Bar, Café entertainment in Europe
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Mavra
Serdar-ı Ekrem Caddesi is one of the most interesting streets in Galata, full of ornate 19th-century apartment blocks, avant-garde boutiques and laid-back cafes and bars. Mavra is a bit of everything – during the day it functions as a cafe, serving excellent sandwiches and pastries (the poğaca are excellent); at night, it reinvents itself as a hip bar that has been wholeheartedly embraced by artists, journalists and others in the creative industries. Its decor is thrift-shop chic and its shelves are full of locally designed ceramics and craft that are for sale. Nearby Building Food Lab & Apparel offers more of the same, albeit with a hard-edged minimalist aesthetic.
reviewed
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Caffè Florian
If the Torre d’Orlogio (Clock Tower) ever breaks, you can always tell the time by observing Florian’s daily rituals, established since 1720: lovers canoodle over late breakfasts in plush banquettes until noon, uniformed waiters serve gooey hot chocolate on silver trays in lieu of lunch, and the orchestra strikes up a dance number to accompany the popping of prosecco corks and the illumination of San Marco’s portal mosaics at sunset. There’s a €6 music surcharge for piazza seating, so you may as well get your money’s worth and tango.
reviewed
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On Cherche Encore
This relaxed, modern, loft-style bar-café with the less-than-inspired name of ‘We’re Still Looking’, is trying to do it all and succeeding. It’s committed to serving quality food and wines at reasonable prices; the Saturday brunch from noon to 4pm is one of the best around. It is also intent on providing quality tunes (electro, house and funk) from Thursday to Saturday, which leads to some quality mingling. The corner terrace is positioned for all-afternoon sun and is worth pouncing on.
reviewed
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Qcoffee Bar
One drink grants you access to two modernist master architects through the Querini Stampalia bookstore. Rainy days are right for hot chocolate in Mario Botta’s neoclassical cafe, with white walls framed in black polished-concrete floors, and a harmonious repeating-rectangle theme. Outside, Carlo Scarpa’s clever, Mid-East–inspired concrete irrigation channels bring Venice’s canals indoors, adding industrial-cool to your spritz in the sunny garden.
reviewed
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Harry’s Dolci
The ultimate island retreat for the designer-sunglasses crowd, with the same classic cocktails as sibling venture Harry’s Bar, served under a Tiffany-blue sun canopy along the Giudecca Canal. Service is low-key and the indoor cafe is paved with what looks like vintage subway tile, so don’t go expecting luxury – but you’re welcome to luxuriate in the sun over house-made dolci (sweets) and coffee (€15) until an idea for your next brilliant novel strikes you.
reviewed
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Freud
Make this the first stop on your crawl because there’s no way you’ll make it down the stairs (not much more than a ladder) after a few bevvies (drinks). It’s a small basement bar-cafe-gallery with the sort of beige walls that could look just plain dirty, but purposefully arty pictures head off close scrutiny. The decor and punters are suitably scruffy and arty, and the cocktails are fat and fancy, but beer is sadly only by the bottle.
reviewed
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Moscacieka
Minds boggled by a surfeit of San Marco splendour deserve a rejuvenating drink in this upbeat, unpretentious pub, where the bar is pieced together from broken tiles, tables are tucked under exposed-brick Gothic arches and a giant cartoon fly toasts your health on the ceiling. House specials are scrawled on chalkboards, but the guys in black T-shirts working the bar can recommend something from the range of wines, beer, cocktails and sandwiches.
reviewed
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Yeşil Ev Garden Bar/Café
Most of the bars in Cankurtaran are rowdy backpacker establishments, so the elegant rear courtyard of this historic hotel is a real oasis for those wanting a quiet drink. In spring flowers and blossom fill every corner; in summer the fountain and shady trees keep the temperature down; and in the cooler months a flower-filled conservatory provides shelter. The drinks are expensive, but as the old adage says, quality doesn’t come cheaply.
reviewed
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Delaville Café
This grand erstwhile brothel has an alluring mix of restored history (original mosaic tiles, distressed walls) and industrial chic. Between the high-ceilinged restaurant (mains €14 to €19), the extensive terrace (one of the best along the grands boulevards ) and the bar–lounge areas, you’re sure to find your niche somewhere. DJs play Thursday to Saturday, making it a quality ‘before’ venue for the nearby Rex Club.
reviewed
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Ardidos
As you might guess at a glance at these mist-coloured walls, exposed wood details, and sprawling octopus of a chandelier, owner Beatrice is a designer from Milan. The candlelit courtyard offers a suitably chic spot for sipping Veneto wines with a proper Milanese plate of salami and cheeses, but the real surprises are the superior selection of coffee from around the world and fresh fruit smoothies.
