Cordial: the work behind an uncomplicated drink

A good cocktail does not need to make its preparation a spectacle. Cordial’s proposition was to move some of that work behind the scenes, using house-made ingredients and pre-prepared drinks to give the bar a more efficient rhythm.

WAYFARER’s February 2024 report placed the project near São Paulo’s Copan building. Gabriel Santana joined Fernando Moyses, César Rivitti and Fábio Moon in developing a space that combined a bar and restaurant without insisting on a formal register.

Preparation as a point of view

The archive described cocktails served from dedicated taps, intended to improve consistency and speed. Fruit and spice cordials supplied a distinctive vocabulary within that system.

Madalaine used pear, puxuri and cumaru. Palomina worked with grapefruit and agave. Spicy Tommy’s brought watermelon and biquinho pepper into the glass. Pineapple-peel vermouth, cocoa bitters and coconut soda were made on site.

Using peel alongside more conventional ingredients connected the desire for efficiency with a closer consideration of what the bar already had. It was a practical design decision as well as a flavour choice.

A kitchen beside the bar

Fábio Moon’s food joined Brazilian and Mediterranean references. The report mentioned arancini, pastéis, baião de dois, stroganoff and Greek-style lasagne, with vegetarian options in the sequence.

The menus belong to that original account. Cordial’s larger idea survives without quoting a price: thoughtful preparation can make a drink easier to serve, leaving more attention for the people on the other side of the counter.

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Adapted from the WAYFARER Brazil archive, first published 2024-02-27. English adaptation: 6 October 2026. This is an archival account, not a report of a new visit. Exhibitions, collections and menu details are described in their original context, not as current availability.