Andy Bird and Alastair Burgess scored a big hit with Happiness Forgets in Hoxton Square. Without fanfare, they’ve quietly followed up with a second bar, relying on word of mouth to draw discerning palates to their downplayed den below Dalston burger flippers, Stokey Bears. The look is butch and brooding in 50 shades of brown, with a striking runway-length bar, booths and a bronze baize pool table. Check in here for hunky highballs and quality fixes that harness heritage French aperitifs. Byrrh and Picon, for example, appear in various updated Old Fashioneds and Martinis. Will man be led into temptation by Diamond Manhattan’s sinful stir of Suze, Vulson organic French white rye and vermouth? You’d better Adam and Eve it, monsieur!
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