LeLion

If you visit LeLion, located near Hamburg Town Hall, you will enter a parallel world, which might have been taken directly from a David Lynch film set.

Heavy, sound-absorbant carpeting, dim indirect lighting, bizarrely patterned wallpaper – and as a vanishing point for the eye, a metal lion of huge proportions, which is set into the back wall and guards over the people sitting at the bar. Welcome to the Kingdom of the Lion!

Here, you will find cocktails of excellent quality. And when we say cocktails, we don’t mean fruit-and-umbrella decorated fruit-spirit-cream concoctions, but exquisite classics and own creations. Here, Jörg Meyer invented the now famous Gin Basil Smash, here we find exciting compositions with the finest whisky, vermouth and rare bitters, but also heavy rum and sparkling champagne drinks. 

The team at the Lion is first class. Water is served in style from siphons, martinis are served in cooled glasses and with a carafe resting on a bed of ice to top up.

Juggling shows with cocktail shakers aren’t on offer, drinks are stirred and the small details are attended to with admirable perfectionism.

The quality of service should be emphasized. If you like, you can stare into your drink and meditate in peace – if you want communication, you can have an exciting expert chat with your mixologist. There is always fresh water on the counter, and the staff are happy to prepare a drink according to the customer’s wishes – as long as it is not a “Sex on the Beach”. Not least, the Lion offers a fine menu with bar food, e.g. canapés with brie or truffled ham. 

Because it can get full on the weekend in the Lion, the Pine Room was opened in March 2016 (Tuesday to Saturday). Just ask when you arrive – interested guests are taken to the upper floor, where there is another cosy bar with a large counter.