The late Terry Pratchett once said: “Never trust any complicated cocktail that remains perfectly clear until the last ingredient goes in, and then immediately clouds.” Sound advice, Terry. And helping to ensure that you avoid cloudy cocktails and make the most of the time you’re not chained to your desk is our very own (and very much alive) lounge lizard Keith Barker-Main. Here’s a round-up of where he’s been going and what he’s been drinking recently, from Brasilian booze-holes to clandestine cocktail bars…
5cc Singer Tavern, Moorgate (above)
“In the basement of Grade II-listed Lowndes House, former Singer sewing machines HQ, London liquor pimps Barworks have after-work City drinking all stitched up. As at the other four 5CCs in town, the interior follows a pleasingly familiar pattern: here’s the sort of dark, dishy, exposed brick, booth-lined, gin joint Dino and Frank would dig...”
The Arbitrager, Bank (below)
“The trade at this cosy new bar – shoebox-sized, invariably packed, with only two staff at a small counter to one end – is in liquid gold of the brewing variety. London beer comes from the likes of Beavertown, Brixton, Crate and London Fields...”
Mask Bar, The Strand
“The Strand Palace Hotel’s cocktail spot, Mask Bar, was mercifully tarted up during the building’s latest refurbishment. This is a comfy, middle-of-the-road venue where Italian Merlot or Pinot Grigio goes for £23 a bottle…”
Made in Brasil, Camden
“To drink, juicy Rio rinses are the main draw. Choose from numerous tropical fruit-flavoured Caipirinhas; the bar claims to have Europe’s biggest display of cachaças.”
London Cocktail Club, Essex Road
“This sixth member of the London Cocktail Club’s growing arsenal of bars packs the same killer slugs, shots and shooters you’ve come to expect of ventures created by bad-boy owners JJ Goodman and James Hopkins.”
The Reading Room, Highbury
“Absinthe – the medicinal-tasting, once-taboo spirit – is dispensed as tradition dictates at this quasi-clandestine, first-floor salon above The Library bar-restaurant.”
Sovereign Loss, Brixton (above)
“You’ll uncover this first-floor film noir gin joint above the Prince of Wales boozer, behind a door marked ‘trade entrance’ next to the pub[…]the venue currently stays open until as late as 5am at weekends: ideal for nightcaps.”
The Walmer Castle, Notting Hill
“A jolly jumble of Edwardian bric-a-brac and junk shop furniture sets the laid-back scene in the ground floor bar and upstairs snug, while more of the same graces a second, brand new bar on the first floor.”
West Thirty Six, Notting Hill
“Owner Robert Newmark’s trademark flashy style nails the new Notting Hill look. A succession of sexy upstairs salons that together form West Thirty Six’s cocktail bar and disco room have a hip, Shoreditch members club vibe.”
But Keith doesn’t get to have all the fun, here’s what news and online editor India Dowley thought of Joyeux Bordel…
Joyeux Bordel, Shoreditch (below)
‘The hotly-anticipated younger sibling of Covent Garden’s Experimental Cocktail Club, Joyeux Bordel translates to ‘happy mess’. Our excitement was dampened, however, by a 35 minute wait outside…’
This article was published 28 April 2015