Cocktail chat: Foco, Barcelona
A pair of Brits are behind Foco, a Barcelona bar that aims to attract a mixed clientele of locals and expats with its takes on classic serves.
*This feature was first published in the May 2025 issue of The Spirits Business magazine.
“Tourists go home.” That was the chant ringing through the streets of Barcelona last summer, as locals protested against the pressures of mass tourism – rising rents, overwhelmed public spaces, and a hospitality sector that increasingly caters to outsiders rather than residents.
Their frustration is easy to understand. But one business is hoping to bridge the divide: Foco. The name, a shortening of ‘foreign correspondents’, nods to clubs that house travelling journalists. Foco, fittingly, made this travelling journalist feel very at home for the afternoon.
“Barcelona is quite expat-heavy,” explains co-founder Theo Quinn, who is from Bristol in the UK. “There’s been this unspoken war going on for quite a few years now, and we wanted to fight against that. That’s why we opened in this neighbourhood.”
That neighbourhood is Gràcia, which Quinn explains is a more residential area than the tourist-heavy Gothic Quarter or El Born. “We wanted to house all of the expats and still be in a place where the locals exist – to help mix them together.” It’s an admirable aim, but not without its difficulties. We got quite a few hate crimes,” he says of Foco’s launch in 2022, adding that the bar suffered graffiti and occasional damage to its terrace. Today, though, the crowd is an even split. “We’re the only bar like us in the neighbourhood, so we get a lot of locals at the weekend.”
Friend zone
Foco’s style of service is designed to spark conversation. “We don’t really use the menus – we like to get involved – maybe a little bit too much,” he laughs. Tables are shared, pushing back against the growing wave of reservation-only, stay-in-your-lane bars. “You lose the essence of a bar – if you want to go and speak to someone who’s sat over there, you can. Most people come in here and leave with a friend.”
Quinn founded Foco with fellow Bristolian Tom Godfrey, and describes their cocktail style as “very classic”, deriving from bars like London’s Milk & Honey. At Foco, this means basing cocktails on classics – but with a twist. “We follow the structure of a classic drink, but modify the making,” explains Quinn. He uses the example of a Mojito, explaining that its defining features are being rum-based, herbaceous, tall and refreshing. Rather than replicating the classic Mojito, they would create something that fits the bill and still “links back to the original”.
“Spanish cocktail culture isn’t that advanced – the drinking culture very much revolves around being on a terrace in the sun, enjoying vermouth or beer,” he explains. Linking drinks to familiar templates helps guests understand what they’re getting, even if it’s something new.
This style – which they call modernising classics – isn’t merely an attempt to be edgy. “Our knowledge of drinks very much comes from classics,” explains Quinn. “A very good way to do things is to build off a foundation that’s already been created. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with these drinks. But back then, they didn’t have the techniques we’re using now – why can’t we just apply them to something that already works?”
The menu when I visit is in its final few weeks, due to be replaced in May after a year. Early menus were seasonal, changing three or four times a year. “Something really amazing for Tom and me moving to Spain was the fresh produce and how delicious it is,” says Quinn, sharing a laugh over the quality of UK tomatoes in comparison.
Playful style
The current menu is a more comprehensive list of 30 drinks, keeping on some Foco signatures – now that the bar has been open long enough to have some.
The bar’s playful style is typified by its take on the Tequila Sunrise – I’ll admit I braced myself for a hit of watery Tropicana when Quinn told me this would be my next drink, but mercifully Foco’s take is a bit “more developed”.
Instead of orange juice, the bar uses yellow bell peppers, which are roasted and charred at the pizza restaurant opposite. The team then create an oleo-saccharum with the peppers, adding sugar to draw out the oils and flavour. The leftover peppers are then distilled and blended with Tequila and mezcal, before orange- and mandarin-clarified water is added.
The serve is then carbonated, with Quinn explaining that he and Godfrey like to play with textures. Carbonation is one way to achieve this, with the duo also experimenting with bubble size.
Another section of the menu features the bar’s bottled serves, which are a “nostalgic” nod to some of Quinn and Godfrey’s favourite soft drinks, with branding that flirts with trademark trouble. “We just really like soft drinks, and we wanted to have a bit of fun,” Quinn explains. “I’m sure we will get in trouble if we do a big event.”
One of the bottled serves is a riff on a Fish House Punch, in packaging that bears a resemblance to European iced tea brand Nestea. The serve dates to the 1800s, and features rum, Cognac, and peach liqueur. At Foco, the team lacto-ferments lemon to bring out some “kombucha-y” flavours, and adds the traditional base spirits. There’s also a tea blend, made with white peach tea and lapsang souchong black tea for a smoky hint.
While local restaurants have asked about stocking the range, for now the Foco team will be keeping them in-house. They are exploring creating their own bottled products for sale, with seltzers a strong possibility, though it’s not their current focus. “We’re chasing the 50 Best aspect of bars,” explains Quinn. “That’s what we relate to, and we’d like that recognition.”
Could 2026 be the year? Well, Foco has just been shortlisted for Best International Cocktail Bar at the 2025 Spirited Awards – so watch this space.
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