With Love, From Mea (Culpa)

With Love, From Mea (Culpa)

by | May 11, 2016 | Bars

Auckland’s hospo bar institution and legend, Mea Culpa, has recently changed hands. I went to chat with the new owners about what the future might hold for one of Auckland’s most loved late night bars.

We used to say if on a bad day you ended up at Mea Culpa and on a good day you started there, then everything was going to be okay. Mea Culpa (Mea to her friends) is the cosy bar just shy of the Ponsonby and Franklin Road corner. Here I’ve celebrated victories and commiserated on heartbreaks; my own and others at the end of this narrow bar. My preference is always the far end, close to the whisky shelf and where former owner Tim would happily spend a bit of conversation. Not just Tim, but Calem, Craig, Cam, Hannah, and Kate… and so it goes. A long list of Auckland’s shining stars of hospitality have tread the narrow path of the Mea backbar.

But as all things do, they change and the era that saw Mea Culpa win numerous industry awards from those who love and claim her has passed to new, industrious hands. I popped in to have a chat to Jason and his (new) motley crew of drinkslingers.

I arrive while Jason is unpacking a few whisky bottles to the top shelf and so we’re off to a good start and while it’s a lovely distraction, it’s not really whisky that I want to talk about. I’m interested in the future of a bar that has been known and loved by Auckland hospitality folk for more than a decade.

In fact, Jason (or Montreal as he’s occasionally known) has been drinking at Mea for over ten years, alongside many of Auckland’s finest bartenders and hospitality personalities. It’s just that kind of bar that features approachable conversation, a great selection of beverages and good quality chat. Why wouldn’t you want to buy it?

Montreal is emphatic that the incumbent quality of Mea Culpa won’t be lost. ‘This is somewhere you go to have a great drink and you’ll have a great chat and meet someone else along the way. The ideal scenario is that all 15 seats get to meet each other over the course of an evening. This is a place where you meet people,’ he says.

Whisky Sour... with pinot noir soaked cherry.

Whisky Sour… with pinot noir soaked cherry.

So far it sounds like the Mea that I’ve always known and loved. A place that oozes with genuine warmth, where bartenders are always happy to see you and engage in some friendly conversation but never at the cost of the quality of the cocktail or drink in front of you. It’s the perfect place to drink sans company, because the personality behind the bar will ensure you make friends, should you so desire.

It’s clear the intention is to maintain this friendly balance between neighbourhood local and bar nerd haven. In nearly the same breath as describing the lock’and’key cabinet that is soon to arrive for housing the real bar-geek memorabilia, Jason is sharing his philosophy of conversation and community, ensuring people meet one another in friendly and casual ways. It’s a philosophy that business partners Ben and Darren agree with. As we speak, Darren is tending bar, bringing that philosophy to life with a couple of American tourists and highlighting other local hotspots.

There’s something delightful about the openness with which Jason and Darren share the love of hospitality that has drawn them  out of regular 9-5 gigs (Mea joins the family of Revelry, just a little more south on Ponsonby Rd). Both Gav and Jonny from Revelry will now share duties at Mea, which makes it a family affair, beside a second full-timer, Jeremy. The pedigree is high, with more than 25 combined years in some of the world’s best bars from the United Kingdom, Melbourne and further afield behind the bar.

Revelry has embraced a global cocktail bar trend towards great storytelling – this will continue at Mea Culpa, including bringing variations from that global experience to Auckland. And why not? Mea Culpa is exactly that bar – where conversation is a story starter and stories feed the crowd all night long. I’m excited to see cocktail bars in Auckland following international trends of investment in stories, ingredients and presentation – it can only be better and better for the industry and therefore the punter long-term. Bring on pine tinctures and recycled organics.*Point of order: Mea Culpa’s robust reuse-recycle programme will remain intact.

And I’m excited, as always to discover rich new talent behind the bar. Darren and Jonny are currently competing in Diageo World Class; another indication of the seriousness with which they take their profession. Rightly so – Mea Culpa has won Outstanding Bar at the Lewisham Awards (voted by industry) twice in the last three years.

