Martini cocktails, martini bars and martini culture
Throughout my long and joyful barfly career, when I am in a new city for two nights I try to visit at least two bars, to get an understanding of the local "bar scene". Well, not in Bangalore: the SOKA bar was so good that I just went there two evenings in a row. The …
Let's start from this: the Sips bar was elected best bar of the world in 2023, and scored third both in 2022 and 2024. So, even if rankings such as the World 50 best bars are sometimes disappointing, my expectations were rather high. Now, the Sips is a fantastic bar, both for the concept - …
Barflies will agree that the more a town is filled with self-defined cocktail bars, the more it is difficult to get a proper drink. Following this universal law, getting a good Martini in Malta is nothing but hard. Still, after a few failed attempts on which I will not report, I found THE place in …
Sometimes, when I am in a cocktail-friendly city like Madrid, I like to choose my bar not by looking at rankings and reviews, nor by asking friends and fellow barflies. I just open a (google) map, pick a bar that inspires me, and just try it. I did that with the Harvey's cocktail bar, in …
Musso & Frank is the oldest restaurant in Hollywood and is famous, among other things, for having been the first US restaurant to serve the mighty fettuccine Alfredo (a dish with an Italian name totally absent from Italian cuisine) in 1927. Also, the place is famous for its Martinis: in 2008 GQ magazin elected it as the …
"Kissa bars" originated in Japan in the 20s, as places where to go, get a drink and listen to jazz music, at the time when imported jazz records were way to expensive for ordinary people. In a very Japanese fashion, these minimalist bars prioritized the experience of listening to music in intimate and peaceful spaces, …
After a few years visiting bars, I have developed a sort of an instinct: when I enter a bar, especially if I am alone, I can tell whether that will be a memorable evening or not. It has to do with the energy in the place, the "partner in crime" smile of the bartender, the …
If it is true (and I believe it is) that quality of life is mostly about expectations, it must not be easy for a bar such as the Wax On to live up to its short history. Voted 2023 “Best New Bar of the Year” and 2024 “Bar of the Year – Germany” at the …
Let's start from this: the Marlene Bar in Chisnau, apart from being most probably the best place in town for good drinks, is one of the best bars I vistited EVER (and you know I am normally quite difficult to impress...). The place is so pleasant in many ways that, after a few cocktails, it …
Pharmarium is, according to the Google oracle, one of the best cocktail bars in Stockholm. I tried it, and it is actually very true. Placed in a small square in Gamla Stan (old town) in front of the Nobel Museum, the bar occupies the same building where once stood Stockholm’s first pharmacy, opened in 1575. The …
The Martini Hour 