Le Croco Bleu

While many of Berlin’s cocktail bars look to the first half of the 20th century for inspiration, Le Croco Bleu—located in the newly redeveloped Bötzow brewery complex in Prenzlauer Berg and masterminded by Gregor Scholl, the legendary bartender of Rum Trader—has its sights set firmly on the future. Their menu of signature cocktails has a daring, experimental edge with traditional spirits sitting next to less common ingredients, such as yuzu, thyme and absinthe fairy floss (imagine cotton candy made with a not-so-secret ingredient). The decor, a combination of mid-century button-leather stools and old industrial machinery, is every bit as bold and baffling as the menu. But much like the cocktails themselves, Le Croco Bleu begins to reveal its own curious logic after a few sips.