I recently moved to (near) the Realejo district of Granada and love it – the food, the architecture, the street art, the feel of the place and of course, being at the foot of the Alhambra. And one of my most favourite things in the area and in fact in Granada in general, is a rather fabulous bar which is fortunately just a stone’s throw from my flat. My wife and I are partial to the occasional cocktail and she loves a good G&T, so we were quite excited when we happened upon the gorgeous Verdi Cocteleria and Gin Club (Calle Sacristía de San Matías 18, 18009 Granada).

On arrival, Catalan owner Albert sits at your table to take your order and in much the same way that a doctor asks you questions to clarify his diagnosis, Albert asks what flavours you like, what gins you like and he may even be assessing your state of mind at the end of the day to prescribe you your gin-flavoured ‘medicine’ – whatever he does, it clearly works. Mine was a lovely mandarin gin tonic which I will be most certainly be returning for.

The rather sumptuous and decadent decor with a twist of quasi-religious iconography brings to mind a gentlemen’s club from the turn of the last century which provides the perfect ambience for a cocktail menu including the usual suspects, a few surprises and so many brands of gin, it would take you forever to get through them. The servings are generous, the cocktails wonderful, the staff friendly and knowledgeable, the service excellent and as they are open from 10pm-2am (Fri/Sat tip 3am), it’s perfect for a late night drink (or two).

While doing research for this article, I also found these two pieces which you may find of interest:

– verema.com 10 of the best cocktail bars in Spain  

– pleasethepalate.com The Art Of Gin Tonics In Granada

And lo-and-behold, both lists include Verdi as if you needed further convincing.

My new favourite place!