Matto is a cozy and funky Italian bar and salumeria on Yanping Lu in Jing’an, brought to you by the people behind pizzeria Mammamia.
Cool vibes and free-flow cold cuts on Thursdays — read on!
About Matto
“Matto” means “crazy” or “mad” in Italian. It’s a playful and fitting name for a bar, and certainly hints at the vibe it’s going for.
It’s located on the second floor above Revolucion Cocktail, a small L-shaped space that once belonged to Little Catch. The concept is backed by Mammamia, the Italian restaurant known for Neapolitan pizzas. There are pizzas at Matto — we’ll get to that soon — but in a different style.
Matto is a tiny venue, but they make do with a six-seater bar next to their salumeria room aka cold cuts shack, and comfortable booth seats along the wall.
The concept is simple — a bar slinging Italian-inspired cocktails and wine paired with foods of a salty-savory nature, bites that one might crave after knocking back a few Negronis.
In addition, founder Umberto reiterates: “We really emphasize value for money.”
Funky Thursdays: Free-Flow Cold Cuts For ¥98
One of those value for money offers is on Thursday: free-flow cold cuts for ¥98, wines by the bottle 15% off, and funky tunes courtesy of a DJ. Funky Thursdays is from 8:30pm to 11:30pm. FYI: It starts getting busy around 9:30pm.
It draws a fun-loving drinking crowd and gets pumping on the weekends and Thursdays. And because it’s so small, it’s likely you’d end up making friends with people at the bar. On weekdays, it’s actually quite chill — the kind of hangout to start the evening for a catch-up with friends or an intimate yet fun date night.
The Drinks Situation
Signature cocktails, priced at ¥88 each, are inspired by Italian flavors and Asian ingredients. These are courtesy of consultant bartender Tammy Liu (12 Bar Blues).
I really liked the Rhapsody Berry. It’s like a milkshake meets Eton Mess but with more passion fruit, raspberry, and of course, tequila. It’s creamy but light.
Their shining signature is the Mustardini, made with Bulldog gin, yellow mustard, mayonnaise, and citrus. The first sips have an earthy spice which mellows out to botanical notes (that’s the gin). Strong, but not Negroni strong.
The Basilicanza is their take on a Basil Smash, one that blends in more basil pulp than usual. Gin, lemon juice, and fresh basil come together like a light smoothie. For something with a bit more punch, there’s Matto Heat, made with Wild Turkey, Earl Grey tea, tamarind, and chili oil. It’s like a mildly spicy whisky sour.
Wines by the bottle start from ¥158. It’s a worldwide selection from Italy to France, South Africa to South America, and China to New Zealand, featuring traditional and organic bubbly, white, red, rosé, orange. They also do classic aperitivo cocktails like Aperol Spritz and Negroni.
Salumeria & Pizza
You’ve knocked back a few and are now craving for something salty. This is where the salumeria comes in.
Matto has partnered up with Fratelli Beretta, a leading company in the Italian charcuterie business, for the cold cuts selection.
If it ends with a vowel, Matto has it ready to serve. Salumi, prosciutti, cotti, crudi, and formaggi — seconds away from hook to slicer. Cold cuts start from ¥18 per 50 grams, cheese from ¥28, and olives and its kind from ¥18. They do mix-and-match platters for all.
A salumi platter, from ¥88, might have Italian-style cured ham, porchetta, mortadella, spicy Calabrian salami, and truffled salami.
A cheese platter, from ¥128, might have parmiggiano reggiano, pecorino, manchego, and truffled gouda. There’s cheese to suit any palate, whether it’s milky, mild or strong, funky, or soaked in booze. On that last note, I do recommend trying the Occelli Alla Grappa e Frutta (¥118/50g) from Piedmont, a hard, crumbly cheese aged with grappa and dried fruit.
For something more substantial, Matto does pizza. Unlike Mammamia, Matto does a Roman-style pinsa, not Neapolitan style. They have five Pinsa Romana on the menu, priced from ¥58 to ¥78. The crust is sturdy and crunchy yet surprisingly airy and light. It’s the kind of dough that would make an excellent sandwich bread. The extra crunchy corners remind me of taralli, the most addictive Italian snack ever made.
The Pizza Diavola is a classic combination, a nice balance of spicy Calabrese salami, mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil over a tomato sauce base. A dusting of chili flakes gives it a desirable spicy tinge.
For a white base, try the Pizza Calabrese, topped with roasted eggplants, mozzarella, basil, parmesan cheese, and fennel salami.
Alternatively, there are tigelle. These petit flatbread sandwiches from Emilia-Romagna are available with three kinds of cold cuts — prosciutto, mortadella, and spicy nduja. The Tigelle Mortadella is filled with arugula, Pistacchio and creamy buffalo mozzarella cheese. Pocket-sized, tasty and filling.
Those bites are light in flavor compared to the crunchy Sardine Crostini. These are topped with whipped mascarpone and ricotta cream, lemon zest, and briny anchovies. Cool, creamy cheese and sharp, salty anchovies — it’ll certainly wake up your taste buds.
For a small space, they really do offer a variety of bar food. They also do deep-fried calamari and dessert.
Coming soon is also a Nutella pizza. Yep. It ain’t Italian if there isn’t Nutella tucked away somewhere.
Party Time: Grand Opening & Guest Shift
Matto is celebrating their grand opening with a party on March 20 from 8pm to 1am with free-flow selected drinks and food. (I guess they’ll send a gift basket to neighbors Terrakota for cramping up the hallway on the night.)
Scan the QR code above to secure your spot — get in for ¥200! Limited spots available and split by session for crowd control: 8:30pm-10pm, 10pm-11:30pm, 11:30pm-1am.
The following night, March 21, Matto will host their first guest shift with award-winning bartender Christyne Lee from Singapore. Christyne got her start at Jigger & Pony and was the head mixologist at Tess Bar & Kitchen for seven years. Stay tuned for more details. Starts at 8pm!
Matto by Mammamia!
Click here to view the listing.
