Singular Ice Bar

San Carlos de Bariloche has the honor of having the first ice bar in South America, imitating some European and North American cities. This is a new way to have a good time, within a non-conventional environment. That is why we resolved to visit it in the company of friends.

The access door and corridor were conditioned with a cold blue shade to settle the atmosphere. A big room with bare walls and several armchairs were the ante-chamber to that novelty we were about to discover. Featuring a pleasant temperature, along with good music, we waited for our friends, who had not arrived yet.

We came close to the bar to have a warm drink, as the temperature was low outside. While a pretty barwoman prepared some cocktails and combinations, we listened to excellent music and watched videos on big map type projection screen that reflected ice crystals on the walls.

It was time to enter that giant freezer where the surprise of the night was awaiting. Sheltered by some huge thermal layers, we crossed the thick door and began to “feel the ice bar”. We were astounded for a few minutes to see the whole set of different light blue hues and to notice how our body reacted to the cold.

It was like going into a glacier but feeling the comfort of a living-room. The four walls and the two bars were finely carved in ice, with rounded edges and uninterrupted lines. No roughness anywhere. We made ourselves comfortable on some benches and low tables for a while and were served delicious cold drinks in unusual ice carved glasses.

Some figures decorate the site, always highlighting the feeling of cold temperature. Thus, an igloo that may be accessed, a mammoth and a Mongol soldier add up to a huge fireplace that looked as if the fire had been lit.

José Luis Mezquida is a local plastic artist that usually works with wood but this time shaped frozen water into very large pieces full of life and simplicity.

Good music and projections in the hall continued in the cold room. A very particular fog sensation contributed to the setting. The ice contains air bubbles and the projected lights carry our imagination away towards the inside of a frozen crevasse. In turn, the floor is made of a non-slid material that lets customers walk around free of any risks.

During our conversation with César Parodi, alma mater of this ice bar, he told us that the cold area of the Bariloche venue is larger than that of the successful bars of Madrid, Barcelona, London and Orlando.

Feeling proud of the project, he added: “We experienced here and there. At first, we believed that people would only be able to stay in the cold area for a few minutes. Reality proved that enthusiasts of this place regulate the time they wish to stay inside and that it is not necessary to become adapted to go in or out of this area”.

After a while inside, we finally left the cold chamber and observed that the thermometer read -5 degrees Celsius. In comparison, when we finally reached the street, we were surprised to notice that the air in Bariloche was even colder than inside the ice bar.