Goodbye Mea Culpa

Overview

They say that all good things must come to an end. After 20 long years greasing the wheels of Ponsonby locals with wild and delicious concoctions, the time has come for hole-in-the-wall cocktail bar Mea Culpa to hang up its jiggers, muddlers, strainers and stirrers.

Cocktails have never been 'just a drink' at the neighbourhood gem. What the space lacked in size it made up for with supreme produce, including hand-pressed fruit, organic garnishes and house-made syrups. The bar has hosted a who's who of local mixologists — Barney Toy and James Millar have represented NZ at the Bacardi Legacy champs, while former owner Jason Rosen once beat out 200 bartenders from across the world to win a rum competition on a Caribbean volcano.

The bar will say farewell to Ponsonby Road on Sunday, 26 May with an evening of cocktails, friends and memories. Guests of honour include original Mea Culpa bartenders Simon McGoram and Tim Martin. They will be joined by many of the faces that have graced the bar over the years, including Jonny Almario, Gav Liddle, Jeremy Nivern, Geordie Holibar and Bill Scott.

As far as the destiny of the 175 Ponsonby Road space? Apparently great things are on the horizon and a brand new concept will take over the space in June.