Our selection of some of the finest new bars to arrive in London last year.
The Carriage Bar (pictured right)
Extra-curricular interest at chef Bruno Loubet’s inspired warehouse conversion includes drinks at its destination Carriage Bar, where the 10-strong list has been designed by Tony Conigliaro – hailed as the Einstein of the cocktail world for his scientific approach to this specialist
subject.
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Far Rockaway
Eye-wateringly lurid visuals and retro icons make for a fascinating, full-on sensory assault – imagine street art, tattoo-parlour designs and crazy collages clashing with skateboards,
ghetto-blasters and a wall of 4,000 Marvel comics. Sign up for ‘so-then’ frozen margaritas and ‘so-now’ draught cocktails such as hot bitch (Babicka vodka, passion fruit, vanilla and black
pepper).
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Hoi Polloi
Well-executed Festival of Britain-esque decor suggests a dining room at a 1950s' holiday camp, while the cocktail menu references another strand of camp also prevalent during that decade – Polari,
a rich, coded patois that appropriated many Yiddish terms to disguise homosexuality: ‘omi-polone’ (meaning an effeminate man) is a Buffalo Trace bourbon and port sour, while ‘riah shusher’ (a
hairdresser) comes out as a rhubarb and vanilla Tapatio Blanco Tequila mule.
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Mr Fogg’s (pictured right)
The sight of a liveried footman outside an anonymous W1 townhouse signifies that one has arrived at intrepid explorer Phileas J Fogg’s mansion – or so it
seems. Staff in period costume maintain the sense of illusion while delivering killer cocktails and premium punchbowls to share – from Bombay punchet and blinker to knickerbocker à la monsieur and
maiden’s blush (a sour made from Old Tom gin, white absinthe and raspberry jam).
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Nola
Ceiling fans languidly whirring; downbeat 30's decor; distressed banquette booths: you could almost believe you were drinking on steamy Bourbon Street with Stanley Kowalski – Brando’s character in
A Street Car Named Desire. Old timers such as de la Louisiane, sazerac and grasshopper line up alongside new kids including night tripper (bourbon with Strega and Amaro Italian liqueurs).
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Radio Rooftop Bar (pictured right)
Located on the 12th floor of the monolith that was the BBC’s Bush House, ME Hotel’s rooftop bar is a cool hot spot for summer lounging – complete with a triangular, 80s-style high-tech bar,
a stylish wraparound terrace (heaters and blankets at the ready) and twinkling panoramic views of tourist London that are penthouse perfection.
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The Remedy
Inspired by the spirit of Europe’s enotecas, this convivial Fitzrovia wine bar is on a mission to promote provenance, terroir and the ideals of the Slow Food Movement – not surprising, since it’s
run by two defectors from Covent Garden crusader Terroirs. Fans of the latter will recognise the main themes on the short, snappy menu – snacks of lardo grissini with mushroom cream, artisan cured
meats (finocchiona, coppa, speck, and so on) and cheeses such as aged barone rosso or Camembert Calvados.
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Sager & Wilde
Encouraged by the success of their wine-driven pop-up in Shoreditch, Michael and Charlotte Sager-Wilde have gone permanent with this venture in a one-time East End boozer. Wooden blinds, subtle
retro-industrial lights and architectural salvage are used to create a stylish den for design-literate oenophiles – check out the bar counter made from Victorian cast iron and glass-brickpavement
insets. To drink, anticipate a daily line-up of top-notch bin ends and unusual appellations available by the bottle or glass.
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Scarfes Bar (pictured right)
Taking its name from political caricaturist Gerald Scarfe whose works grace its walls, Scarfes Bar at Rosewood London harks back to the era of Britain as a global superpower. Sink into deep
accommodating sofas by a roaring fire and anticipate classy calls prepped at an imposing L-shaped bar. Try humidor (Chivas 18 Year Old, white port and absinthe), hats off (mescal, Aperol and
agave-sweetened citrus fruit juices) or pith helmet – a reference to Britain’s colonial past.
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White Lyan
There was wonderment in Cocktail World when Ryan Chetiyawardana – late of the City’s Worship
Street Whistling Shop and Bramble, Edinburgh – launched his first bar with fellow ex-Brambler, Iain Griffiths.
Following an almost monastic black-and-white lo-fi makeover, what was a Hoxton boozer has become a temple of modern mixology dedicated to small-batch bottled drinks, using scientifically tweaked
spirits to achieve the desired base for cocktails that are devoid of ice or lemon.
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