When JR Mocanu and Jack Yip decided to open a bar on East Johnson Street in Madison’s Tenney-Lapham neighborhood, they were setting a tall order for themselves. Next door to the bar sits the Caribou Tavern, a beloved Madison institution known for slinging brandy Old-Fashioneds, cold beer and cheese curds since 1966. Two blocks in the other direction is the Robin Room, a bar that’s been a staple of the city’s cocktail revival since opening in 2016. (Mocanu used to work there.) But in the short time since Public Parking opened its doors, the newcomer has managed to carve out a place for itself and become a neighborhood fixture in its own right. The bar’s slogan, “where there’s always a space for you,” is apt for a program that offers something for just about every type of drinker. The menu bounces deftly between house originals, tropical, nonalcoholic and “classic-ish” drinks, including a rice-washed Martini and a Sidecar made with mentholated herbal tea syrup. Each is served with the bar’s signature cheekiness in the form of playful glassware and presentation; for a drink called “Mary Berry’s Soggy Bottom,” an edible photo of the ex–Great British Baking Show host serves as a garnish. But what makes the bar feel like it’s been around far longer than it has is the welcoming hospitality and dialed-in service of the staff, led by bar manager Lucas Endres. In other words, they have all the ingredients of a bar that, like its neighbors, will stand the test of time.
At a time when maximalism reigns supreme in the cocktail world, Stoa is quietly but confidently leading the minimalist charge. Helmed by Yanni Kehagiaras, formerly the bar director of Nopalito and Liholiho Yacht Club, the cocktails at Stoa all clock in at four ingredients or fewer and eschew garnishes and added sugar (apart from classics that specifically call for simple syrup). Kehagiaras relies instead on his studied expertise and deep understanding of his backbar to find perfect balance. It’s a skill that allows a three-ingredient drink to seem more involved than it is. Kehagiaras expertly layers ingredients to create what he calls “reverberations” between the elements; small measures of spirits or liqueurs are used for big impact. In the Hedge Maze, for example, a quarter-ounce of green Chartreuse’s potent herbaceousness echoes and amplifies the pronounced Douglas fir of the base, Terroir Gin from California’s St. George Spirits, all lengthened by dry vermouth. As it stands currently, the menu is largely a roster of greatest hits from Kehagiaras’ previous programs, featuring fan favorites like the Castaway, a tropical aperitif. But it is also an evolution of his pursuit of minimalism—what ties the two together is a stylistic imperative that less is always more.
Antoinette’s Negroni
Public Parking’s house Negroni leans on an unorthodox ratio of ingredients to dial down the bitterness.
One of the bar’s top sellers, Mary Berry’s Soggy Bottom.
The bar’s rice-washed Martini (left) and draft Negroni (right).
Order the
PP Porron and Polaroid,
and you’ll get a bartender’s choice cocktail (or house wine) for four, served in a porrón and documented with two Polaroids—
one for you, and one to be displayed behind the bar.
Hedge Maze
Layers of green, herbaceous flavors come together to create “reverberations” in this gin and green Chartreuse cocktail, all lengthened by dry vermouth.
Stoa is leading the minimalist charge with thoughtful, straightforward cocktails, all with four ingredients or fewer.
A deep understanding of his backbar allows Yanni Kehagiaras to create minimal cocktails with maximum impact.
Helmed by Nopalito chef Joji Sumi, the food at Stoa is not an afterthought. Try the rice porridge, which makes its menu debut at Stoa after being a favorite family meal served at Nopalito.
Order the PP Porron and Polaroid, and you’ll get a bartender’s choice cocktail (or house wine) for four, served in a porrón and documented with two Polaroids—one for you, and one to be displayed behind the bar.
Antoinette’s
Negroni
Public Parking’s house Negroni leans on an unorthodox ratio of ingredients to dial down
the bitterness.
The bar’s signature cheekiness is on full display in one of its top sellers, Mary Berry’s Soggy Bottom.
This rice-washed Martini features on the bar’s “classic-ish” section of the menu.
Stoa is leading the minimalist charge with thoughtful, straightforward cocktails, all with four ingredients or fewer.
Hedge Maze
Layers of green, herbaceous flavors come together to create “reverberations” in this gin and green Chartreuse cocktail, all lengthened by dry vermouth.
A deep understanding of his backbar allows Yanni Kehagiaras to create minimal cocktails with maximum impact.
Helmed by Nopalito chef Joji Sumi, the food at Stoa is not an afterthought. Try the rice porridge, which makes its menu debut at Stoa after being a favorite family meal served at Nopalito.