Bar & Co bar - Helsinki, Finland

Bar & Co’s resplendent Renaissance Revival building is an extension to the established bistro Kitchen & Co by restaurateurs Filip Stenius and Kati Jaakola - quite literally, as the two are new neighbours in Helsinki’s burgeoning restaurant district. The interior of the cocktail bar was taken on by local architect Joanna Laajisto, who laid it out as a series of four contrasting rooms: a main area with a six-metre bar; a butcher’s room; a library-style chill-out space; and a smoking area, a luxury for most other Europeans. Minimal and clean, Laajisto’s design adopts classic elements from glossy white wall tiles to natural oak and white carrara marble and marries them with quirky textile birds by British artist Abigail Brown and vintage copper cake molds used as tea lights. Fine wines, champagnes by the glass and creative cocktails are listed by hand on the tile wall. They’re accompanied by small bites like the house chilli dog and oven-baked brie.