Workshop14

Hanoi

Modernist cocktail magic in Hanoi's West Lake

Workshop14 opened in early 2025 as the latest venture by seasoned bartender Rich McDonough, also known as 'The Mood Therapist'. McDonough's career is characterised by a passion for hyper-modern mixology and the ability to craft intricate flavours through laboratory-adjacent equipment. He bult his career in luxury hotels and brands across Asia before landing in his adoptive home of Hanoi to open his new bar beside the city's West Lake.

Just as the West Lake is known for the 13 historic craftsmen villages, McDonough's bar stands as the 14th, proudly crafting drinks with a remarkable attention to detail that honours the area's heritage.

Everything about Workshop14 leans into McDonough's quasi-therapeutic reputation. From its peaceful lakeside surrounds through to its hybrid indoor-outdoor space saturated with stained wood and natural light. Those seeking sanctuary will find it here, sequestered from the noise of the outside world. 

Cocktails lean into McDonough's forward-thinking flavour wheel, utilising the same scientific equipment that once resided in his home to create a drinks programme that is a bold and adventurous reflection on the local terroir. Take the Tet Bathtub, for example, inspired by traditional Tet cleansing ceremonies. From the outset, it looks like a run-of-the-mill highball, but its flavour is anything but ordinary, comprising an aromatic tincture created from cold-pressed coriander seeds and flowers paired with a juniper-forward gin, green apple cordial and soda water.

Its take on a classic strawberry margarita is just as deceptive on the surface. At its base is a tequila that is re-distilled in-house under vacuum with a surplus of Vietnamese bong chillies that creates a mixture that 'smells like it will rip your face off' according to the bar team. However, thanks to a little molecular distillation wizardry, the resultant drink is totally heat free, instead humming with fruity notes. For those looking to stay on safer ground, its range of classics – a martini, gimlet, clover club and more – are crafted with just as much care.

Just six months into its existence, Workshop14 has already become a must-visit in Hanoi's burgeoning cocktail scene, entering into the extended 51-100 ranking at No.83 and earning it the Campari One To Watch Award 2025. 

The Campari One To Watch Award is bestowed upon a bar that the 50 Best team believes has the potential to break into a future 1-50 ranking of Asia's 50 Best Bars.

Contact