On Westerstraat you'll find Sins of Sal, a cocktail bar serving Latin American food, cocktails and natural wines. Vincent and Thomas Uzcudun opened the bar in 2022 at the same address as their previous concepts, but this time with a clear vision: a cocktail bar centered around sin, using the 1996 cult film From Dusk till Dawn as a guide. The logo is based on Santanico, the snake dancer from that film. That really says it all.
The concept was developed by bar manager and mixologist Martin Eisma, along with bartender Milena Laurenti and interior designer Silja Summanen. Together they built something you won't find anywhere else in town: dark walls, red neon, Santa Muerte relics, vintage erotic posters on the toilet, and a Mortal Kombat slot machine in the corner. At the back of the space is a hidden little room that feels like a makeshift shrine, just like the ones you find along the road in Mexico. Illustrator Elysa McGuire drew the bar illustrations by hand. The atmosphere is somewhere between a mysterious garage and a Latin American ritual.
The menu counts exactly seven cocktails. No more, no less. Everything is handmade and falls under the heading of ’two minute cocktails’: quick, direct, no fuss. They also serve only natural wines. The focus is on rum and pisco, less mezcal than at brother Salmuera. The concept rests on four equal pillars: cocktails, food, wine and decor, each for a quarter. Nothing is an afterthought.
A cocktail bar that feels like a scene from a horror movie: the neighborhood didn't have one yet.
Sins of Sal is part of La Familia, the Uzcuduns' small empire, which also includes Salmuera and Chamuyero. Their father Daniel Uzcudun originally owned Paso Doble at this address, making the circle complete. The Jordaan has plenty of brown bars and wine bars, but a cocktail bar that feels like a scene from a horror movie: the neighborhood didn't have one yet.