Housed on the top two levels of the Cubus high-rise (a rooftop terrace is also supposed to be in the works), this newly unveiled bar and lounge is an awesome 5,000 sq ft space that looks out to a Chanel store, the Mercedes-Benz showroom, the Happy Valley racetrack and beyond.
The décor is classy in all the obvious ways. Full-length windows and cascading lights reflect off glossy, black marble floors, while jewel-toned cushions and rose gold details decorate the expansive space. The 8-meter long bar of Indonesian timber is just one of the design highlights by GETTYS – the firm that created the complete interior design. And as the pièce de résistance to all this loud luxury, the floors connect via an all-glass staircase that ends on a clear-bottomed landing with a dropdown 27th-to-ground level view. Acrophobiacs, be warned.
But if it’s the drinks that are most likely to grab your attention, be happy to know that Mamoz has a big shot calling, well, the shots behind the eight-metre timber bar. With a long list of high-profile jobs under his belt (including slinging cocktails at The Crosby Bar in SoHo, NYC, and co-penning How to Booze: Exquisite Cocktails and Unsound Advice), mixologist Marshall Altier is Mamoz’s secret weapon, and a strong one too. Altier’s designed a succinct but solid line-up of classic recipes for the new bar and the drinks list reads more like a thesis, filled with references to cocktail canons such as The Savoy Cocktail Book, and famed mixoligists including Charles H. Baker Jr and Hugo Ensslin.
The Airmail ($188; from The Esquire Handbook for Hosts 1949) is a sophisticated, fine-bubbled potion of Flor de Caña seven-year-old rum, fresh lemon and Perrier-Jouët champagne. Altier also pays tribute to bartending veteran TJ Siegal with an adaptation of his signature Gold Rush ($88) made with Woodford Reserve Bourbon, fresh lemon and local honey. But if there’s one thing Altier is particularly good at it’s working magic with bitters. His Baked Apple Old Fashioned ($88) is a mix of Herradura Reposado tequila, calvados, cinnamon syrup and his award-winning blend of apple bitters. Served in a coupe, the drink tastes like an apple-tinged toddy that falls heavy on the spices. In another concoction – the Fancy Champagne Cocktail ($118) – he combines Perrier-Jouët with grassy sweet St Germain elderflower liquor and adds an extra twist to the tipple with house chamomile bitters. The bar also stocks a decent, albeit safe selection of whites, reds, bubblies and sherries. Only a handful of bottles are available by the glass, including the Juniper Crossing chardonnay from Australia ($80) and the Larmandier – Bernier Rosé De Saigneé ($280).
Of course when it comes to drinking venues Causeway Bay has no shortage of cheap upstairs bars or cool, members-only hideouts. But for a neighbourhood that’s not particularly renowned for its fancier bars and lounges, Mamoz is a breath of fresh, boozy air for this district’s post-dinner crowd. Dorothy So
27 & 28/F, Cubus, 1 Hoi Ping Rd, Causeway Bay, 2890 3182; www.mamoz.hk.