Tayēr + Elementary launches its new ‘What If?’ concept series with Casual by Tayēr, a six-week residency inside Cato in Covent Garden opening July 15.
London’s Tayēr + Elementary is turning an unexpected pause into a new editorial format. Following the temporary closure of their Old Street home after a fire, co-founders Alex Kratena and Monica Berg are launching ‘What If?’, an ongoing concept series that reworks familiar bar formats through the Tayēr lens. The first chapter, Casual by Tayēr, opens Wednesday 15 July in the basement bar at Cato on Mercer Street, and runs through 26 August.
The ‘What If?’ concept
‘What If?’ is designed as a rolling series of pop-ups and residencies, each one testing a different question about how a bar can behave. For the debut, the question is what happens when a fine-tuned, technique-forward team leans fully into the neighborhood-bar register: convivial, loose, drink-forward, no ceremony.
That framing suits the moment. The Tayēr team needed a temporary home; Cato had a basement built for exactly this kind of guest program. Rather than replicate the Old Street bar in miniature, Kratena and Berg are treating the residency as a distinct project with its own identity.
Casual by Tayēr, in practice
The cocktail menu splices the two halves of the mothership. Expect the produce-led, texture-obsessed style associated with Tayēr alongside the on-tap precision of Elementary, plus cult serves the regulars already know by heart, including the One Sip Martini. It is a short, disciplined list built for a room where people order a second round without thinking about it.
The food program is a genuine collaboration. Head chef Steven Diaz has written a bespoke menu of cross-cultural drinking food that pulls from his Latin and Asian repertoire: Green Plantain Crisps with Rayu, Watermelon and Shiso Gilda, Yellowtail Tiradito, Tamago Sando, and a Cubano Sandwich anchoring the hot side. It is elevated bar snacking rather than a restaurant menu in disguise.
Why Cato
Cato takes its name from Cato Alexander, the 19th-century Manhattan bartender often cited as the first celebrity mixologist and the popularizer of the julep. The venue, opened by hospitality group Bart & Taylor in partnership with bartender and author Angelos Bafas, is a two-level Mercer Street bar that channels New York heritage cocktail culture into a Covent Garden room.
“We’re incredibly excited to welcome Monica, Alex and the Tayēr + Elementary team to Cato this summer,” Bafas said. “They are among the most respected names in the global cocktail community, and it’s a privilege to host the first edition of their new ‘What If?’ series.”
Berg framed the residency as a way to keep the community intact through the closure. “Casual by Tayēr is our way of staying connected to the people who have supported us, even as we navigate an unexpected moment of change,” she said. “This residency gives us the freedom to be playful, responsive, and a little spontaneous, to create something that feels fresh while still rooted in the values that define Tayēr + Elementary.”
What it signals
Tayēr + Elementary sits at No. 5 on The World’s 50 Best Bars 2025 and No. 12 on the inaugural Europe’s 50 Best Bars 2026 list, and the team’s response to a forced closure is instructive. Rather than go quiet until the rebuild, they have turned the interim into a programmable format that can travel. ‘What If?’ reads less like a stopgap and more like a new limb of the brand, one that other high-profile bar teams facing downtime, renovations, or expansion windows are likely to study.
Casual by Tayēr runs Wednesday to Saturday, 6pm to 1am, from 15 July to 26 August at Cato, Mercer Street, Covent Garden.
The details
Dates: 15 July to 26 August Hours: Wednesday to Saturday, 6pm to 1am Venue: Cato, Mercer Street, Covent Garden, London
