Walking the blurry line between restaurant and bar, Es Gibt Reis is made for long nights. Long nights that begin with food that makes your nipples perk, and ends with crazy good cocktails. They’re serving up inventive food and cocktails with a South-East Asian flavour. The bespectacled owner, David, the main act behind the outfit, is a trained barman with a curiosity for the kitchen, which he’s had since he was young.
“The food and the drinks are equal here in the importance of quality,”
David explains. He’s not bluffing. Having traveled broadly in South East Asia, David’s recreating it in his kitchen and behind the bar in an authentic way. The silky-suede bench sofa that wraps around the diners and drinkers are remnants of the coffeehouse from the place’s former life. Bulbous light bulbs spiderweb out from the ceiling, frames filled with neat graphic design and an abstract centre piece painting play as small details amongst the charcoal, and blue colour scheme. Like we said, it’s made for long nights. It all works.
The cocktail menu is a mix of classic and original creations. Like the inventive Schüttel dein Haar (translation: shake your hair) of Thai whiskey, tamarind, grape juice, lime juice and a stick of lemon grass poking out (which I mistook for a straw) – sour, sweet, and as neat as a well-done tied knot.
Check out our full review of Es Gibt Reis, here.
