Rias | Innovational Cocktails

The Rias public broadcasting organization supplied West Berlin with an innovational radio program from 1946 to 1993.  Twenty years later, a bar with the same name in Kreuzberg is supplying Kreuzberg's kiez around Waldemarstraße with innovational drinks. Rias is run by Marc Siebold and Julian Arons, who own the D'Espresso Café next door and have decided to expand their customer base from early birds to night owls.

Opening a bar had actually been Siebold and Arons' original plan, they say that the café was really just a byproduct that evolved during the planning process. Now, that planning process is over and it seems it was worth the wait. Housed in a former liquor shop, the space now boasts gigantic windows that reach up to the ceiling, wood paneling, and a long, self-built bar. A small stoop on the rear wall leads to the toilets – and the back office, which more than a few people seem to mix up on the night this author had drinks there.

It all looks a little understated, but that doesn't make Rias lose any of its charm. Quite the contrary, actually. The minimalist interior brings it on a level with bars like Kirk a couple of streets down instead of blending in with the rest of the 2nd hand / grandma's sofa bars in Berlin's hipper parts. And there are other details – you can decide if you'd like a lemon or lime in your gin tonic, the bartenders are competent enough to venture off the menu, and the liquor selection is generous.

Another pro is that Manteuffelstraße has yet to be conquered by pub crawlers and the easy jetset, so it's one of the few places in Kreuzberg where having a few cocktails doesn't mean you'll be stampeded by drunk animals on your way home. Rias hosts occasional jazz and blues performances.

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