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Article: GOLVET Bar&Restaurant - Interview with bar manager Andreas Andricopoulos

Barchef Andreas Andricopoulos

GOLVET Bar&Restaurant - Interview with bar manager Andreas Andricopoulos

Berlin is characterized by its culinary diversity - and just as diversely defines the GOLVET . The Michelin-starred restaurant  in the heart of Berlin stands for hospitality, a relaxed atmosphere and high quality. In addition to an exquisite selection of dishes, drink connoisseurs also get their money's worth. Andreas Andricopoulos has been providing his guests with unusual creations in the glass since 2017, which are influenced by northern European influences. The bar has carefully selected spirits, mostly produced in small factories, and with more than 50 varieties, it has the largest selection of aquavits in Germany. We met with the bar manager Andreas Andricopoulos and talked to him about the GOLVET and talked about his experiences as a bartender. Andreas comes from a Greek family of restaurateurs and therefore learned what hospitality is all about at an early age. Perhaps that is also the reason why he sees himself as a host and not just a bartender. In the interview, he tells us how he got behind the bar, which non-alcoholic drinks he would recommend and what developments he has observed in recent years.

Laori: Tell us a little about yourself. How did you get behind the bar?
Andreas: I come from a Greek family of restaurateurs. We had a tennis court, a snack bar, a restaurant and a bowling alley and always lived above our restaurant. As a young boy I started clearing tables and sorting empties. At some point I got better and was allowed to wash glasses, clear tables, then do a whole station and eventually tap beer - and then at 17 I ran the whole place. I then started my apprenticeship as a hotel manager and quickly noticed that it was quite easy for me. This meant I could do the service straight away, while other apprentices had to stay in the kitchen. In my third year of apprenticeship I realized that the bar just suits me! After my apprenticeship I went to what was then the best hotel in town, the Dorint Hotel, and started mixing cocktails there.

Laori: Do you remember what your first cocktail was?
Andreas: I'm pretty sure it was a Pina Colada. We're talking about 2003, so it was definitely a Pina Colada. I've drunk more of those than I'd like.

Laori: What happened next for you? 
Andreas: I worked a lot in clubs on the side to advance my bartending. In a club like that, it was easier to make drinks and let off steam than in a hotel. After that, I had to get out of the city and went on board the AIDA as head bartender. There I was able to talk to people from different nations, study the different drinking cultures and ultimately be inspired by the different ingredients. You are always in new ports and always get new ingredients. For example, if you head to ten ports, you get different mints in all ten ports. After the AIDA, I worked in other clubs and bars. After stints at the Kameha Grand Bonn and the Alto Bar in Berlin, I was asked in 2017 if I wanted to try something new and since then I have been in the GOLVET .
GOLVET Bar
Laori: Tell us about the restaurant and bar. What makes it special?
Andreas: That GOLVET is a 1-star restaurant with an initial Scandinavian focus and some Asian regional influences. Now, for a year, it has been minimalist cuisine with a regional twist. The name is Swedish and means something like 'ground'. The 'ground' refers to down-to-earth. 

Laori: Michelin-starred cuisine and down-to-earth cuisine: how do they fit together?
Andreas: Michelin-starred cuisine can be down-to-earth, for example by using down-to-earth products. We have courses in which the swede is used in all its forms, without playing around with truffles or caviar. Our service and style is also very down-to-earth. Our classic is salted caramel butter with bread, for example. We simply put it in the middle of the table and everyone can dip their bread in it. I would say that we are the young Michelin-starred generation. We play loud music and we do it deliberately. The way we deal with our guests is also very relaxed and not as stiff as you would normally expect from Michelin-starred cuisine.
Drink GOLVET Bar
Laori: What drinks accompany your menu?
Andreas: We have a classic wine pairing - and you can choose a non-alcoholic drink pairing. Our 7-course menu always comes with three to four drinks. If you choose non-alcoholic, that would be a kefir, a kombucha and a 'pure' non-alcoholic drink, such as a glass of non-alcoholic wine. The non-alcoholic theme is now very present with us.

Laori: What three cocktails would you make me if I came to your bar and was alcohol-free?
Andreas:
1st Non-alcoholic Cosmopolitan with salted raspberry syrup, lime juice, non-alcoholic gin and a zested orange
2. Salty Watermelon : salted watermelon juice infused with grapefruit and a dash of lime fill up with grapefruit lemonade.
3. No-Cuban with non-alcoholic vermouth, mint, red grape syrup, lime and non-alcoholic sparkling verjus.

Laori: Does non-alcoholic have a chance of becoming the new vegan? What trends have you observed?
Andreas: Since we opened here, I have seen a constant development that it is becoming more and more. We already had a few non-alcoholic drinks on the menu and many guests came for the non-alcoholic kefir kombucha accompaniment. In the past, however, perhaps five out of 100 drinks that we mixed in the evening were non-alcoholic. Now it's an average of 40 out of 100 - and there have also been evenings where more non-alcoholic than alcoholic drinks were ordered. You also have a lot of 50/50 things. Guests have drunk a non-alcoholic accompaniment during the course meal and then come to the bar and order an alcoholic gin & tonic. What I also notice is that people have certain expectations. If guests were happy to have something non-alcoholic on the menu a few years ago, today they expect a certain selection. So it's very similar to the vegan development.

Laori: What are your tips for mixing non-alcoholic drinks at home?
Andreas: Good ice cream! Good ice cream is always important. So you either buy good ice cream or you get XXL ice cube molds. You can tell good ice cream in the supermarket by whether it can be crushed. If you can crush it, it's not good ice cream. Also fresh ingredients. That doesn't make the drink worse, it just makes it better!

Fancy some delicious non-alcoholic drinks?

Are you thirsty? How about a classic drink, the Negroni? You can find the recipe for the non-alcoholic Sanbitter cocktail here .

Photos:  Dennis Dorwarth