Booze banter: SB’s favourite global bar snacks
Whether it’s tearing into a share bag of McCoy’s at a sun-soaked pub table or savouring Michelin-starred snacks in the world’s finest bar kitchens, the way to team SB’s heart isn’t always through a straw – it’s through the stomach.
While sampling some of the world’s best cocktails is part of our job description, the occasional olive fished from a Martini doesn’t quite keep hunger at bay. Fortunately, another perk of the role is getting stuck into some of the industry’s finest bar snacks, and in recent years, the on-trade has seriously raised its game on the food front.
Cheese, crisps and tiramisu at Bar Leone, Hong Kong
You might come for a pre-dinner cocktail, but most likely, you won’t be needing another meal after a visit to Bar Leone. Meat eaters have to order Bar Leone’s famous Mortadella sandwich, but there are plenty of alternative bar snack options too. To satiate a salty craving, choose the smoked mascarpone with chives, served with a (un)healthy measure of crisps under a blanket of cheese. (Take a scroll through the bar’s Instagram account for proof). And, of course, a bowl of Bar Leone’s house-smoked olives for the table (if you can be so generous) is a must. Room for dessert? The tiramisu is 10/10.
Melita Kiely, editor-in-chief
‘Tots & Shots’ and pretzel bites at Silver Lyan, Washington DC
The Lyan bars have a reputation for creating out-of-this-world drinks, but I’d be lying if I said one of the biggest pulls for visiting any of the venues in the group wasn’t their snack menus. In London, I’m all about the seabass ceviche tacos at Lyaness and the potato smileys at its Shoreditch sister Seed Library. But it’s the group’s Washington DC outpost, Silver Lyan, that offers up one of the best bar snack lineups I’ve ever tried.
The Tots & Shots offering was the stand-out for me during my visit last year. A bowl of crispy, salty tater tots with an addictive buttermilk ranch dressing on the side, presented with a selection of retro-style Jello Shots in Aperol and Hugo Spritz variations, and served with a Champagne chaser – all proof that the best things don’t need to be overcomplicated.
Another standout: the everything pretzel bites with their gooey cheese dip accompaniment. Soft and salty and warm – perfect for soaking up the one or two (or three) Silver Service Martinis I ordered from the cocktail menu.
Georgie Collins, digital editor
Popcorn chicken at Double Chicken Please, NYC
Double Chicken Please’s back room, The Coop, is famous for drinks that take after food (French Toast, Key Lime Pie, Cold Pizza), but the actual food the team serves is a memorable event too – as I found out on my visit back in 2023.
A solid meal at the bar can be had, and not in the jokey drinking Cold Pizza and Thai Green Curry for dinner type of way (although the bar has put forward the liquid dinner concept before). Chicken is the order – in case that wasn’t clear – and the five spice-dusted popcorn chicken comes sided with sauces like hot honey and salted egg yolk. The chicken disappeared in a hurry, was high-quality and filled me up without being too much. Exactly what you want to supplement an evening of cocktails. It’s presented in a takeaway box too, which is handy for when there are leftovers and you’re in need of breakfast the next day (New York’s expensive).
Rupert Hohwieler, senior staff writer
The savoury doughnut that goes with every drink at Eve Bar, London
Cheese can come in all guises, from on top of a pizza to a pasta garnish or even, on one occasion, a macaroon (a complete surprise when I tried this in one restaurant in Milan many years ago), but inside a doughnut is not a place I’ve encountered before. There’s a reason why chef Adam Handling’s aptly-named ‘OG’ cheese doughnut remains a staple on his menu: it’s warm, rich and gooey with lashings of aged Parmesan on top – a moreish snack that leaves you wanting at least one more.
On a particularly hot day last summer, I made the trip to Eve Bar below Handling’s Michelin-starred Frog restaurant in London, where the cocktails (from its latest single ingredient-focused menu) are as top-notch as the food.
While I’m told the menu of snacks has changed since I was last there, the bar is still offering up the unmissable cheese doughnut for a tenner (it’s worth it), alongside a ‘not an oyster’ snack that comes in an edible shell and was created to taste like an oyster. There’s also olives and nuts – the quintessential bar snacks – a prawn cocktail doughnut, and several sweet treats.
And what could be better than ending the night with a dessert in a glass – the bar’s ‘Coffee’ cocktail is an indulgent twist on an Espresso Martini with Mr Black coffee liqueur, Amaro Montenegro, butter-washed Papa Salt Gin, Peruvian coffee and a tiramisu foam.
Nicola Carruthers, deputy editor
Jamón ibérico at Paradiso, Barcelona
When Georgie first suggested bar snacks as a topic, my initial response was general negativity. I’m very lucky to have visited amazing cocktail bars around the world, and while those trips often involve amazing food experiences, they don’t usually take place at the bar. Olives and nuts are par for the course, with a meat and cheese plate if you’re lucky. And while I’ve grown somewhat weary of cured meats over the years, there is one particular ham experience that stands out – and it probably comes as no surprise that it was in Spain.
Picture the scene: it’s the final night of Paradiso’s Sustainability Summit in Barcelona, and some of the world’s most forward-thinking bartenders have gathered at the bar to celebrate. A flamenco dancer and singer are captivating the whole room, with the exception of one journalist who is shovelling slices of jamón ibérico de bellota in her gob. “This is the best ham I’ve ever eaten,” I said to anyone who would listen, and a few who wouldn’t.
While I hope to sample more innovative and unusual bar snacks in the future, my experience perhaps offers a good philosophy: sometimes the classics – executed perfectly and leaning on a sense of place – can’t be beaten.
Lauren Bowes, bars editor
One of everything at Sastrería Martinez, Lima
The food and drink scene in Lima, Peru, is phenomenal – and Sastrería Martinez is no exception. This is a bar that takes its culinary offering just as seriously as its cocktails. I’d never experienced such beautifully presented bar food. The current menu offers ‘catch of the day’ ceviche (of course), sweet potato fritters with cream cheese, pizzas with prosciutto or cheese, crispy pork sandwiches, and for something sweet, crème brûlée or panna cotta with Campari.
Melita Kiely, editor-in-chief
Dim sum at Archive & Myth, London
Beneath the gambling floor of the Hippodrome casino in London’s Leicester Square is one of my favourite basement bars: Archive & Myth. While luck might not be with you at the blackjack tables upstairs, down here, the extraordinary drinks menu will always make you feel like you’ve hit the jackpot.
Aside from the extensive list of standout drinks, the bar provides a snack menu crafted in partnership with its subterranean neighbour, the contemporary and award-winning Chinese restaurant Chop Chop by Four Seasons – and every dish is a winner. Expect ultra-crispy spring rolls, cloud-like char sui BBQ pork buns, and extra-juicy steamed garlic scallops with glass noodles, but I’d say don’t leave without ordering a big plate of the salt and pepper French beans – honestly, I couldn’t get enough.
Georgie Collins, digital editor
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