11 International bars in exceptional spaces
A cocktail always tastes better when savoured in beautiful surrounds. With your needs firmly in mind, we’ve toured the globe to bring you 11 new bars with architecture that packs the same punch as the Negroni's. Here’s where to quench your thirst…
Bar Botanique, Amsterdam
Tropical foliage is a bit of a thing in Oost (East) Amsterdam, and local designers Studio Modijefsky made it the theme of Bar Botanique, set in the gentrifying ‘Indies’ neighbourhood. It directs the eye upward to clerestory windows and art deco iron. Visitors can sit in Caribbean windows or at the sinuous marble bar. Eerste van Swindenstraat 581, 1093 LC Amsterdam, Netherlands.
The Green Room, Portland
Upstairs is a ‘library’ of wall-to-wall whiskey. But The Green Room, opened a year ago, is the looker, with a recessed tin ceiling, Tiffany-style chandeliers, stained glass and the eponymous green tile backdrop. Oak tables match the original wall paneling and creaky staircase. 1124 SW Alder Street, Portland, Oregon 97205, USA.
Mad Giant, Johannesburg
Sit at a Meccano table at the South African microbrew pub Mad Giant and admire the red-painted beams of this 80-year former factory. Haldane Martin brought in recycled Rhodesian teak for the herringbone floor and weighty industrial chandeliers, hung from eight-metre ceilings. 1 Fox St, Johannesburg, 2048, South Africa.
Nido at Hotel Mar Adentro, San José del Cabo
Mar Adentro guests stay in ‘cubes’ that virtually float on the edge of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. Then they take sundowners on a white linen divan in a massive ball of twine, with views of the sea framed to either side. Paseo Malecon San José Lote 8, Zona Hotelera, 23400 San José del Cabo, BCS, Mexico.
Zonars, Athens
This legendary nighttime joint appears totally untouched since its 1940s heyday. In fact, Zonars has been entirely refitted by designers Chrysanthos and Spyros Panas, from the walnut paneling to the mosaic floors and art deco bar. The Michael Anastassiades lighting slots in rather nicely. Voukourestiou 9, Athina 106 71, Greece.
Beta Bar, Sydney
Part of Sydney’s Hellenic Club, Beta Bar was conceived as a soft-hued counterpart to Peter Conistis’ Alpha restaurant, which it sits above. Its interiors nod to the crumbly townhouses of Greece, with exposed brickwork and layers of plasterwork laid bare. Pastel-shaded furniture by designer Paul Papadopoulos provides a contemporary contrast, paired with a cluster of orb lighting pendants which hang from its ceiling. 238 Castlereagh Street, Sydney, Australia.
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