Agave for all: The bar, pictured here as a digital render, will serve cocktails based around tequila and mezcal
(Picture: Handout)The man once named Greece’s best bartender will be in charge of the drinks at a new Notting Hill haunt opening later this year.
Panos Kanatsoulis, who claimed top spot for his country in the Diageo World Class awards in 2017, will be bar director at Viajante87, a Mexican-Japanese cocktail bar launched by the owners of hit restaurant Los Mochis. Kanatsoulis has been brought on board by Los Mochis founder Markus Thesleff.
Until the summer of 2018, Kanatsoulis was bartender at The Clumsies, the renowned Athens bar that rose as high as sixth in the 50 Best Bars in the World list during his tenure.
He will oversee a menu of agave-based cocktails at Viajante87, from Frida (La Familia tequila extra anejo, citrus sherbert, chamomile-oregano syrup, rosemary bitters, plum liquor, and champagne) to the Viajante Martini (tequila reposado, bell peppers, fermented mead, green tea sherry).
Elsewhere, the drinks offering will feature the Cherry Blanco (tequila blanco, sour cherry marmalade, clarified coca-cola) and the Smoked Earth (The Lost Explorer Mezcal Espadin with lacto-fermented kitchen vegetables, jalapeno, sansho berry pepper, coriander seeds, wasabi distillate, fleur de sel). Many of the bar’s cocktails will be made using waste and off-cuts from Los Mochis.
Some bar snacks will accompany the cocktails, from crispy rice topped with the likes of spicy salmon, guacamole and truffle, and habanero teriyaki duck, to fresh guacamole, and a chef’s selection of sashimi.
Sibling restaurant Los Mochis has already gained a reputation for top-class mezcal cocktails — we recently named it as one of the best places in London to drink the Mexican spirit.
