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Mirror Bar

Bratislava

• Disaronno Highest New Entry Award 2025

Art, nature and bohemian elegance collide in historic Bratislava

Within Bratislava's historic Radisson Blu Carlton Hotel is a lounge bar that has become the epicentre of the new wave of Slovakian cocktail culture. Under the stewardship of bar ambassador Stanislav Harcinik and Peter Marcina, Mirror Bar has found a confluence between timeless classicism and an embracing of innovation and theatrics that borders on science fiction.

Even before a sip has been taken, stepping into the Mirror Bar lounge is a transportive experience. Forest-green walls and emerald velvet furnishings are accented by deep wooden panels and hanging plants. There are cabinets of curiosity displaying miniature bonsai trees beneath a lofted skylight, all set around the bar's centrepiece – a full-size tree created by florist Róbert Bartolen. It all combines to give the impression of the surrealist fantasy of a Victorian-era natural scientist.

The setting plays on the three elements that define the Mirror Bar concept – Classy, Art, and Nature. Now on the third edition of its menu, named The Essence of Design, the cocktails at Mirror Bar eschew minimalism – serves here are theatrical articles of maximalism with imaginative glassware made in collaboration with local artisans.

Try the Lantern of Infinity, a clarified rum-based cocktail with goji and rosehip, red miso butter caramel and rice milk served within a four-dimensional mirrored cube, or Lux – a gin-based cocktail with passion fruit, sherry, rue berry liqueur and prosecco served under a bonsai tree from the bar's own botanical lab.

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