L'Fleur, Prague

Your waiting is at the end. My last review from Tretter's bar is finished with a sentence that there is one more bar that i had to visit. Unfortunatelly, last year I departed from Czech republic exactly 1 day before its opening. But finally, after 1 year here it is…

To the Tretter's bar it is related not only for my review. It is related to this bar even by a distance. Really, it is just a few steps further in the street Kolkovna and you will find yourself in front of two green doors. The ones on the left is an entrance to Steampunk Café and the ones on your right will get you into the bar L'Feur.

Does the name sound French to you? No wonder – This cocktail bar is focused on mixology and Champagne - as well as there's a similarity of the design itself between this bar and Experimental Cocktail Club in Paris. Naked brick walls, beautiful chandelier, amazing music. This bar is not so large, however thanks to the light and chosen color of furniture, it is very spacy and comfortable as well as there is enough actual space behind the bar. This is very underrated factor. Yes, it makes everything a bit further from you as a bartender, but if it is too close and you hit your colleague, you will arrive to that bottle or equipment at the same time, as if it would be a bit further away. Plus of course, that if your bartenders have enough space, all the movement is much more fluent and natural and everything is well-arranged and organized.

Immediately after my entering I got noticed by waitress, who took me to my seat and introduced me a menu. I could choose a few different seats all over the place, but I immediatelly refused all of them and I decided to stay right in front of bartender and a co-owner of this place, Milos Danihelka. This is the person, who is responsible for my love to the bartending. Many years ago he was teaching me the basics, while I was still studying on my high school and I was lucky enough to get a part time job inone of the bars, where he used to work. When I finished my school and I left Czech Republic, we lost contact with each other, but every time I came back to Prague, I was trying to visit him in those bars,where he was working. Every time, however I was one step back. When I came to Bugsy's bar, they told me that he is working in Hemingway bar, so I had to wait another year to visit him there, as I didn't have any more time. Meanwhile he changed his working place again to AnonymouS bar and then to Black Angels… Now, finally after 6 years, I was sitting in front of him in HIS bar. Yes, we didn’t talk for last 6 years, but that does not mean, that I had no information about him. Many friends from my facebook were sharing or posting some news about him and his successes that are justifying why does he belong to the world’s best class of bartending. I knew that he is an amazing bartender before already and I heard that he will be opening a bar with his co-ownership, I knew it must be good. That’s why I could assure you, that this place will be fantastic even before it was opened. Person with such experiences cannot lead his team in any other way, than to an absolute top.

Are you asking, how amazing is this place on a scales between the best bars in Prague? Well, let me find the answer by using the facts. It can surely compete with bar Black Angels. That is a part of  the 5* Hotel U Prince, however. Therefore it is not fair comparison, because hotel bars are getting incredible amounts of funds from the rest of the hotel, which allows them to get much more equipment and naturally, much more posh-looking style of the interior and the service itself must match the awesomness of the rest of the hotel. Black Angles is a place with higher capacity, so bartenders are getting more orders at the same time and are required to prepare more cocktails in a less time. No offense to staff of this bar… all those cocktails are perfect, but in L'Fleur they pay more attention to the details.  

In L'Fleur simplicity wins. One simple cocktail menu is more than enough. You will always find the choice. Each base of spirits is well represented by few different cocktails for few different profiles of your taste. Menu is simplified. Nowadays there is a trend, that instead of writing all ingredients, You can describe the taste of the cocktail. Yes that is a nice idea, but it carries one big problem. How would you describe a taste of a strawberry to someone who has never had a strawberry? And this example talks about simple strawberry, not even about homemade infusions…

So, there is only one actual cocktail bar that can be used as a comparison. That is the Hemingway bar. Comparing these two is tricky anyway. I naturally prefer L'Fleur for one simple reason. It is a fully no-smoking bar. Hemingway bar is only partially no-smoking. Like a bonus, if you want to go to the no-smoking part, you need to pass through the smoking part anyway. This is subject to change though... The law will finally change in few months, so all the restaurants and bars must be no-smoking. For this reason I am a bit worried about Hemingway bar, as they will have to find another use for ½ of their place. At the other hand – do we have to be worried for the future of L'Fleur? Absolutely not. By the way, let me remind you, that I am comparing a cocktail bar, that will shortly celebrate 1 year of existence with a cocktail bar, that was always at the tipy-top of mixology and belongs to the World's best bars. My personal prediction is the exchange of positions between L'Fleur and Hemingway bar on the World’s scene of bartending.

If you would give me a choice in between L'Fleur and any other bar in Prague, I would go to L'Fleur. Why? Well, because co-owner of this place used to work in the all of the best bars in Prague and he used his experience very well. He took the best from all other bars and he brought it here…

All this is passing through my head as I am drinking twisted Daiquiri with jasmine and I am looking at the perfection that is happening on at the other side of the bar. I am talking about thorough work of bartenders here, but  am I careful enough to actually notice it?

One bartender is preparing a cocktail in blender, so he takes a glass to measure some ice, but he takes too much and some of it falls down and stays at the rim of the sink. Instead of simply sweeping it out on the floor, or simply putting it back to the sink, he gathers the ice first and then he puts it, where it belongs and then he cleans after himself. That cleaning is 10% extra care - so now I am talking about 110% just to be clear. Should I get it as granted that they use ice picks to correctly shape ice? Or a cocktail perfume that they spray on the leaf of the rose petal? No, never take these things as granted. Those leafs are freshly taken out of a rose. It is not prepared in advance. Freshness matters for the garnishes as well as for all those syrups, that barternders create by themselves. Exactly what you need and exactly what they need, when they want to go the extra mile for perfection. No commutable, unified tastes...

Then I need to mention the amount of care you will get. In some of the best places they will show, that they want to take care of their customers, so they will take you to your place, they will introduce you the menu and all that stuff, but when you will finally get your order, they are going to ''put a sticker on you, that says : ''SOLVED''

In L'Fleur bar, they will ask you if everything is in order in regular intervals as they will be filling your glass for water anytime it will run empty until you leave. Yes, it is just a simple question : ,,Everything is alright sir/madam?'' That's all it takes. You see? Another 10% extra in comparison to some of the highest-rated cocktail bars in Europe. And then, if you will be as lucky as me, you will be served by Milos Danihelka. Forget for now, that he is winning world’s most prestigious competitions. You don't need to know that, because ANYtime he is doing a cocktail, he gives everything to it and his attitude and enthusiasm and love to what is he actually doing is very contagious. If he will not influence your opinion about mixology, nobody will. Now I am putting a bit of shadow on the other bartenders as I am talking positively just about mr.Danihelka, but don't get me wrong.  I can assure you that they are just as good as him. I can say that with the same confidence with which I entered this bar and I knew, that it will be great place… Maybe the best?