The legendary Monkey Bar originally opened its doors on the ground floor of the Hotel Elysée in Midtown after Prohibition was repealed in 1933. Since its reopening in 2009, the spirit of long bygone days has continued to permeate the place: Gentlemen once met here to close major deals, the American actress Tallulah Bankhead made the Monkey Bar more or less her living room during her stays in New York, and t...
The kitchen is "the best place in the world" according to 44-year-old Rainer Klutsch, who discovered his passion for cooking as a child. "I picked up a lot just watching my mum or nan all the time when they would cook," he explains. After taking a brief detour through a stint as a law student and an insurance salesman in training, Rainer (then in his late ...
Christophe Rossi, owner of the L’Escamoteur bar in Kyoto (and a good friend of the Monkey), is what you’d call one-of-a-kind. Whether through his appearance, his penchant for magic and sleight-of-hand, or simply his manner of being, he has a knack for casting a spell on just about anyone. This unique blend of traits is exactly what you’ll find at his bar, as well. Christophe describes his pride ...
Zoltan Nagy, a member of the National Mixographic Society, is known not merely for his outstanding negronis, but also for the cocktail artistry he continues to put on display as manager of Budapest's legendary Boutiq’Bar. There, he has stayed true to his credo that a good bar should only offer excellent drinks. We couldn’t agree more. One of his own personal creations, dubbed simply “33”, really caught our interest: It's Mon...
Good, because in future, Austria’s capital city should also make you think of Die Halbestadt: a jewel in the crown of Vienna’s bar culture, situated at the heart of the historical Gürtelbögen district constructed by Otto Wagner. Erich Wassicek (known as one of Austria’s best bartenders) and his partner Konny Wunder are not only an institution in their own right ...
Welcome to the wunderbar Arthur Orlans in Brussels! This is actually less an insider tip than it is a heartfelt plea: Get yourself to Belgium and pay this extraordinary locale a visit! We promise you'll be astonished as well. With plenty of attention to detail, Francesco Ravo and his team have turned an old-fashioned house into a one-of-a-kind cocktail bar. It's both traditional and tailor-made (so to speak), and the ...
For us, big, heavy furniture; lots of mahogany; leather-bound books; columns of polished marble; and the soft light of a flickering fireplace bring to mind the unique atmosphere of a dignified home library or a traditional gentleman's club. You too? Then be sure to check out Scarfes Bar, which you'll find at London's Rosewood Hotel. It takes its name (and the decorations on its walls) from the British artist and ...
Strangers in the night have been the subject of songs at least since Frank Sinatra’s famous tribute in 1966. Whether or not the Stranger bar in Gothenburg (Sweden) has played a significant role in this lore is lost to the mists of time, but newcomers to the establishment do often become “lovers at first sight”. Martin Alexandersson and his team have mastered the art of not only treating their guests to exc...
If you are planning a sojourn in Singapore any time soon, we strongly recommend that you visit our good friend Dario Knox, a member of the National Mixographic Society. Just ring the doorbell on the solid, dark door in the Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel and slip into the legendary bar known as The Other Room. In its dark, mysterious atmosphere, which is reminiscent of the Prohibition era, guests are quickly ...
Is there such a thing as love at first sight? We are convinced that the answer is a resounding yes! For example, when a certain little Monkey met a “Black Kameel” for the first time and realized that he wanted to stay at “Zum Schwarzen Kameel” forever. But first things first. The Monkey is a Black Forest gin and “Zum Schwarzen Kameel” is the ideal place for all connoisseurs and would-be con...
In the heart of the West Village, the speakeasy Employees Only offers just about everything you're looking for as someone who enjoys the finer things in life: first-rate drinks, delicious fare, and a special kind of atmosphere. These were the staples the bar's five creators had in mind back in 2004, and it continues to embody them to this day. The concept has attracted not only a large number of fans ...
The kitchen is "the best place in the world" according to 44-year-old Rainer Klutsch, who discovered his passion for cooking as a child. "I picked up a lot just watching my mum or nan all the time when they would cook," he explains. After taking a brief detour through a stint as a law student and an insurance salesman in training, Rainer (then in his late ...
If you are looking for a real insider’s tip in Palermo on the beautiful island of Sicily, head to the edge of the port. Here, the Nautoscopio shipping containers open their doors from spring to autumn, providing an ideal spot in which to savour an infamous Italian aperitif and some Sicilian street food, while chilling out to lounge music. The house special – a freshly stirred Negroni served up by the ...
For nearly nine years now, manager Timo Janse and his team at Door 74 – the Netherlands’ first speakeasy-style cocktail bar – have been conjuring up wondrous creations at the highest level of their chosen art. Hearkening back to the 1920s, their location's cosy, dimly lit ambience invites regulars to kick back and relax, especially with a Monkey Brumble in hand. Door 74 is the type of place where anything can happen after hours, as our...
Recently voted amongst the world’s top ten in the “Best New International Cocktail Bar” category at the Tales of the Cocktail® awards in New Orleans (the Oscars of the international bar industry), and he’s already made it onto our homepage. For Volker Seibert and his team, the reasons to celebrate just keep on coming. Seibert, a visionary taste creator, conceived the ideal location for this himself over a year ago ...
