There are bars that look polished, complete, and entirely certain of their identity. Then there is L’Atelier Bar at The Apurva Kempinski Bali, which appears to have been designed to resemble the studio of a talented but slightly disorganised artist who has stepped out momentarily to buy more turpentine. Paint tins, easels, and curious decorative flourishes populate the room, along with handsome custom humidors that are displayed like museum pieces but, somewhat cruelly, are not for sale. One half expects the resident painter to emerge from a back room at any moment, apologise for the mess, and hang damp laundry out on the balcony overlooking the ocean.
And what a balcony it is. The view stretches out across the resort and toward the Indian Ocean with the sort of effortless grandeur that makes you momentarily forget you’re sitting inside something that resembles a well funded art school project. It is a setting that encourages contemplation, or at least encourages ordering another drink while contemplating the price of cigars.
Speaking of which, the cigar selection arrives with the quiet confidence of a jeweller displaying diamonds. A Partagás Serie D No.4 for about AUD $150 and an El Bomba hovering around $30, which is the sort of pricing that makes you pause briefly before remembering that you are already sitting in a five star resort overlooking the sea and therefore the concept of restraint may have already left the building. In situations like this one adopts the ancient philosophy of holiday economics: it’s only money, and besides, the cigar smoke looks excellent drifting into a tropical evening.
Tonight the room is lifted considerably by live jazz and a pianist who appears determined to add genuine atmosphere to the proceedings. The music floats through the space in exactly the right way, giving the bar the feeling that it might suddenly transform from “struggling artist’s studio” into “cultured salon” at any moment.
And that is the charm of L’Atelier. It is not quite finished, not quite chaotic, and not entirely certain whether it wants to be a bar, a gallery, or a creative retreat for mildly eccentric painters. But it is pleasant, stylish in its own slightly unfinished way, and perfectly suited to an evening where cigars, jazz, and ocean views compete gently for your attention.
You come for a drink, you stay for the music, and somewhere between the paint tins and the overpriced cigars you realise the place has quietly worked its way into your good graces.
Unfinished perhaps, but charmingly so.
