Yahoo News Bar Bolivar: A first look at Canary Wharf's Cuban cocktail den inspired by Havana in the 50s
The team behind Casa do Frango are hoping to bring a slice of Cuba to Canary Wharf, having launched a new bar that takes its cues from Havana in the 1950s.
Named for Simón Bolívar, the 19th century Venezuelan revolutionary who liberated much of modern day South America from the Spanish Empire, Bar Bolivar is being billed as good-time place. The PR hype describes it as somewhere "for celebration, where drinking and debauchery have free reign."
Opened quietly yesterday, October 20, the bar is serving a list of Cuban drinks – no surprise rum features heavily – which will mostly be under £10 a serve. Among those on the menu are a Hemingway Highball, a long version of the writer's favourite Papa Doble (Hemingway daiquiri), which he is once said to have drunk 17 of in a single sitting at El Floridita, his favourite Havana bar. Unlike Hemingway's "double frozen daiquiri" – his name for the Doble – which contained four-and-a-half measures of rum, the highball will be softer, with more emphasis on the grapefruit and cranberry flavours alongside the rum and vermouth.
Other mixes on the menu include a Malecon, made with gin, lime and pineapple juice, which revives a 1915 recipe named after the avenue that runs along the Havana sea front, and a Bolivar Mojito.
Alongside the drinks are sharing plates from Pabellón, the award-winning Venezualan street food specialists, including their take on the Cubano sandwich – a ham and cheese affair – made with shredded pork with pickled cucumber.
With design inspired by mid-20th century hotels in Havana – nods include suitcases stacked up – the bright spot ties into co-founders Jake Kasumov's longstanding ambition to open somewhere with a Cuban feel.
"Having grown up in Havana, I was always mesmerised by Cuban culture – from architecture, to music, to bars, to nightlife, Havana offers a one-of-a-kind experience," Kasumo said, "Taking inspiration from legendary establishments like La Bodeguita Del Medio, El Floridita and the bar at Hotel Nacional, our idea was to transport our guests into a little corner of Havana. A place where we can forget the reality of London, and experience the feeling of being on holiday – with a Mojito or two in hand, and The Buena Vista Social Club playing in the background.”
Bar Bolivar is open now at 2 Reuters Plaza, E14 5AJ, barbolivar.co.uk
