PERMANENTLY CLOSES AT THE END OF AUGUST 2018
This plush first-floor gallery bar, housed in the imposing Victorian Royal Exchange, has been relaunched by owners D&D as a discreet cocktail bar – away from the hubbub of the Grand Café below. The emphasis is on drinks inspired by the father of modern American mixology, Jerry Thomas, in his 1862 tome, Bar-tenders Guide. Savvy £12 signatures include a refreshing eucalyptus and kaffir-lime Collins; Mexican Couperee (a tart, light vanilla-foamed Patrón Añejo Tequila, Citronge and Falernum Sour), and smoky brass teapot serve, Sauterelle (a vanilla-infused port and cherry liqueur Gin Mare Martini). Champagne (from £69 a bottle) and wine by the glass (from £5) are what to order with open sandwiches and small plates, such as velvety tuna tartare (£9.50) and juicy Aberdeen Angus beef sliders. These worked well, where insipid frazzled fried squid (buried under a mound of toasted flakey pointlessness) failed when we visited during Threadneedle’s soft launch.