In Barcelona’s Port Fòrum, SLS Barcelona has opened Kyara, a post‑modern cocktail bar on the hotel premises where classic drinks are reinterpreted using unexpected ingredients. Created by Monica Berg and Alex Kratena — the multi‑award‑winning bartenders and entrepreneurs behind London’s Tayēr + Elementary — Kyara explores the future of cocktail‑bar culture and what contemporary drinking experiences might become.
© Beatriz Janer
“We are on a mission to redefine the contemporary hotel bar and to inspire guests with drinks they won’t find anywhere else. Working with SLS in one of our favourite cities is a dream come true. We’re excited to take part in and contribute to Barcelona’s rich gastronomic scene, which we’ve admired for decades,” said Kratena.
The bar takes its name from the ancient Japanese Kyara, the highest grade of fragrant aloeswood. Historically prized as one of the rarest and most valuable perfume ingredients, Kyara symbolizes the importance of aroma in the bar’s approach: scent is deliberately woven into the balance, depth and emotional impact of each cocktail.
© Beatriz Janer
At the heart of Kyara is a compounding room that functions like a small apothecary: a curated library of distillates, extracts, tinctures and aromatic blends that bartenders use to build complex, layered drinks. The bar also offers a bespoke martini diagnosis — a multisensory, personalized experience guided by expert mixologists who tailor treatments according to guests’ preferences and sensory responses.
The menu is structured around seven cocktail “accords” — Fruits, Citrus, Florals, Amber, Chypre, Leather and Woods — each providing a thematic lens through which classics are reimagined. Alongside inventive cocktails, Kyara serves Shotinos, natural wines, boutique beers and experimental spirits, creating a rounded offering for adventurous drinkers. The 90‑seat space has been described as a cross between a villain’s lair and a multisensory laboratory, combining theatricality with precise craft.
Kyara also collaborates with multidisciplinary designer and artist Yomagick on a series of AI‑driven artworks that probe the relationship between art and ingredients, translating the bar’s sensory experiments into visual form. Together, these elements position Kyara as a forward‑thinking destination that blends hospitality, science and artistry to create unique drinking moments in Barcelona.