Windhorst Bar and Lounge

Address: 65 Dorotheenstraße, Mitte, Berlin, 10117, Germany
Tel: +49 30 20 450 070
Email: mail@windhorst-bar.de
Website: view Windhorst Bar and Lounge’s website
Hours: Mon-Tue 18:00-00:00, Wed-Thu 18:00-01:00, Fri 18:00-02:00, Sat 21:00-03:00, Sun Closed
Door: Go early
Style: Lounge bar
Established: 1999

Review

This one-room saloon bar exudes the sophistication that you'd expect from a classic five-star hotel bar, yet remains relaxed and informal. Owner Günter Windhorst and his super-efficient bartenders may wear neatly pressed white shirts but the customers tend to be laidback and casually attired.

Thirty or so people almost fill the small room. Built-in banquette seating runs around the grey rendered walls under a bronze ceiling with a scattering of round tables filling the floor space. Ignore these and grab yourself a bar stool at the far right-hand end of the bar. This is where the cocktails are assembled, and watching their construction is something to behold. The back shelves bristle with premium liquor and the small wooden drawers beneath contribute to the appearance of an apothecary.

A 52-page hardback menu lists tens of classic and contemporary cocktails, all lovingly made and with juices freshly hand-pressed specifically for each individual drink.

Windhorst opened back in 1999 and much has happened over the 20 years this fantastic little bar has been open. When sat at the bar counter, look to your far left and you may spot the birthdays of Günter's two children, Ludwig and Sophie chalked on the wall.