Food will be enlivened and refreshed – the advantage of having a big sister kitchen up the road, and the cocktail menu will change out regularly in a ‘pay homage then twist’ routine of cocktail classics. The team promise to deliver their fair share and some of bartending geekery, scouring old cocktail books for recipes worthy of rejuvenation and the best local, delicious ingredients that can be found. Current favourites include the Sherry Negroni or Darren’s World Class entry ‘the Wilde Rover’.

If Mea Culpa has been a hospo bar for the last ten years, then certainly being part of the Revelry family can’t hurt. Revelry boasts an impressive internal training programme including in-house competitions that ensure the team are on the sharp edge of ingredient preparation, invention, innovation and presentation, which in the case of Mea Culpa works out well. The pinot-noir soaked cherries adorning the Whisky Sour this week are to die for… and easily foraged from your local Nosh market. Hipster keyword = check. Delicious drink-enhancing ingredient = check.

It’s always a pleasure to talk to an owner who loves what they do and sharing it with people. It’s obvious that Mea Culpa has passed into the hands of passionate people. It’s also obvious that under their guidance, Mea will continue to be the place bartenders and hospo crew call home late nights and after hours. And for the regular punter, there’s this assurance.. never forget the bars with the most bartending nerdery are the ones most excited to take you on a journey and teach you everything you know. In a strange twist of affairs, the places that may seem the most intimidating almost always house the most welcoming of staff.

I recommend visiting at least one a week for the next month to experience the joy of the classic it, twist it menu variation but most importantly to make new friends with Darren, Jeremy and Jonny. Jason says he may even make a special appearance from time to time, alongside some other very special guests. Which makes the moment really – because what is Mea if not the very place that guests become family and so it goes.

I’m personally excited for the new lease of life behind an institution and that Mea Culpa (my fault, literally) rests in the hands of people who are professional and passionate. I visited mid-week and returned for the weekend ‘Welcome to the Neighbourhood’ celebrations. I smashed the ‘Five Brothers’ Manhattan variation (using Rittenhouse Rye) which I loved for its perfect balance. It’s a drink that Gav brought with him from Orchid, in Aberdeen. I look forward to the new team learning my name and pushing the boundaries of creativity and imagination.

But mostly? I look forward to breathing easy and knowing this Ponsonby Road institution and home away from home, is only going to become more special in the near future.

How To Whisky & Visit Bars

How To Whisky & Visit Bars

by | Apr 16, 2016 | Bars, Opinion

Let’s begin with something simple: I am not a reviewer. I am a storyteller. Sometimes in the process of telling you a story, I can tell you how something is and what I liked or didn’t like about it. But one meal of 1200 covers a restaurant might do in a week, is an inaccurate measure. I want to tell you stories of my experience and be a trusted voice in that regard, the same way you might trust me to introduce you to a whisky, cocktail or even a place to drink.

I take my friends to places I like to drink and hang out. And sometimes they say to me, ‘Oh, I wouldn’t be here or trying this if I wasn’t here with you.’ Well, that’s enough to make me blush and enough to make any bartender cringe – because that’s their job. And they don’t need me stealing the most enjoyable part of it.

And while I like introducing people to whisky, cocktails, great food and delicious wine, not everyone can have a personal Whisky Girl introduction or expansion of their palate, unless I kick off the Tuesday Night Whisky Club again (now there is an idea!). Nor can most bars afford to keep me on hand to entertain the clientele.

But there’s nothing stopping you satisfying your curiosity or pushing yourself to learn something new all on your own or even if you’re with friends – you just need to choose a great place and guide to get you started. So that’s the story I’m going to tell you today.

airportbarI am no stranger to the American airport bar; those miserable but hypnotic places where you drink nothing but Johnnie Walker beside road warriors and tech start-up guys. It’s perfectly natural to sit and order a drink at the bar; playing back those lines we know so well. Where you going? How many flights til home? Did you close the deal? Small talk about sports, the weather and politics, if you dare. Mostly, I travel alone and so a brief exchange of words is welcome. But these are not places you learn about new spirits, cocktails or wine.

Do you ever have those moments where you look up one day and realise what is completely normal for you, isn’t considered so by everybody else? Why wouldn’t I stop at the local after a long day of work and share some stories and laughs? Just because I’m a girl? And why wouldn’t my engagement and conversation with the bartenders be just as worthwhile and enjoyable as meeting friends? Maybe I watched a little too much Cheers growing up, but I suspect the truth is more about the kind of people I like to be around.

