By Marie-Antoinette Issa.
If your idea of festive season prep starts with a stiff drink and a salty snack, Hinchcliff House just gifted you your Christmas miracle. Across its four venues - Bar Mammoni, Lana, Grana and Apollonia - the heritage-listed dining hub is launching an Aperitivo Hour that’s part Italian Summer, part theatre and entirely geared towards the kind of indulgence December calls for.
At the centre of it all sits the Prosciutto Negroni. That’s a Negroni fat-washed with silky Principe Prosciutto di San Daniele - because why sip a cocktail when you can drink your cured meat too?
Running until Sunday, December 14, this beloved pre-dinner tradition has been interpreted through the lens of House Made Hospitality’s trademark flair. Think "I could just pop in for one” turning into "actually, can we order everything and cancel dinner?” It’s that kind of hour.
Regarding the Prosciutto Negroni…Widge’s Gin is fat-washed with Prosciutto di San Daniele, imparting a smooth texture and subtle umami depth. It’s stirred with Campari and Regal Rogue vermouth, then garnished with a petite skewer of fresh prosciutto. The kind of garnish you immediately eat before realising you wanted to photograph it.
Available at all four venues, it’s the drink to order first, second and probably third. This isn’t a gimmick; it’s a flavour revelation built on the same principle as putting prosciutto on melon. Sophisticated, a little cheeky and oddly addictive. Like if your Nonna had a mixology phase.
That melon moment shows up again in the Melone Spritz at Bar Mammoni and Apollonia - light, bright and served with a prosciutto-and-rockmelon gilda. There’s also the Monte Highball paired with prosciutto butter and fig crostini, begging to be ordered in rounds.
Aperitivo Hour is about more than drinks. It’s about that delicious window of possibility between the end of work and the start of dinner, when carbs and cured meats feel culturally essential.
Each venue brings something different to the table. Lana delivers peak decadence with the Principe Prosciutto Trolley. It’s wheeled tableside like it’s the 1920s on a Venetian luxury liner, laden with fresh San Daniele slices, warm saltbush focaccia and whipped ssamjang butter. Take your time and pretend you’re choosing wheels of cheese for your villa.
Bar Mammoni leans into Italian street-snacking with bao sandos stuffed with chilli, stracciatella and more prosciutto, porcini arancini, pizza and scacchiata dotted with shaved prosciutto and black garlic butter.
Grana plays to the indulgent aperitivo crowd with raviolo fritto dripping in truffle honey and prosciutto, while Apollonia keeps things late-night and low-lit with cocktails until 1 am and raviolo on repeat.
While every location offers its own spin, the through-line is clear. Principe’s Prosciutto di San Daniele - aged simply with salt and time in an Italian region where sea meets mountain air - is the star of every bite and every sip.
This isn’t an invitation to pre-dinner drinks. It’s a challenge to redesign your festive season around aperitivo. Swap the December canape circuit for a tableside prosciutto moment. Plan your gift exchanges over Negronis fat-washed with cured ham. Tell your friends you’ve embraced aperitivo culture for wellness reasons and let them interpret that how they wish.
Just don’t leave without ordering the Prosciutto Negroni. It’s the kind of drink that makes you wonder why fat-washing hasn’t been applied to every holiday cocktail. Imagine eggnog if it had ambitions.
Available until Sunday, December 14 across Hinchcliff House’s four levels, Aperitivo Hour is here for a good time, not a long time. If your festive season needs a little more flair and a little less stress, might we suggest starting with a Negroni and a skewer of prosciutto.
