International and well-heeled is how you could describe the audience on Kardinal-Faulhaber-Straße. But since last October, it is no longer just the guests of the Bayerischer Hof who see and are seen on the sidewalks with a glass of champagne. With the new Rosewood Hotel in the partly listed building of the former Bavarian State Bank, the neighborhood has gained a luxury hotel – and with it a hotel bar.
Bar Montez, named after Irish dancer and “femme fatale” Lola Montez, is tailor-made for this target audience. Not just because the cocktails here cost between 17 and 19 euros, but because as soon as you enter it feels like you’re descending into a New York underground jazz club. The bar has a separate entrance, so no one has to fight their way through the lobby and the hotel bar atmosphere doesn’t even arise. At the foot of the entrance stairs the view opens up into the room and it quickly becomes clear: the music is the focus here.
On display are an opulent grand piano and a floor-to-ceiling, brightly lit mural in bold blue and yellow tones. Live jazz is played here seven days a week, and the musicians are much more than just unnoticed background banter. The room is aligned with the stage, the sound is excellent, the music is present but not so loud that guests can no longer converse.
The gold-rimmed lounge tables with velvet sofas are inviting, but the best seats are at the bar opposite the entrance. There aren’t many, because the heavy bar stools are generously spaced along the counter. From here you not only have a good view of the stage and the bar patrons, but also of the skill of the bartenders and the elegant bar shelf made of mirrors and gold bars. Fabric coasters are immediately placed on the counter for the drinks and nibbles are served in silver containers.
Brightly lit paintings in bold shades of blue and money adorn the bar’s walls.
(Photo: Catherina Hess)
The drinks cost between 17 and 19 euros.
(Photo: Catherina Hess)
The “Signature Cocktails” range from “Double G” to the “Munichano” aperitif.
(Photo: Catherina Hess)
The bar menu is not a comprehensive cocktail catalog, but rather a conscious selection of classics and creations from the house, the “signature cocktails”. The “Double G” (19 euros) with 18-year-aged Chivas Regal whiskey, sherry, verjuice and roasted barley, for example, tastes tart, sweet and fresh at the same time. Bar Montez deviates from some classic recipes and spices up its “Americano” with beer foam. “Munichano” (17 euros) is the name of this bitter aperitif with a foam schnauzer guarantee. The “Espresso Martini” (17 euros) also tastes particularly rich thanks to espresso, coffee liqueur and mocha.
If you miss your favorite classic on the manageable menu, you don’t have to be afraid of the confident bar service. However, you have to prove your taste. For example, the request for a martini (17 euros) will be gladly fulfilled. Gin or vodka? Dry or dirty? The craftsmanship is there. The clear classic is served on a silver platter, next to a large, meaty cocktail olive on ice, which you would love to have several of. The bartender, however, reacts less than pleased when he reads “Sex on the Beach” on the order receipt. He wrinkles his nose in disbelief: “Who ordered this? We can’t, we don’t want to.” There has to be a certain level of standard, after all we are on Kardinal-Faulhaber-Straße.
Bar MontezKardinal-Faulhaber-Straße 1, 80333 Munich, telephone: 089/8000198720, opening hours: daily from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., reservations only for hotel guests and groups of more than eight people.