I have a few succinct and crucial values; kindness, strength, integrity, generosity, hospitality. And if people were word-nerds like I am, I would only have to say ‘hospitality, strength, integrity’ – because kindness and generosity are building blocks of hospitality’s definition. Geekery aside, hospitality is defined as ‘the kind and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers.’

I believe hospitality is to welcome guests, friends and strangers into your spaces in such a way as they feel it is their space too.

So heading to places of hospitality alone whether to have a drink or to explore something new; feels normal and safe to me because these are my values. Hospitality is what I understand. I am hospo; despite having not been behind the bar or in the kitchen for more than 15 years, give or take. How do I know this? Because these are my people. Hospo are people who understand a plate or drink alone does not hospitality make and they are the original user experience professionals. The service, conversation and chat, atmosphere, speed and the warmth of a place must all enhance and highlight everything else to ensure the experience of the person in their space is exceptional. From owners and kitchenhands to celebrity chefs; they get it.

The strangest conundrum is that so many people might feel intimidated or out of their depth entering into spaces that have you so supremely at the centre. Here’s a little secret: most bartenders (and any hospo people) that love what they do, love sharing it with you.

So whether you want to explore some whisky, cocktails or meet some new wines from people who know what they are talking about and have something to teach you – or you just need a drink at the end of a long day – here are some tips for how to whisky and visit bars whether you’re alone or with friends.
*This theory also works just fine for eating alone, but that’s another story.

Visit Tuesday to Thursday. Friday and Saturday nights, bars fill up with people are there to scull, not to savour. Bartenders have a different job to do when the bar is full. It’s still service but it’s a different kind of service. But Monday to Thursday, it’s a pleasure for great bar staff to have customers to spend time with. Sunday and Monday are regular hospo nights off. So while a great place will always have great staff, play the odds and be in the bar when the best people are in the bar.

Choose a place that has what you want. Most great bars will tell you what they are – especially if they are a wine, cocktail or premium spirits bar. Facebook is your friend. If a place doesn’t tell you their specialty, it’s not the place to go. When you visit The Jefferson, for example – it’s very clearly a whisky bar. Nice wine selection, great cocktails including the classics and some good beer – but they’re about whisky.

The more questions you ask and the more you don’t know; the better. The less assumptions you have about what you will and won’t like, the broader and more interesting your experience is likely to be. Don’t be afraid to ask about anything you see or what to know – it’s easier for everyone to start the conversation that way. The less you know (or try to pretend to know), the more you’ll learn and no-one needs you to impress them with your whisky knowledge. Bars and restaurants are places that we want to stand out, but not at the cost of fitting in. Learning is fun, just like they told you in school.

Use your words and language, don’t worry about getting it right. Don’t worry about whether you’ve got the vernacular down. And if you can’t smell the iodine or the cut grass, or know the difference between a Whisky Sour or a Manhattan, just smile and file what you’ve learned in the database for next time. There’s nothing more satisfying than introducing someone to something new and having them appreciate it.

What to expect?
thejeffersonSo you walk into the J and find a seat (I like the second or third seat from the left at the bar, just to the right of the beer taps). Someone is going to say hi, closely followed by a variation of the phrase ‘what would you like’. You’ll say something close to the following:

  • Actually, I’d like a whisky (or whatever you’re interested in) but I don’t know much about it
  • I’ve tried ‘insert name here’ before but I’d like to try something else

At this point, I’ll give you a caution – try not to say ‘what do you recommend?’ unless you’ve known the bartender so long, they have a clear idea of your tastes. That’s usually an investment of hours, months, years and several thousand dollars. Help them out by at least defining a category of drink.

Then the conversation will begin. All you have to do is answer questions, in your own words and being as honest as possible about what you know and don’t know, like and don’t like. What flavours you like, what you’ve tried before, what you’re interested to explore. There is a whisky for everyone and you have to think about you and bartender as a team, figuring out the puzzle and exploring together.  The team want to ask you questions and help you find something. And if you don’t like what they pull off the shelf the first, they won’t be offended because they’ll keep trying til they get it right. Because; hospo.