Bar Review: Royal Cocktail Club, Porto, Portugal — Liquid Thoughts

Last Visit: November 2023

Portugal’s second city Porto has a longer tradition of drinking culture than one might think, considering it is the birthplace and protected source of one of the most common fortified wines in the world. Before there even was something like bars, old fashioneds or martinis, there was already a collector’s market for vintage port wines and royal families all over the world were enjoying the characteristics of the valley and coastline at the Atlantic Ocean.

With such a storied background, it should come easy to this town to feature at least a couple of interesting cocktail bars, but the search proved harder than expected. Luckily, it was one of the unexpected bars that now takes the place as my number one in Porto, the Royal Cocktail Club.

Porto, like so many other cities in countries with similar drinking culture, has a hard time when it comes to bars. No surprise, considering it is almost painfully easy to find the most amazing wines, fortified or not, at great prices and the freshest food served right with it. The idea of a mixed drink in a place without a proper kitchen is just something not fitting for a lot of people, it seems.

It was my expectation to find the best drinks in restaurants, and even to like the wines much more than the drinks. Seeing a more traditional, long-standing ‘veteran’, such as The Royal Cocktail Club on my list, did not get my hopes up. I was happily proven wrong. As one of the first places to introduce what we understand as ‘mixology’ to the city, I was a bit worried that it would be outdated, but it impressed me with state-of-the-art craftsmanship. The bar is located right at one of the main nightlife arteries of the city, with crowds, loud music and the occasional barricade of police cars setting the scene. All the better, that the bar itself calms that down with an elegant interior, mostly inspired by luxury hotels. The doors are flanked by Tanqueray bottles (no need to mention which brands you will find at the front of the shelf) and the back bar covers the entire side of the wall.

In the dark ambient lighting a couple of vintage bottles and tools complete the image of a classic bar, the ‘Club’ in the name is spot on. The real essence, or shall we say ‘heart’ (You will understand why in a moment) however lies behind a velvet curtain and down a staircase in the basement where a second counter and seating areas await. Here are even larger displays of rare vintage spirits. None of which are unfortunately used or served, but I am told that this is part of the extensive collection of the owner, and it at least speaks to a visible passion to the craft.

The menu consists of modern, approachable interpretations of classics, the proximity to clubs and pubs means there are a lot of people simply ordering mules or GnTs and its interpretations. As with many other cities that have hotter days, people there enjoy refreshing drinks the most and for many a stop at a cocktail bar comes before or after going for a wine.

Here is where the downstairs bar comes into play, as it offers a couple of exclusive drinks that showcase a more creative, elaborate mixology and impressive depth of flavors. All are based on immediate main flavors and then leave themselves to be discovered and puzzled apart with single ingredients.

D. Pedro:

My favorite drink of the city as of now. Reading the list of ingredients is not actually advised before ordering, as it is simply overloading the drinker with too much information. Let the first sip and the finish guide your senses. The Gin, which is, as you might know, one of my absolute favorites for clean, consistent infusions, is not only infused, but redistilled via Gyrovap. This, together with the Cordial, adds a beautifully rich beetroot to the drink, that is neither too earthy, nor too sweet. Beetroot in general is absolutely underrated, as it has both sweet and bitter flavors. It is just one of those ingredients that always work best when the customer doesn’t know it’s in the drink. The story behind the name is related to emperor Dom Pedro I, whose heart remained in the city of Porto, while his body was buried in São Paulo, Brazil.

The earthiness and bitterness of the liquors and the beetroot, combined with the local spirit of the Ruby Port, symbolize his connection to Portugal and the city. The sweetness and tropical sourness of flowers and Kombucha connect it to South America.

What makes this drink is the perfect balance of all elements of mixing through the use of carefully selected ingredients, achieving full flavor, without being too heavy.

Diamond:

Another drink in beautifully elaborate glassware. What could otherwise be considered tacky, works within the category of ‘Royal Drinks’ and the fact that these are only served at the downstairs bar. I would describe this as ‘Champagne deconstructed’ and unlike bad sparkling wine, it actually cured the headache I had.

Once again, the balance of elements from sour to sweet is masterfully achieved. If you think of all the aspects of a great Champagne, the dried fruits, the peach, pear and florals notes, these are all here. It ebbs off a bit quicker than the D. Pedro, but it is quite the deep drink and there is a lot to discover.

The Mancino Ambrato does a lot in adding grape notes, while the Kombucha Hop gives it just a slight impression of ‘fizziness’. This cocktail fits into a great category of white grape that we here at Liquid Thoughts really start to appreciate. As we are continuously astonished by amazing White Vermouths, Ports, and other fortified wines that develop a beautiful fruity and flowery aroma from the spirit alone.

As a final little stop at the end of my journey at The Royal Cocktail Club, I asked the fantastic bartender to do a classic Gin Fizz for me. Part of the reason for that is my nostalgia for the old Curtain Club at the Ritz in Berlin under Arndt and his other bar, Fragrances. The way in which the cocktails here were developed and how full they were, despite the fact that they used rather ‘light’, non-aged spirits, reminded me of the sensory experience at Fragrances. The D. Pedro is also sprayed with a homemade Tanqueray ‘perfume’ to enhance the earthy juniper notes. Incidentally, I also had the best Gin Fizz of my life at Curtain Club. I insisted that the one at The Royal Cocktail Club would not be a Ramos Gin Fizz, which yes is a great technical display, but tastes way too sweet, but a classic, lemon only Gin Fizz.

It was a very good, straightforward drink that I felt could use a little more lemon, but was otherwise great.

Curious readers might already ask themselves where all the Rums and Whiskies are, or if this is indeed secretly a Gin bar. There are other spirits as well, but it is just the way in which people drink in Portugal that they prefer a lighter base, probably. It is also that these spirits are chosen as a great canvas on which to create a landscape of flavors and depth that might just be overshadowed by any other category of alcohol.

We are going to add a couple more places from Porto, such as Flor, Curioso, Torto or Big Bad Bank Bar, but I wanted to start with what I consider to be the highlight and the highest level of techniques. We are also going to take a look at the history and production of Port Wine in a separate article, so stay tuned for that, until then,

Cheers

/jf

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