There are many 24-hour supermarkets in Barcelona, but only one hides a cocktail bar. It is Monk, a place at number 10 of Carrer dels Abaixadors that, if you don't pay attention, it's difficult to see and discover that Giacomo Gianotti, one of the best bartenders in the world, works there.
“That the entrance is like that of a ‘paqui’ is because most of the things we do, we do because they amuse us, like the parade a few days ago to celebrate the 100 years of the World Cup and La Font del Gat,” says Guillem Fructuoso, from the Grup Confiteria, the company that manages this establishment in Barcelona's Born neighborhood, located between the Basilica of Santa Maria and Via Laietana. Grup Confiteria also created the Paradiso cocktail bar, crowned in 2022 as the best bar in the world.
That same year, Monk opened its doors, a cocktail bar that, coming from the street, no one expects. Fructuoso describes the establishment by its “disruptive and colorful church-like air” due to the neo-Gothic columns that rise on both sides of the bar, a fact that contrasts with “the strange order of a supermarket.” Inside there are also colored lights that go from pink to blue and tint the gray of the stone.
An author's cocktail bar for all audiences
Monk's brother is the Paradiso cocktail bar, located on Carrer de Rera Palau, also in Born, and which, since it opened in 2016, has been ranked among the best cocktail bars in the world on more than one occasion. In turn, Monk “does not play in this league,” comments Fructuoso, who adds that the one on Carrer dels Abaixadors is an “author's cocktail bar for all audiences.” Another peculiarity is that it has an outdoor area with sofas and music. “This gives it a more 'canyero' vibe,” he adds.
And what do you drink there? Among the cocktails, which have names of the artists who inspired the creation of the space, Fructuoso highlights, first of all, the Elliasions: “It is an easy-to-drink and sweet cocktail.” There are two more that are very successful. They are the Kusama, for Ron Negroni lovers, and the Viva Godard, which “attracts attention.”
From Grup Confiteria they also celebrate that the venue has attracted numerous production companies to record commercials and music videos, like one years ago by the Andalusian singer Mala Rodríguez. Finally, regarding the public they receive, they highlight that being located in Born makes it inevitable to receive large quantities of tourists. “Local people come, but it is no more than 20% of the clientele,” concludes Fructuoso.
