FRESH, BRIGHT AND GROUNDED
We are introducing our new bar menu—intentional, bold, and shaped by memory.
At Istorja, the Café has always set the rhythm. This season, it led again—not with a demand, but with a quiet nudge. As the culinary team deepened its journey through Indian, Japanese, and broader Asian flavours, the bar followed. The result: a new menu of cocktails designed not to mirror the food, but to belong to the same story.
“It started from the kitchen,” the team tells us. Christos, Stelios, and Christos speak less like bartenders and more like collaborators in a larger narrative. “The drinks had to reflect what was happening on the plate. Otherwise, they’d feel out of place.”
There’s a feeling of spring in the new menu—fresh, bright, but grounded. Built on layers of contrast—heat, acid, umami, sweetness—it’s not loud. It’s intentional. Every ingredient has a reason. Every choice, a memory.
“We thought about travel, about food we’d had in strange places. We talked to the kitchen, read a lot. There were a few experiments that didn’t go anywhere. But eventually, something clicked.”
From sous-vide infusions to fat-washed spirits, the menu is rooted in craftsmanship but resists the temptation to over-perform. Simplicity—borrowed from Asian culinary philosophy—is the undercurrent. “It’s about balance. If one note dominates, we pull it back,” they say. “There’s no ego in the glass.”
Among the team’s favourite creations is a cocktail inspired by a mango lassi—a savoury riff that surprises without shouting. “It messes with expectations, in the best way.”
Their process is quiet, almost monastic. “Crafting a drink from scratch is like solving a puzzle,” says Christos. “You don’t force it. You just keep going until the pieces fit.” The smallest details matter—dilution, for example. A touch too much or too little water can undo a drink entirely. It’s the kind of thing most people won’t notice. But they will feel it.
When asked what they hope someone feels, quietly, when they take that first sip, the answer is almost a whisper:
“That they weren’t expecting it to taste that good.”
This is a menu built on intention, not indulgence. The team’s focus has shifted—from proving what’s possible to offering what’s beautiful. Less showing off. More showing up. Every drink, a conversation between past and present. Every detail, considered. Every pour, a small invitation: stay a little longer. Taste again.