Alex Kratena

Alex Kratena is widely credited for reinventing the traditional five-star hotel bar experience, making it relevant for 21st Century tastes and sensibilities.  Attention to detail, playful presentation and exceptional approach to service are all hallmarks of Alex’s unique approach to bartending.

As Head Bartender of Artesian, at The Langham, London, Alex has led the bar and his team to win multiple UK and international awards. In October 2015 Artesian was recognized as Number 1, for the fourth consecutive year, in the World’s 50 Best Bar Awards by Drinks International. Alex has also collected several personal awards including “Best International Bartender” (2012), at Tales of the Cocktail and “Bar Personality of the Year 2013” by Imbibe Magazine.

In November 2015, Alex left Artesian to pursue a new joint project with Simone Caporale. The pair are to launch a multidisciplinary collective that will seek to reimagine what drinks and bars can be, alongside a not-for-profit organization that aims to reach the wider drinks community.  

When not tending bar, Alex travels the globe developing new products, cocktails and marketing strategies for some of the most recognized brands in the industry, and also regularly presents seminars at various cocktail conventions and trains bartenders around the world.  Alex writes for drinks, design & lifestyle magazines, and has made guest appearances bartending on Virgin Atlantic flights and various international TV channels.