Jesus Christ superstar, how is it nearing the end of November already?
I remember toddling along to the opening night of Kiosk bar in Liverpool way back in July when the sun was cracking the flags. I had approached the little lemon watchman’s hut with skepticism and intrigue in equal parts, soon to fall in love with yet another subversive addition to the city’s independent food and drink scene.
Back in July when Kiosk catapulted into our lives as the sister to Dockleaf Bar, Conor (who is one of the cogs in these particularly well-oiled machines) told us all about how it would become a kind of revolving venue that would change with the seasons. He had widened my eager eyes further with the promise of an Alpine lodge come the colder months and the Wednesday Addams inside of me had smirked with ghoulish anticipation as I sipped on a sickeningly summery concoction of Aperol and bubbles.
Alas, it was only July (despite my leather jacket-Doc Marten get up) so I sat back in my Sicilian surroundings and daydreamed about the winter to come; when I could finally be my true festive elf (sorry) once again…
Well here we are! It’s finally my time to shine! Long gone are the days of shuffling uncomfortably in barely-there garb as heavy knits, dark nights and the Christmas markets make a comeback (or at least for now). The Alpine lodge that Kiosk Conor (as I shall now fondly refer to him as) is finally here and boy, am I LOVING its seasonal transformation into the ‘Bar Mont Blanc’.
The repurposed hut which sits pretty at the entrance to Liverpool’s bustling Baltic Market in the defunct Cain’s Brewery has shed its blue ‘n’ yellow skin in favour of a festive rouge. It’s certainly a head turner but with plenty of substance to supplement its style accordingly. Complete with (faux) fur rugs, crackling log fire, tree stump seats and that glorious aroma of burning wood, this is definitely going to be favourite haunt of mine over the coming months.
As the venue itself evolves, so does the food and nibbles offering. We selected our tipples from a modest but perfectly refined beverages list that had been mixed following months of research in France. Forget cardboard containers of diluted mulled wine and the hot cider you pretend to like every year in the name of happy holidays, these guys are all about the authenticity.
Can’t get to the The Alps this year? No problem, just pull up a pew at Bar Mont Blanc.
We sipped our way through the Rose from the ‘Refreshing Spritzes’ menu and a Bircher from the ‘Winter Warmers’ list as we kicked back in the external log cabin which extends the max. 20-capacity of the uber cosy watchman’s hut. The Rose was an elegant and sophisticated combo of Lillet Rose wine, homemade rhubarb gin and Prosecco, while the Bircher was a punchy muddle of Byrrh Vermouth, Lot 40 Rye Whisky, mulled spices and cranberry in all its de fête glory.
It was actually a bottle of Belgian, cherry-infused beer which stole the show for me however and something I’ll be stocking up my own fridge with for the foreseeable. So all in all, if you’re looking for something a whole lot cooler than your bog standard German market then this is the place to be. It’s cute, it’s cosy, it’s super casual and you get salted pretzels in a cup to crunch you way through too.
Maybe I should see if they want to stock my pretzel-horned reindeer cupcakes… Guys?
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