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Bar Review: Above the Globe

2017-05-18 ShanghaiWOWeng

Every now and then a concept bar opens that fits its time so perfectly that you just have to give a congratulatory nod, and Above the Globe does exactly just that.



Eddy Yang, the guy behind the very successful Tailor Bar, is an eminently cool guy and obvious cocktail master. He tells the story about a guy contacting him a year or so ago, saying he wanted to open a new Shakespeare concept bar. The guy also told him that he was going to bring “Speak No More,” the hugely successful New York City production by British theater company Punchdrunk, to Shanghai. Eddy laughed it off, but it happened and the bar opened in the McKinnon Hotel, home to the immersive stage production.


Like the Tailor Bar, Above the Globe is trading on its service and quality of drinks. They only use premium products, the house spirits all top quality brands. There’s Ocho (tequila), Remy Martin (cognac), Beluga (Vodka), Botanist (Gin), Elijah Craig small batch (bourbon), and Flor de Caña (rum).



The drink menu, like the bar, is inspired by Shakespearean themes, although as Eddy stresses this isn’t a “Shakespeare bar.” There are three groupings:

History – classics before 1960s

Comedy – refreshing sweet & sour and fruity & herbal flavors.

Tragedy – strong and bitter drinks


The bar also stocks 68 kinds of gin! Is this the biggest gin collection in China? Eddy certainly thinks so, and with 16 years in the bar trade (nine in London and seven in Shanghai) who’s to argue with him, the guy clearly knows his stuff.


The specialty cocktail is, of course, the Sleep No More (RMB110). It’s a caffeine-based cocktail that comes in two ways, one pre and one post theatre performance. It consists of cognac, coffee liqueur, espresso, Heike Mate, and vanilla syrup, the cognac taken out for the theatregoers.


The décor is themed around a theatre. The curved upper window frames allude to the globe theater in London itself, with other theatrical features such as long red-draped curtains. It's a lounge-style bar with mainly cushioned benches around tables, and seating for 62 people, another seven people comfortably seated at the bar. There is also a special “couples space,” a load-bearing wall cleverly used to create a private space for a couple to interact with the barman at one end of the bar.



A rooftop area was opened on May 13th just in time for the summer months, but it’s also good for smokers. Similar to Tailor Bar, the only way to get into Above the Globe is via a lift to the seventh floor, and previously smokers had to make this arduous journey to satisfy their nicotine addiction, but no more. The terrace is public, being used with other restaurants and bars in the building.


 

Above the Globe is good for groups who are able to maximize the space of the bespoke soft seating areas. Even the booths at the back of the bar share the curved theatre features, the semi-circular seats and tables letting small private groups while away the night in upmarket surroundings, drinking premium quality cocktails.


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