Cocktail bar Barro on the Sint-Paulusplaats is getting a breath of fresh air: “We are introducing people to our own fresh cocktail creations” (Antwerp)
Barely one year after the opening of café Barro on the corner of Sint-Paulusplaats, there are already new owners. With a few renovations, live music, delicious cocktails and keeping the ‘catchy’ name, Alexander and Miché hope to breathe new life into Barro. “There is so much work behind our cocktails, we even make the syrups ourselves,” says co-owner Miché Muniama Hamahoula with pride.
Alexandro Yaramis
The two new owners of Barro Alexander Parker and Miché Muniama Hamahoula welcomed me with a smile, but above all with great walls. Their cocktail bar has been around for just two months. And those two months were “anything but calm” for the twenty-somethings. The previous owner called it quits after less than a year. The ideal time for the young people in their twenties to fulfill their dream: starting their own business and with success. They look back on a fun opening month, but are especially looking forward to what is yet to come. The name ‘Barro’, which is Spanish for mud, was retained by Alexander and Miché. “We worked really hard to find a name for our bar, but we’re not into it. The name never transcended ‘Barro,’ that name is ‘catchy,'” Alexander Parker tells me.
Unique cocktails
“You see that many people have bad experiences with cocktails. Customers come and just drink wine, but then I make something for them and they drink cocktails for the rest of the evening. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. From start to finish, a cocktail should be fresh, not pre-packaged,” Alexander said.
“There is so much work in our cocktails, we even make the syrups ourselves,” Miché adds. “The trick is also to go the ‘extra mile’. It is important to know what flavors the person in front of you likes and base your underlying ones. For example, we have the ‘Lunga Vita’, a cocktail based on grappa, fresh basil, citrus fruits, syrup and egg white.
Urban atmosphere
It was important to the owners to create a cocktail bar with hip hop and afro music. “You don’t find places like this here. Moreover, we also give local artists a platform, if we want to know what it is like to beat in society,” concludes Miché. “Barro is a breath of fresh air. Here everyone can be themselves.”