The Negroni Challenge is Campari Academy’s competition to find the best negroni in Spain. This year, the seventh edition, came with a rule: the drink had to be based on a television series.
Oleksii picked The Bear. The cocktail is called Yes, Chef!
What is in it
Mezcal fat washed with gorgonzola, vermouth infused with figs, and Campari. On top, a parmesan crisp with fig gel.
The idea was to bring restaurant technique into a glass without turning the drink into a riddle. Cheese, fig and the bitterness of Campari are flavours anyone recognises. That is quite The Bear, and quite what we like doing.
How it went
The final was in Madrid on Monday 21 September 2026, the first day of Negroni Week. We did not make the podium — the top 3 got away from us — but Yes, Chef! finished among the ten best negronis in Spain.
Why we enter these things
Because we like the classics. Our menu is ten drinks of our own, but a bar is also measured by how it makes a negroni, a martini or a daiquiri. The negroni is one of our favourites, so we went.
You can order it
Yes, Chef! is on our bar, €15, alongside the rest of the menu.
Carrer de Císcar 26, bajo izq., Valencia. Open Wednesday to Monday from 19:00; closed on Tuesdays. Book a table.