EL COPITAS is a semi-secret bar without a sign, which is simply impossible to enter by accident, which gradually acquired a whole set of cute traditions: from the welcoming outside the bar by an employee in a leopard fur coat to a cup of hot chocolate supposed to be enjoyed before leaving.
In 2021 EL COPITAS BAR was ranked 8th in The World’s 50 Best Bars — the most prestigious bar award.
EL COPITAS BAR was opened on Kolokolnaya Street in St. Petersburg in 2015 and in three years the team has achieved recognition not only in Russia, but also abroad. In 2018 EL COPITAS took 39th place in The World’s 50 Best Bars ranking, and in the next two years the Bar reached already 27th place.
#Onemonthonemillionrublesonebar — under this motto-hashtag three friends Artem Peruk, Igor Zernov and Nikolay Kiselev, then unknown bartenders with a start-up capital of one million rubles and a half-destroyed premises in a shabby courtyard-well on Kolokolnaya Street, opened EL COPITAS.
Of course, with such resources there was no question of any large-scale repairs, so the team got out as best they could. The book on the history of the bar contains chapters on this difficult time.
“The day before the opening the bar had only a small supply of underground tequila and mezcal, an ordinary table under a homemade tablecloth and three bartenders looking for at least some chairs. Otherwise, why the same ceremonial table, if you can’t sit down at it. But there was no money and, as a result, no chairs”. This is where the ideology of Petersburg’s bar story is revealed. The guys just hit the road to the bars, and like the last beggars asked for a chair to open. And no one refused them, they left every institution with a chair.
The bar was open — but, unlike other places of this kind, the guys here do not serve drinks, but their associates, friends, colleagues and like-minded people.
The bar has no windows, wifi and 3G, just excellent service, delicious cocktails, good simple food, friendly well-knit team.
In the Photo: Banana Margo
The shortcomings in terms of the bar’s surroundings were compensated for by conceptual findings, the most important of which was a cocktail card based on Mexican alcohol — tequila and mezcal, which was almost unknown in Russia at that time.
In the Photo: Maraschino Negroni
According to one of the co-owners of the bar Nikolai Kiselev, after a trip to Mexico, when having tasted mezcal for the first time there, he came up with the idea to create his own bar list based on mezcal and his own mezcal.
The main feature of the cocktail menu is the constant search for new and relevant ingredients in the drink list, their endless interchangeability and weekly updates. The guys try to bypass complex pretentious heaps of difficult components and feeds for the sake of a bright, rich taste.
In the Photo: Taco with Caramelized Beef Tongue in muscovado, Apple salsa, Peanuts
Every week EL COPITAS team changes the offer of food and drinks for the most demanding taste and temperament of all curious people.
Name cups for the correct “kissing” of Mescal and Tequila are handed out here for the most prominent achievements in the bar mood and, of course, for “conscious attendance”.
The Food offered in the bar is inspired by traditional Mexican cuisine and includes simple snacks, such as homemade Nachos, Tacos with different fillings, Mexican soup, Chocolate cake.
Besides weekly changing cocktails, there is a number of “Signature” mixes which always exist in the bar.
–Verde Gimlet / tequila, cilantro and jalapeño cordial
–Bloody Maria / tequila, mezcal Montelobos, sugar syrup, lemon juice, homemade sangrita on top
–Aztec Negroni / tequila blanco, mezcal Del Maguey Vida, Italian biter, red sweet vermouth
Also the EL COPITAS BAR team has released the world’s first premium vodka “Tselovalnik” (“kisser”) from bartenders, the history of which goes through the centuries of great and immense Russia. From the 16th to the 19th century, there was a special profession in Russia and in the Russian Empire, which now can be confidently called the progenitor of the bartender profession — the Tselovalnik. Vodka sellers in taverns, who honestly swore not to dilute vodka and kissed the cross in confirmation of their oath, were called “kissers”.
In the Photo: Cloudberry Gimlet
You can taste “Tselovalnik” vodka at EL COPITAS purely or in combination with cocktails.
The track record of prizes and awards of the hot EL COPITAS BAR team can be compared to covers of the Latin American “Dove”.
El Copitas Bar
Address: Kolokolnaya St., 2,
St. Petersburg, 191025 Russia
Opening hours: Thursday 19:00 – 03:00,
Friday 19:00 – 03:00,
Saturday 19:00 – 03:00
Contacts: elcopitasbar@gmail.com;
+7 (812) 941 71 68
Instagram: @elcopitasbar
Editor-in-chief: Patricia Kolari
Text Writer: Marina Timoshevskaya
Technical Director: Evgeny Fedorov
Photos: EATWEEK GUIDE
