The Doping Bar
Milan
En un coup d'œil
Avis
nice cocktails and ambiance BUT we did not feel welcomed… we were there for a birthday celebration. I don’t recommend it for those kind of gatherings. First, after booking, we called them to double check and they said if we bring more than 8 people they will charge us 30 euros per person. Ok we are fine. Then, we asked if we could bring our own cake (we wanted our own decoration) and they asked to bring the ingredients list only without mentioning the receipt of the cake. When we arrived at the restaurant, they initially said they cannot serve it because they need the paper receipt and they would be in trouble with the police. We only had the ingredient list as requested?? I would bring it if I knew. 10-15 mins later, they came and said they will serve it but we have to pay 5 euros per person. I understand the service fee and we’ve happily paid in other restaurants, but we did not have any complications like this one. Anyways, such things sometimes happen but here is where we started to feel uncomfortable: We wanted to take pictures (because I want a nice picture from my birthday??) and they said normally they ask for a reservation and charge people to take photos? I told him it is not a professional photoshoot, it’s a birthday but he said I had a camera so it was suspicious 🤣 Ok fine, but 1 hour later, my friends told me they had a similar “warning” despite taking it with the phone! Mind you, there were very few people inside, the corner they were taking photos of was completely empty so no one was bothered. At that point, we stopped caring honestly… We’ve celebrated our birthdays in the bars with a similar price range in Milan, the waitress even helped with taking pictures of us! Again, they are successful at cocktails, ambiance is beautiful but they should be careful about such things to not drive people away.
The venue itself is pleasant and spacious — no trouble finding a table, even on a Saturday night, which is genuinely nice. The service, however, really let the experience down. I waited 25 minutes for a cocktail, with no apology whatsoever. The waitress then struggled to locate my table despite the room being far from full. I stepped away to the bathroom for a few minutes and came back to find my table entirely cleared. To top it off, when I went to pay, a different server told me I hadn't settled up yet and sent me off to track down the original waiter — the staff clearly don't communicate with each other. This place deserves much better. Two stars purely for the setting.
Great atmosphere, original bar with equally original cocktails and food. Very friendly staff!
Disappointing experience despite the nice decor. I visited at 12:10 AM, but since the kitchen closes at 11 PM, there wasn't even a snack menu available. The drink selection was also lacking-no juices and only two non-alcoholic cocktails. The venue itself is very charming, but it was empty and lacked energy. Not the night out I was hoping for.
