The Walrus – Hamburg

Earlier this year I was traveling to Hamburg like every year in Spring. One of the nicest cities in Germany. Just love the mixture of architectural styles, the harbour and of course the food. I did not have a lot of time to prepare this trip since it was for business. Luckily though at the World Travel Catering Fair I met the producer of my most favourite gin. Old English by Hammer & Son. Had a great talk and as it came, bars was a topic too. Obviously the name Lion was out there but he told me about a new bar close to Reeperbahn which is suppose to be quite nice. Since I have been in Le Lion every time I came to Hamburg I gave it a try.

I did not find a lot about it on the internet. A picture here and there which looked promising and the logo which is pretty cool. I went on a Thursday and the bar had some people but was not crowded. Obviously my place of choice was at the bar. Nice big wooden surface that awaits you. The bar has a minimalistic decoration, it doesn’t feel overcrowded and it has a good balance between candle light and ordinary lighting. The bartenders are dressed smart casually. The Walrus has a homely feeling to it. I certainly felt good comfy and in good hands. My first drink of choice, as most of the time was a Dirty Martini. A very classical drink in a rather casual bar. Risky choice? Turned out the choice wasn’t risky at all. Pre cooled glasses, lovely olives on the side, delicious brine, cooled dry vermouth and my gin of choice. All served on a silver platter. You can’t make it better. The glass was not too big therefore not the whole drink found space in the glass, so the rest was poured in a little decanter on ice. What more can you ask for? To finish the symphony, even the pits of the olives are discarded in style, on an oyster shell. They really had me. The ears are well treated with the blues background music. David and Daniel the two bartenders of the evening were extremely friendly, luckily there were not so many people so it was easy to start a chat about all things bar. Basically the best thing to do when enjoying a bar by yourself. Obviously after this first drink it was time to taste some of their menu, which is probably the only little flaw of that bar. Not the drinks on the menu but the menu itself. Little piece of paper with a plastic film around. Well they could do just a little cooler on that one. A delight though when you browse through the drinks. Innovate stuff, good balance between longdrinks and classical short ones. I started of with the Sixteen Tons. Nice big ice cube in a tumbler.

A composition like an Old Fashioned: Red wine and Stout syrup, Bourbon and two different bitters. Full bodied, round, all tastes reflected, a very good drink indeed. To finish off the evening I went for a twist of an old classic, Lee’s Blood and Sand. Alt Bergedorfer Herbliqueur, a local produce, Laphroaig, Antica Formula and Red Port and Stout Foam. Again a well composed symphony. Perfectly balanced. All flavours there, from herbs to smokyness and the wooden sweetness of the Antica rounded off with the light but intense foam of port and stout. I ended up going 3 times to that bar. It gets very busy on the weekends so the menu is slightly reduced but when i went the third time Daniel recognised me, I was allowed to order from the extensive menu as I wanted to show a drink to somebody, a very nice gesture indeed. A good bartender is not only master of his work but also his social skills, which absolutely needs to balance in a bartenders personality. Talking about personality, on the second evening the bar was packed. At around midnight one barkeeper started shouting, the crowded silenced in seconds as everybody thought something might has happened, only to hear that service is suspended for 3 minutes as the staff is having a quick cigarettes break. You know what, well done! Everybody smiled and you just wish them a good few minutes. In the walrus, the bartenders are just humans, which again, makes you feel at home.

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