Archive for the ‘Cocktail Bars’ Category

69 Colebrooke Row

Tuesday, July 19th, 2011

Behind the beer pumps and glowing fridges, the spirit and mixer ranges are getting ever more of a workout across London’s bars. It seems that places can be judged by the quality of their Dirty Martinis as much as they can their neatly stacked burgers and chunky chips. At 69 Colebrooke Row, tucked away on an unassuming street corner, bartender turned mad scientist Tony Conigliaro has taken this idea to the extreme. For Tony, precision is everything and every detail is attended to in his spirited brews, as he strives to make the perfect cocktail and perfect place in which to imbibe it in this gorgeous little Islington establishment.

Aesthetically it’s 50s film noir, red leather and dark wood – and all about intimacy. Tony wants to tell a story with his drinks, and it’s a riveting read. With cocktails including the Death in Venice and the Oh Gosh, each cocktail has been crafted from bare ingredients in a laboratory (literally) not far from the bar itself. This is molecular gastronomy boozing. You get the sense that safety specs, pipettes and white coats come into full force behind closed doors. The highlight has to be a cocktail called La Rose. Champagne with a sugar cube infused with the scent of a rose, all built from the simple idea of drinking a nice glass of champers in the countryside. Jolly nice indeed.

69 Colebrooke Row actively encourages its punters to ask questions and learn about the level of care that has gone into every drink, not just with the staff but with the other patrons too. Before long everyone’s chatting and using Jilly Goolden lingo with wanton abandon. This isn’t just drinking, it’s a full on experience – and a very tasty one at that. You’ll soon catch yourself pointing into space and nodding knowingly as you decide it’s definitely a note of Madeira cake you’ve just detected.

Safe to say that if Heston Blumenthal fancied a tipple, he’d beeline here, but it’s not full of fireworks and explosions like his restaurants, things here are much more subtle than that. Head on down for a taste sensation you won’t forget, and good chat while you’re at it.

by Tom Pullen.

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Posted in Cocktail Bars, Reviews |

GLP #19: Ten fine cocktail establishments on the rocks…

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

Oh apothecaries of liqueur, sh-shake, shake, shake it like a Polaroid picture. No less than 146 esteemed GLPers nominated their favourite cocktail bars in our latest poll. Here are the long-awaited results. If yours didn’t make the cut, we expect to hear from you. But without further ado, raise a cosmo to the best mixologists of magic in town…

Central:

London Cocktail Club, 6-7 Great Newport Street, Leicester Square, WC2H 7JB

This speak-easy is titchy but, luckily, good things come in small packages. Looks like the sort of haunt Sherlock Holmes and Watson would have frequented. The cocktails are far from elementary, however. Tip: get there early to secure a seat.

Thanks for the tip off: Amanda Warren and Chris Harden.

Freud, 198 Shaftesbury Avenue, Piccadilly Circus, WC2H 8JL

Enough GLPers nominated this subterranean den to set up a small cult. Well, the people have spoken. Freud is of the same charming ilk as Bourne and Hollingsworth (another certified GLP). The cocktails are, needless to say, otherworldly. So we wish you many Freudian sips here. Isabella recommends the Aztec chocolate and chilli.

Thanks for the tip off: Isabella Charlesworth, Juliane Linn, Sam Ghilks, Laura Ritchie, Abi Roper, Caroline Mills, Katy Baron, Robert Fagan, Jim Philpott, James Lawrence, Penelope McCullough, Katy Jedward Tucker and Abel Dos Santos.

Purl, 50/54 Blandford Street, Marylebone, W1U 7HX

A relatively, new addition to the cocktail glitterati. Its place is well deserved on this list, however, and will delight many a cocktail aficionado. The ingredients: stunning décor, funky lounge music, cocktails from an alchemist’s dream and a dash of gin.

Thanks for the tip off: Ashish Gupta, Cat McGovern, Pooja Vir and Alicia Tew.

Academy (formerly known as the bar formerly known as LAB), 12 Old Compton Street, Soho, W1D 4TQ

Formerly known as the London Academy of Bartenders, it comes as no surprise that there is a lot to learn here. With a cocktail menu as long as James Joyce’s Ulysses, it will feel like you’re drinking through an encyclopedia of potions. Some of the best mixologists are residents of this retro-chic bar.

Thanks for the tip off: Grace Midgley, Titus Powell, Tom Swain, Andrea Short, Amy Lawrence, Simon Barrs and Jean Kelly.

West:

Montgomery Place, 31 Kensington Park Road, Ladbroke Grove, W11 2EU

A true cosmopolitan. Very New York, New York. Plus it’s dark, cozy and sexy. Everything you want in a cocktail bar.

Thanks for the tip off: Judit Mora

East:

The Bathhouse, 7-8 Bishopsgate Churchyard, Liverpool Street, EC2M 3TJ

The Bathhouse started life, as the name suggests, as a Victorian Turkish Bathhouse. Last year it was restored to its former lavish, debauched and lively glory. Amen to that. This City gem does a mean cocktail and cabaret concoction.

Thanks for the tip off: Paul Wyborn, Daniel Walters and Lizzie Holdforth

Saf Restaurant & Bar, 152-154 Curtain Road, Shoreditch, EC2A 3AT

A vegan restaurant that grows its own ingredients on site. But you can go here just for exquisite cocktails too.

Thanks for the tip off: Clare Ambrose and Davide Baroncelli.

North:

69 Colebrooke Row, Islington, N1 8AA

This place is worthy of the hype. Innovation is their middle name. Great date material.

Thanks for the tip off: Hesther Levy, Kate Maindonald, Jessica Townsend, Samantha Lawson, Evan DeBarra and Megan Barrow.

Fifty Five Bar, 31 Jamestown Road, Camden, NW1 7DB

Resident heartbreaker of Camden. Loved by all.

Thanks for the tip off: Sarah Knott, Saeid Dendé Axe Ahmadi, Isabella Charlesworth, Nic Macdonald, Elizabeth Hollins, Lewis Holmes and Rachel Webb.

South:

Bar Story, 213 Blenheim Grove, Peckham Rye, SE15 4QL

It took a bit of a search, but thanks to the Facebook gang for pointing us in the right direction. Our cocktail bar of choice in South is Bar Story, in Peckham Rye.  As described by Fiona Meldrum, “Tucked under the railway arches, fires in old barrel drums outside, some killer signature cocktails…what a great little place it is.”

Thanks for the tip off: Fiona Meldrum, Stevie Kidd,

Until the next time folks. Team GLP

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