Bar Review: Zest And Spice, Cologne, Germany — Liquid Thoughts

Last Visit: Winter 2024/25

For our bar review number 50, I thought what could be better than going back to the beginning? Both the first city on this page and the first city almost 10 years earlier in my journey through the bar world, and also my home: Cologne.

Here, in spring 2024, a bar that has strongly influenced the city's bar scene in recent years with its special and exotic flavors, the Toddy Tapper, presented its new project: Zest and Spice.

While the Toddy Tapper is a little out of the way in the north, at least by Cologne standards, Zest and Spice is very central, just one street crossing away from Ona Mor, for example. The bar has large windows to the outside and looks inviting, in keeping with the rather easy-going concept. The interior is not too plain, but not too loud or fancy either, just discreet with dark woods and a few natural materials as decoration, hinting at the Asian continent as inspiration.

As the opening approached, I was still rather cautious about my expectations. Indika (Silva) from the Toddy Tapper and later Sam (Samuél Antonio-Bernardo), bar manager at Toddy for years, had already told me a little about the project. Their new bar should be more relaxed, easy to approach, fun and relaxing. In the ears of a mixology nerd, 1 or 2 warning bells started to ring, as it might make you think of 80% easy long drinks on the upcoming menu.

Thank goodness that wasn't the case at all and while I understand what they meant with the “easy and fun” part, on the contrary, in the year since it opened and especially in its current state (with a completely finished menu for the time being), I think it is just as serious an offer. Above all, it is also just as interesting a bar for bar nerds as the Toddy Tapper was when it opened.

Rather, the even greater and easier accessibility for newcomers to the more serious “craft bar” world is evident here in the details. The focus is more on a simple, modern presentation, even if (thankfully) ceramics and the like are not completely dispensed with. On the other hand, perhaps even a little more attention is paid to cool ideas for guests. Those can be drinks with cloud foam or edible color pigments and a cocktail pick with which you can stir a small picture on the drink yourself, etc. Some gags are also reflected in the drink names, such as the “Snickers” drink below, “Don't Be A Diva” (think of the famous commercial).

A very simple element in itself, but one that fits very well here and is aesthetically appealing, is of course the color coding that is used. Above you can see a photo taken just before and at the opening, where guests standing outside have already been given a glimpse of what is to come, and below a page of the finished menu. The different colors stand for the possible character of a drink, the intensity of the color for the intensity of that aspect. Not a super complex idea, but inviting and easy to understand for everyone.

The menu includes a good 16–18 drinks, including a small non-alcoholic selection. In addition, individual seasonal drinks are occasionally added to a special menu for a short period of time, as well as one or two drinks that are changed every few months from the main menu. More importantly, Sam himself is currently the main man behind the bar, which means you can blindly order all kinds of top tailor-made cocktails without any worry. For me, he's one of the best in the Rhineland when it comes to this. He is also almost completely responsible for the whole menu and, as at Toddy Tapper, the Asian theme, in particular spices, is played with in almost every drink. This usually results in a certain minimum complexity, even in the gentler, smoother drinks, which unfortunately is not always found at the “lighter” end of the menu in some other high-quality bars.

Yasuke

Sun-Ya

Yasuke

| Peanut
| Banana
| Rice
| Woodford Reserve Bourbon

In the first few weeks and months, the Yasuke definitely seemed a bit like the poster boy of Z&S. A well-matched and immediately understandable combination of peanut, banana, rice, and bourbon. How exactly does it work? In fact, it's not a classic fat wash with peanut butter, but salted peanuts are crushed directly, macerated overnight in bourbon and then very finely filtered. Puréed banana is clarified and made into a cordial, with additional malic and citric acid and the “rice” is an aromatic rice vodka. The result is a beautifully balanced drink between distinctive aromas, freshness, and smoothness. There is still a fine, piquant acidity in the background, similar to perfectly used verjus. Then beautiful popcorn-banana chip notes, but never soggy or too sweet. In the finish, this milky, slightly mineral note of rice, as with some sake, could even be a tad more powerful for my taste. A great “all-rounder” drink with exciting notes.

Sun-Ya

| Non-Alcoholic Vermouth
| Masala Spices
| Lime
| Non-Alcoholic Mionetto Prosecco

I wanted to present this cocktail here because it also embodies an important aspect of the menu. By that, I don't just mean non-alcoholic drinks, but generally very low-ABV cocktails or even some with no % at all. The skillful use of spices naturally makes them more exciting in a bar like Zest and Spice than in many other drinking spots. Here we have the Martini Floreale, which has often been described by some bartenders as one of the best non-alcoholic products, combined with a homemade spice syrup with typical masala spices. Add a little acidity and non-alcoholic sparkling wine from Italy and you have a beautiful sipper that has the necessary, subtle complexity to build up tension even without alcohol. Tip: ask for a bar spoon more of the spice syrup and I consider it really delightful.

Don't Be A Diva

Feng Shui

Don't Be A Diva

Finally, fresh on the menu is a real Old Fashioned, yay! Using the same peanut bourbon as the Yasuke, the saltiness of the peanuts comes through even more clearly here. On top, you get a really great homemade chocolate as garnish, based on a Snickers (hence the cocktail name). That chocolate is already great, with intense salty notes of Himalayan salt on top and fresh puréed peanuts inside. The drink also impresses with its precise ratio. The salt gives a nice dry feeling in the throat, which counteracts the sweet notes of a little caramel syrup and Mozart's dark chocolate liqueur, which some bartenders swear by. It tastes balanced and overall smooth and dry, whereas on first reading you expect the typical hearty, sweet and fatty Old Fashioned. I was very pleasantly surprised, a great signature OF.

Feng Shui

Last but not least, a stylishly presented drink that plays elegantly with Asian flavors. What I like even more about it is that it shows that not every single champagne drink has to be served directly in a coupe or flute… The cloud foam is of course a cool technique that has been very much hyped for a year now, and here it underlines the generally rather light, delicate character of the cocktail. The pepper is quite restrained and only a subtle invigorating note in the finish. It plays mainly with the citrus peel of the Tanqueray and the matching notes of green-white freshness of apple and white tea, as well as the lemongrass in the foam. Silky and zen-like.

It's thanks to Sam that the balancing act between a very accessible bar and at the same time maintaining what made Toddy Tapper what it is has worked so well. Personally, I'm delighted to see that after his self-imposed break two years ago, he is back with full motivation and vigor and has taken on the Zest and Spice project and has big plans for the future. The first events with small-scale food pairings are planned and, depending on how well they go down, there may be plans to open for day drinking from 2 p.m. on Saturdays when the temperatures are better, count me in. Zest and Spice is a great addition to the Cologne bar scene and more than lives up to its own claim of easy going and yet sometimes more complex flavors.

/rds

#50 | Zest And Spice, Cologne, Germany

#46-49 | A Bar Tour of Málaga, Spain