Stunned to be only the fourth person to review this great spot. My partner and I came in for a drink on a Friday evening around 6:30pm. While the rooftop was booked out for a private party, we were able to walk in to the basement bar and enjoy a full vaulted, brick-lined side-room to ourselves. The basement ambience reminded us of Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese on Fleet Street crossed with Gordon's Wine bar at Embankment.
We ordered the:
- Bananaquit (Mount Gay Eclipse, vegan egg nog mix, discarded banana rum, pimento dram) £10.50
- Rufous Hummingbird (Buffalo Trace bourbon, Nixta corn liquor, Banane du Brasil, cocoa blanc, sotol, chocolate bitters) £11
Both drinks on the bird-themed menu were excellent. The Bananaquit, a cloudy drink served in a Nick and Nora goblet glass, tasted strongly of ripe bananas and creamy eggnog. It had lots of nutmeg on the nose from the fresh gratings on top. For those with a nut allergy, you're safe: the vegan eggnog is nut-free. It was a sweeter drink (my partner asked for the sweetest drink on the menu). The Rufous, served on the rocks in an old fashioned glass, was clear and lightly brown in colour. It was served topped with two fresh pansies, and carried hints of chocolate cake and sunny garden, with a stronger alcohol essence. I had not come across sotol before and learned it's a Mexican spirit distilled from herbs, similar to mezcal, though I can't say I specifically tasted it.
We enjoyed the ambience of our private cellar room and after our drinks we explored up to the roof (gorgeous space!) and around the bottle shop in the front room. There were quite a few tempting specialty bottles (Ancho Reyes Verde chile poblano liqueur, anyone?) and good gift ideas (Dr. Squid squid ink gin from Cornwall). In the end we didn't make a purchase, but staff were very helpful, friendly, and knowledgeable. I would definitely come here again. read more