Fashion and Design communications sector, before co-founding Room Service, ran a communications agency in Milan for many years that dealt with PR, photo and video production, for some of the most important Italian companies in the sector. “Communication is an integral and fundamental part of this enterprise. The Instagram platform is completed by photos and content that represent the line of thought, the vision, the flavour, the light that contains our photographic subjects and expresses our brand identity.
So how did it all begin? “Well, Riccardo used to come into the bar where I worked in Milan, so I sold him the Negroni cocktails! and we’ve been friends ever since”. Did you ever disagree over anything? “No…. we all have a common point of view, our styles match, but we have very different skills, I mean, I would never be telling Roberto how to make a cocktail. This is our first bar and we’re open in the winter which our regular locals appreciate. We envisage bringing the brand to more cities, or distributing our own products like our “Negroni” which will soon be a personalized bottle – perfect for hotel businesses”.
There will always be room for one more at Room Service with adventurous, charismatic and open-minded Riccardo, as your gin. Balancing in the mix, charming Roberto embodies the sweet vermouth, which concocts Andrea as your Italian signature liqueur, the Campari.
