Slow

Upstairs Slow transforms into a small club with hits by the likes of Suede and Spanish electropop duo Fangoria ringing out. But down at the bar, veteran barman Francesc Bretau and the rest of his team serve cocktails that are small works of art, mixing liquids and solids. The objective is clear – they want to surprise, disturb, and, most important, explain a journey to the client. Each cocktail takes you to a different corner of the planet, to a far-off lost paradise.

The Arabesque, which is inspired by Jordan, is made with gin, red vermouth, raspberry liqueur, cold 'karkadé' (hibiscus tea) and distilled juniper. It’s a roller-coaster of nuances, a creation that mutates as you’re drinking it, getting you slowly drunk with an irresistible bitterness. There is also the Atari: gin, yuzu juice, sake, umeshu (Japanese liqueur), egg whites and matcha syrup. This visual and gustatory delight, served in three phases, has a celestial foam and wasabi peas as an accompaniment. Such an experiment perfectly illustrates the ambitions of a menu that will hurt your wallet, certainly, but will also take you on a voyage to Jordan and Japan at a cost of between €13 and €20 per ‘ticket’. Now that’s a low-cost trip.