The Bar in Front of the Bar: From Street-Side Cocktails to World-Class Status

I remember the first night as if it were yesterday. A makeshift bar, a handful of bottles, a counter set up in front of a still-closed space — and yet, something in the air already felt different. It was July 2021. Athens was just awakening from the slumber of lockdown, and The Bar in Front of the Bar was taking its first steps: with challenges, with faith, with instinct. A few years later, it ranks among the 50 best bars in the world. If you ask me why, the answer isn’t just in the drinks — as always, it lies mostly in the people.



The Bar in Front of the Bar is a bar I feel closer to than any other. To me, it was never just another bar. From the start, it was a meeting point — a casual “let’s grab a drink” that felt almost revolutionary in the era of takeaway cocktails. And the funny thing is, I was there from day one — even before, in fact. Not as a journalist, but as a friend, an observer, a regular. What drew me in back then wasn’t just the drinks, which were excellent. It was the effortless energy, the chemistry of the moment, and the unmistakable vibe in every corner of that space. I’ve known the team for years before the bar even existed; they shared their idea with me early on, and I was dropping by regularly, watching each step unfold before the doors ever opened.

Alexandros Tselepís, Konstantinos Theodorakopoulos and Symeon Papanikolaou didn’t just set up a pop-up bar to pass the time during lockdown. The idea may have first sparked when, deep into the pandemic, they were mixing drinks and drawing queues outside Piazza Duomo in Mitropoleos Square — a spot that had offered them one of the city’s most beautiful urban “windows”. So they created one of their own: a window serving cocktails on Petraki Street. They built something the city didn’t know it needed — a street bar unafraid to be authentic. No chairs, no frills — just pure pulse.

As time went on, the bar never lost its laid-back vibe — but the quality kept climbing. At the outdoor bar, the menu changes daily, offering both classic cocktails and clever twists. It was something Konstantinos and I had talked about many times: how most people don’t truly know the classics, or how delicious they can be. So he set out to teach them.

Then came “Rumble in the Jungle” — the “indoor” bar that completed the vision. With its in-house lab, distillery licence and a team that never stops experimenting and pushing boundaries, it was no longer just about “tasty drinks”. Each cocktail became a statement.

From the very first full menu at Rumble in the Jungle, I could already list my favourites — and thankfully, many of them are still around. Once a year, the menu evolves, refreshed with new creations before or after the Athens Bar Show.

There’s Her Scent, a crystal-clear gimlet that radiates pure sensuality with every sip. Kafeneio, a cocktail that blends flavour with the very history of Athens’ dining culture. Tacos Margarita, which tastes uncannily like drinking a taco. Karavan, a tribute to the beloved Athenian clothing brand, with part of its proceeds going to the Panathinaikos A.O. disabled sports division.

Then there’s Talking Heads, which brings the sharp, funky kick of kimchi into a glass, and Spitbucket, intriguing both in name and flavour, where biscuits meet strawberries in a completely unexpected way. C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me…) plays with temperature and features their own tsipouro, Rocks N’ Grapes. Ali Bomaye, served in an instantly recognisable glass, and Rope-a-Dope — another nod to Muhammad Ali — both pack a punch, while After Dinner captures the essence of smoking a fine cigar after a meal, without ever lighting one.

All of these flavours have stayed etched in my mind — they were so delicious and distinctive that I found myself going back to them again and again. The same is true of the cocktails on the current menu. Rashomon Effect, Salentine, Fata Morgana, Las Coloradas — and the standout, The Yellow House, my personal favourite. A blend of tequila, mezcal, tepache, and two bold additions that elevate both intensity and finish: Dijon mustard and black garlic. These cocktails are the result of a shared creative spark — not just from Konstantinos and Alexandros, but also from Nikos and Panos, two essential members of the team and its success.

And now, The Bar in Front of the Bar sits proudly at No. 47 on the list of the World’s 50 Best Bars. Often, when something exists right under our noses, we take it for granted — so I decided to hear what people from the international bar scene had to say. I was in Paris recently, and everyone I spoke to raved about it: the concept, the drinks, the hospitality, the atmosphere. What stood out most in their comments was consistency — that no matter when you go, whether during a bar show, a guest shift, or on a random summer evening, you’ll experience the same level of quality, the same warm welcome, the same magic.

For me, it will always be the bar where I had my first drink after lockdown. But for the rest of the world, it’s now a reference point — a reminder that great things can grow from a simple, honest idea and a drink in hand. An idea so genuine that you don’t mind being told, “Your ex was here yesterday.”

Info: 1 Petraki, Athens — Tel. +30 211 735 2018