Voda Bar – Boiling up Moscow’s bar scene

15. December 2017

Moscow is a huge city and bar hopping isn’t as convenient as in St. Petersburg. Luckily, the place I was staying was close to some very interesting bar spots. A new opening was just 400 metres away from my hostel, hidden in a little courtyard of Ulitsa Petrovka. Voda is the name of the bar, Russian for water, and it is currently coming to the boil in Moscow’s bar scene.

The name Voda comes from the history of the building. It was previously used as a boiler house and has now been transformed into a two-storey bar. As soon as you enter the well-designed door you find yourself in front of a massive concrete table. It immediately reminded me of the Untitled Bar in London. It isn’t as big as Untitled and it has a separate bar counter. The concrete table is for standing only. The atmosphere is very minimalistic but the exposed brick wall creates a cosiness in the same way as more decorative items do. Upstairs you will find a relaxing area with a wooden floor and some comfortable arm chairs and sofas to enjoy your drink in a more homey atmosphere.

The name of the bar is Voda and the concept is as simple and clean as that.

My place was, as always, at the bar and so I had the opportunity to talk to the brains behind this bar, Vitaliy Bgantsov. The minimalistic concept of the place continues on the shelves of the backbar. All the bottles look the same. There is no brand, just the name of the spirit or the pre-bottled cocktail. I like concepts where the focus is more on the taste than the product. The glassware is in accordance with the concept: simple but obviously of high-quality. The drinks are served on silver trays. There is also a tiny kitchen where they prepare some delicious bar titbits.

Minimalistic drinks are served in a stylish and sophisticated drinking den.

Calvados, sherry and wild strawberries. A very well-balanced taste and a nice colour. I really liked the pinkish coaster. I visited this bar twice because I fell in love with their concoction of tequila and cold brew coffee sipped through a yummy foam. This was a lovely flavour adventure. If you fancy a Martini, here you will undoubtedly find the one that suits you the best. Highly recommended.