Check out the Wise King, a Hong Kong cocktail bar inspired by a Spanish fable. Legend has it that King Alfonso X, The Wise, was instructed to have small amounts of wine and snacks between meals to recover from an illness, prompting the birth of tapas. This is the theme behind the doors of this great bar.
It takes its design cues from the thirteenth century – think hues of gold, brown and red – including lush velvets and decorative brocade. The kitchen delivers a menu of bite-sized nibbles with Spanish, Moroccan and Italian influences, as well as modern takes on cocktails. Pair your patatas bravas with the bar’s take on a whisky sour, the Turron Sour.
Concealed inside the walls of a historic 1911 building that was originally a pool hall, you’ll find a nine-room boutique hotel and restaurant with a secret. For most visiting the mountain-town of Revelstoke, the delicious smoky smells of the acclaimed Quartermaster restaurant that waft through its big industrial doors are enough to lure you in. But it’s the secret little boiler room that really captures us.
Tucked away beneath the restaurant, this speakeasy bar (boiler room) offers an intimate setting for those wishing to enjoy a curated selection of whisky, spirits and cocktails, all while marvelling at a 100-year-old coal-fired boiler. It’s moody and mysterious – just the way we like our hidden bars to be. If you need us, you’ll know where we’ll be!
Juliet Melbourne is a place that celebrates three of our favourite things: cheese, wine and women. There’s an exciting wine list featuring only female winemakers, and most of the drops are Australian, too. The aforementioned cheese comes in the form of Juliet Melbourne’s signature dish, the raclette, its melty goodness scraped over smashed kipflers, sourdough and, for omnivores, proscuitto, accompanied by a decent pile of cornichons. Order it and thank us later.
There are also charcuterie plates and other seasonal dishes designed for sharing. In typical Melbourne fashion, this intimate bar is tucked down a laneway. Just follow your nose to Little Bourke Street where the mouthwatering aromas will lead you in the right direction.
A nondescript door with a sign that says ‘Staff Only’ is the lone clue you’ll get that you’re close to stumbling upon Korobok, a secret underground bar in Moscow. Owned and run by the esteemed White Rabbit Group, who also own Tehnikum next door, Korobok is perhaps best known for being the bar with no menu. Instead, head barman Evgeny Shashin and his team of world-class mixologists will whip up a cocktail in accordance with your preferred tastes.
Each drink also comes with a perfume – carefully curated to enhance the cocktail you’ve ordered. Talk about personalised service! Korobok means boxes, or matchbox, in Russian, which is a telling name considering the bar itself is just a single chamber that looks more like a lounge room. With dark leather couches and dim lighting to create a warm and inviting space, you won’t regret having to search a little to find this watering hole.
Escape the world in this tree-house designed pool bar nestled into Uluwatu’s spectacular landscape. Guests would be forgiven for thinking they’ve just stepped into St Tropez, as they bask in the lounge-surrounded 25-metre infinity pool overlooking the coast. It’s bar menu features everything you’d imagine from beach club classic cocktails to playful mixes, beers, wines, house spirits and even a menu for juices, tonics and cultures.
Plus, Ulu has an onsite spa, boutique store and cliff-top restaurant run by acclaimed Peruvian chef Diego Muñoz. Ulu Cliffhouse’s minimalistic luxury grabs you and it treats you well. Kombucha anyone?
Hate doing the washing? Us too. Unless, of course, sorting the laundry also means sipping on cocktails. Introducing Lavomatic, a quirky Parisian bar that serves up mojitos with a side of freshly laundered towels. From the front, this 10th arrondissement establishment looks like just another laundromat – we’re talking washing machines, dryers, soap, the lot.
Press the right button on the correct washing machine though, and watch a secret door open to reveal a hidden staircase leading to the bar. The metallic, sterile laundry environment is replaced by one that resembles a cool, comfortable apartment. With cosy, cushion-filled nooks, swing chairs and an extensive drinks menu, this spot just made doing the laundry a whole lot more enticing.
It’s popped up seasonally in hotspots like Baku, the Maldives and the Greek Islands. Now Buddha-Bar Beach has found its first permanent open-all-year home on the luxurious shores of Abu Dhabi’s St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort. The concept, born in Paris more than 20 years ago, unifies elements of Eastern and Western culture, and this latest rendition of its restaurant-bar-lounge is a swanky day-to-night affair.
The menu, influenced by Pacific Rim and Far East flavours, shines as brightly as the glittering Arabian Gulf views with dishes that are art on a plate (the King of the Beach, a 48-piece seafood platter, is a masterpiece), while mixologists whip up aromatic cocktails to the DJ-crafted opus of electro and tribal rhythms and saxophonists moodily croon during the sunset sessions. Fair warning, though: prepare for all other nights out to be underwhelming after this.
The premise behind Pelican Brewing Company is a simple one: beers by the beach. It’s a winning formula, and one that the team has down pat – after all, they’ve been serving ice-cold froffs here for more than 20 years now. The location, perched on the shoreline of the Oregon coast, is phenomenal, and visitors can stroll the dunes, take a dip or go crabbing before knocking back a few craft offerings.
There’s a selection of crowd favourites – including pale ales, stouts and pilsners – available to drink year-round, but it’s the seasonal varieties that impress the most. Our top pick? The Jamaicito, a mojito-inspired lager with hibiscus, mint and lime, best enjoyed on the outdoor terrace with a plate of calamari.
With a name like Taki Taki, which means ‘cheers’ or ‘to lift up’ in Fijian, you just know you’re in for a cracking time at this Singaporean tiki bar. A vibrant mural dominates the small space that opens to a balcony, creating a vibe that is relaxed and friendly – the bar staff even go out of their way to learn the names of thirsty patrons!
The rum-soaked cocktails – served in classic tiki glassware, of course – come highly recommended, but there are plenty of other options on the first-rate drinks list that aren’t fruity, flowery or super sugary. Bar snacks come in the form of satay char siu tacos and cheeseburger sliders, which go a long way towards soaking up the delicious yet deceivingly potent cocktails.
Hidden away up a concealed staircase, its bright neon sign the only clue of any potential shenanigans, Lost in Brixton has landed in South London. There’s enough room for 440 revellers to kick back on its rooftop and enjoy the South American-inspired cocktail list featuring 16 varieties of spritz, or a chilled local Brixton Brewery beer depending on the mood.
Plenty of greenery gives the space a jungle vibe, while the retractable roof is a welcoming, if slightly optimistic, inclusion. Food is available from a selection of local eateries, and ordering is as simple as snapping a QR code, paying online and waiting for it to turn up at your table. We certainly wouldn’t mind getting lost here!
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