This venue has now moved to Maoming Lu.
This hotly anticipated new cocktail
bar on Shaanxi Nan Lu has more
than a hint of ‘wow’ factor about its
appearance. Weaved iron letters
display the bar’s name across a
tinted red window, allowing a sultry,
smoky glimpse inside. The rouge-dressed
interior is dominated by a
huge sweeping bar, a semi-circle
that has something of the circus
about it and a pole running through the middle (we’re yet to see it
used). Neatly turned out staff whizz
around the bar, which is lined with
lightbulbs, amid striped black
and white patterned coasters,
candelabras, heavy curtains and tall
red bar stalls.
The seating largely surrounds
the bar, which Candor’s founders
hope will facilitate ‘interactive
involvement between guests’. A
nice idea, although if it transpires
that you end up interacting with
somebody undesirable you can
nab one of the few adjacent tables.
Then again, this would mean you’d risk missing out on some of the
spectacle behind the bar that
Candor is all about. Bartenders
will appear offering ice cream and
jelly made from various heating and
cooling processes – somewhere
between mixology and a chemistry
experiment – while each drink
is artfully prepared.
With high prices
– most drinks are
around 100RMB,
and some push up
towards 200RMB
– it’s innovation
and quality that
you’re paying for,
two traits we’ve
come to expect from
owner Aaron Feder,
formerly of El Ocho
and Heyday. We love the
You Don’t Trust Me (178RMB),
a crisp take on a gin and tonic,
although we can’t help but wish
there had been more economies
made to bring the price down.
For those who prefer something
sweet and fruity on the palate, try
The Millionaire’s Wife (88RMB),
based on Appleton Estate Rum, sloe
gin, raspberry lambic and apricot
brandy. It is, to use a technical term,
yummy. And to top off the night,
try the whiskey-based Deez Nuts (88RMB), a creamy short drink with
Amaretto, Town Branch Rye Whisky,
egg white and honey syrup.
One other area where the bar nails
it is the soundtrack. As the evening
works through classic hits from the
likes of Pulp, The Streets and Queen
we find our toes tapping in
approval.
For now, we suggest
stopping by at the
weekend – the
song and dance is
definitely tamer
on weekdays,
and it’s clear
that the bar has
been designed
with theatricality
in mind. It’s also
clear how much work
has gone into setting up
Candor. The attention to detail
is impressive, the staff members
are extremely friendly and attentive,
and the cocktail quality is excellent.
Whether the eye-watering prices
will prove prohibitive to regulars
however, remains to be seen.