reviewed
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L’Île Enchantée
In a similar vein to Café Chéri(e), this ‘Enchanted Island’ in Belleville has become a popular stop-off for the before-clubbing crowd. With its colourful façade, huge windows and large, modern interior, it’s a relaxed restaurant and terrace by day that turns electric at nightfall from Thursday to Saturday, with quality DJs mixing most evenings.
reviewed
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Le Tambour
Some people will say that the ‘Drummer’, a Paris mecca for night owls, with generously long hours and friendly service, is a restaurant. And they do serve straightforward dishes till as late as 3.30am or 4am. But we enjoy it as a late-night drinking venue and its mixed, somewhat boisterous crowd. You’ll enjoy the recycled street furniture, the transport bits ‘n’ bobs and the cocky staff.
reviewed
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Paradiso
Curators woo shy artists on mod couches and star architects hold court under sun umbrellas, even between Biennales. The scene is fuelled by a steady stream of coffee and cocktails that cost less than you’d expect given the designer chairs, waterfront location and lack of competition – this is the only cafe within reach of anyone in stilettos at the Biennale.
reviewed
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Amnésia
In the heart of the Marais, cosy, warmly lit Amnésia is an institution not easy to forget. Friendly and stylish, it remains resolutely popular with gay guys but is more mixed than many of its counterparts. There’s an attractive lounge area upstairs and a tiny dance floor in the cave (wine cellar) downstairs with DJ music from the 1980s and 90s.
reviewed
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Bar Gagarin
Prepare for lift-off with vodka, Russian beer and borscht at this retro lounge dedicated to Soviet space pioneer Yuri Gagarin. This is the more low-key cousin of Pasternak next door, with a spacey mural, crouched conversationalists and friendly staff. Good breakfast, Russian grub, Sunday brunch and full assortment of toiletries in the ladies’ loo.
reviewed
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Kaufbar
The name is the concept at this sweet, unhurried cafe where everything is ‘kaufbar’ (for sale) : the sofa you’re sitting on, the cup you’re drinking from, the vases decorating the table. Tousled students, young mums and local artists invade for the mix-and-match breakfast (until 5pm), coffee, cakes, drinks and light snacks. Nice garden, too.
reviewed
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Zenzero
Lightning bolts can scarcely compete with the eye-opening powers of Zenzero’s espresso, paired with freshly baked profiteroles (cream puffs) and other treats that tend to disappear in a flash. If the caffeine jolt you’ve received here hasn’t worn off by sundown, return for top-shelf aperitivi in the campo.
reviewed
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Le Pick-Clops
This buzzy bar-café – all shades of yellow and lit by neon – has Formica tables, ancient bar stools and plenty of mirrors. Attracting a friendly flow of locals and passers-by, it’s a great place for morning or afternoon coffee, or that last drink alone or with friends. Great rum punch (from €6.60) served with copious amounts of peanuts.
reviewed
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Paviljoen Aan ’t Ij
Smack in the middle of the surreal, refurbished shipping containers (now student housing), with a view of the expanse of water and Amsterdam-Noord beyond, this metal-and-glass structure is uber-industrial inside but still a cosy space to sip a cocktail. In summer everyone plops down on the multicoloured, oversized bean bags outside.
reviewed
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Amstel Haven
Bike or boat up to where the Amstel meets the Singelgracht, snag a canalside table under an umbrella, and have yourself a swell view of the water and skyscrapers. The dining room becomes a dance floor with DJs on Fridays (’80s and ’90s) and Saturdays (house and club classics), and Sundays feature live music.
reviewed
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La Sardine
Out in the western flanks of Belleville, it’s easy to miss rue Ste-Marthe and its colourful restaurants and bars exerting a dilapidated, funky charm. At the top, literally and figuratively, is this splendid and convivial café-wine bar, a bit of Marseille in Paris – brilliant for warm afternoons, tapas and organic wine.
reviewed
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Freedom
Freedom, once Soho’s coolest bar back in the 90s, is back and better than ever. Its total design rethink has given it a fantastically glamorous feel, whether it be upstairs in the main cafe-bar area, or downstairs in its dark underground club venue, which plays host to cool midweeker Hot Pink on Tuesdays.
reviewed
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Tabernilla Modernilla
On a quiet street just back from the Paseo del Prado is this colourful but cosy split-level little bar with an artsy vibe where mojitos, daiquiris and piña coladas cost a reasonable €6. From time to time it also has small shows or exhibitions and it’s always worth stopping by to see what’s happening.
reviewed
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Ada
The side streets off İstiklal may be full of great cafes and bars, but the grand boulevard itself possesses a motley range of choices. Fortunately, Ada is the exception. A cavernous place that’s half book-and-music store and half bar/cafe, it has style and substance in equal measure.
reviewed
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Concrete
By day this outlet in the Hayward Gallery is a discreet cafe serving tea and cake to an earnest art-loving crowd. By night this Cindarella transforms into a wicked step-sister, with late-night bar, DJs and live music from Thursday to Saturday and neon-pink cement mixers as props.
reviewed
