At the very top of the DN Skrapan building, Pontus Frithiof and Mario E. Moroni are home to their fine dining restaurant, la tour. A restaurant that until now lacked its own bar, but this has now been rectified and Le Bar awaits. Voyage booked a table and headed up.
A visit here it’s wise to book ahead, whether you plan to eat in the restaurant or just go up for a drink, or two. Table reservations are required; if you book a table in the restaurant, this reservation is included in your booking. Naturally, you can also be picked up by a chauffeur and a luxurious Rolls Royce if you wish to make a more grand entrance. However, we strolled and were shown to the lift for our ascent. Here we meet David Arnarsson, Bar Manager, and his colleague Carl, who guided us into the world of drinks.
The majority of guests here have tables booked for dinner at The Tower and come here for a drink before or after the meal. But there is also a lot of tasty food on the bar menu, regardless, it's always good to start with a glass of champagne. In our glasses, we are now pouring Valentin LeFlavie Blanc de Blancs A crisp Chardonnay-based champagne from a relatively unknown house. The bubbles are now combined with a poached Gillardeau oyster, decorated with cucumber and Oscietra caviar.
Our first drink will be the classic French 75, a drink with roots in the First World War, named after the 75-calibre guns used in the field. Legend has it the drink was created to give hope – and who doesn't need that?
The drinks menu is divided into classic cocktails and original creations. Our second drink belongs to the latter category. La Tour Brandy Punch, a drink created by David Arnarsson. When he talks about how he worked to coagulate the milk to extract its protein, his passion shines through. He finally produced his transparent milk punch to which cognac, mirabelle plums, and lemon were then added. I admit I don't quite understand how it's done, but the drink is wonderfully smooth and the work behind it is noticeable.
This would have been a good opportunity to head over to the restaurant and continue with something classic and luxurious such as sole, blue lobster, turbot, tournedos or quail. Or why not try the vegan option, which here is seared pointed cabbage. But we linger on The Bar and each get a lobster toast, not too shabby either. This is served with a Sakura Bloom, which David describes as follows:
– I make this drink with a slightly unusual spirit from Empirical Spirits in Copenhagen, flavoured with coffee leaves, citrus leaves, vetiver roots and blackcurrants. I've paired it with a Japanese green tea called Sakura Green, a tea with cherry leaves, where I've continued the cherry notes and bitter almond flavour from maraschino cherries. The whole thing is then carbonated.
It's been fabulously tasty and we're closing our evening with a Mandarin and Pink Lady Grapefruit sorbet with dried mint and mandarin, topped with Diplomatico Planas rum.
However, I do see some small but delicate issues with a visit here at The Bar. The seating is good, almost too good, so you're happy to stay. The approximately 20 seats are just the right number to allow for a good turnover without it feeling too crowded, so yes, you're happy to stay here. The drinks are a bit too good and tempting, meaning they end up a bit smaller in the glass if you order from the bar menu, which is an advantage. The only thing I'd like to add to my wish list is a few ambitious and delicious non-alcoholic cocktails. After all, there's always tomorrow. Even if another Sakura Bloom is tempting…
