I have a couple of friends living in Kentish Town who happily researched and booked this charming little basement bar which is a must-visit in the area. Apparently the owners want it to feel like someone's living room and it definitely has a relaxed and locals-come-here vibe, although our seating area was in what was once a VIctorian police cell, which was probably less cosy back in the day.
The interesting concept here is to serve small bites of food tailored to each house cocktail which a beautifully presented and explained, as are the cocktails themselves. We sampled almost all of the house cocktail menu and generally everyone was very impressed. I think several people really liked the park bench, with its strong apple flavour, although I personally found it a bit one-note. In fact, I wouldn't say any of the cocktails here got it quite right for my palate, some of the balancing of flavours didn't quite work for me and none of them particularly blew me away. They were pretty good, but there weren't any I found incredibly delicious and "incredibly delicious" is really what I am looking for in a cocktail. I had the Get Me a Bourbon, I'm Hungry and Lost in Alaska. The first was a short drink which wasn't massively memorable, contra my favourite ever bourbon cocktail, the fantastic bourborini once on the specials at Pitt Cue Co. Lost in Alaska I thought was nice although others said they thought it tasted medicinal!
Service was great - helpful, patient and attentive. It's expensive, especially now I live in Manchester and can get better cocktails at the Fitzgerald for £4 less, but I would still recommend Knowhere Special, especially if you're nearby having dinner. They have such an inventive and passionate approach, it's very impressive already and I'm sure will just get better with time. read more