Happiness Forgets, Shoreditch

Type of Bar: Basement, Tiny
Damage: ££
Ideal for: Small Groups

Hoxton Square is home to a few bars, but none with the reputation of Happiness Forgets. A Shoreditch institution, Pegu Club trained Alastair Burgess rallied up a few spectacular bartenders for the venue.

The opening sentence pretty much tells you I enjoy the cocktails here, and have popped by over the years – the menu is seasonal and alters a bit. So let’s have a look at a classic first: can’t go wrong with a Buffalo Trace Old Fashioned. Smooth, silky, just a little bit of kick, gorgeous.

The Jerezana catches my eye; Manzanilla & Amontillado, sweet & dry vermouths, dash of vanilla and orange bitters. The sherries are the first to assault you, with the light chamomile of the Manzanilla, followed by the wonderfully contrasting dry and sweet vermouths – the scrape of the former, and rounded mouthfeel of the latter. Finally, the vanilla does just the trick to add that little something to round out the drink. The drink is ambitious, but works incredibly well.

The Alter Ego; St. Germain elderflower liqueur, Vulson white rye, dry sherry and Angostura is almost a dry cousin of the Jerezana. You tumble through the flavours of this drink as the open up surprisingly quickly. The spicy fruitiness of the white rye clashes comfortably with the elderflower to settle on the sherry. The drink is almost unsettling, yet addictive – with the perfect name.

As much as I love the menu and staff, I find the atmosphere a bit claustrophobic – seats near the exit are the most comfortable with access to fresh air. Dark, loud and surprisingly warm, it can be fun on quieter evenings. On quieter evenings though (hardly ever, mind you), there is plenty seating at the bar for chats. On that note, booking is absolutely necessary, especially if there are more than two of you. I’ve always noticed the strange mix of clientele – it’s like nearby Shoreditch, Liverpool St. and Old St. all fit themselves in.

Service is excellent, polite, and fun – can’t fault it. But one has to account for crowded evenings, too.

In summary, the mercurial menu means that one can only comment on the staff’s ability to come up with original cocktails that work and their finesse – which is fantastic. Classics are knocked out wonderfully, too. Happiness Forgets is crowded with good reason.

Drinks: ****
Atmosphere: ** – *** (Certainly up to taste)
Service: ***

Happiness Forgets

8-9 Hoxton Square,
London N1 6NU

http://www.happinessforgets.com/

Three Eight Four, Brixton

Nov12

Type of Bar: Tiny, Industrial
Damage: £
Ideal for: Small Groups, Classics

For the past couple of years, Brixton has taken off for some of London’s most exciting food and bars, from pop ups to permanent residences – one such resident is the Three Eight Four on 2 minutes away from the station.

A non-descript shuttered venue, 384 is crowded on a Saturday night with its industrial-chic décor. The music is oddly slow and chilled out for a venue that seems to demand something a bit more upbeat and was repeatedly distracting people on our table – the Hoodooist was pleased it wasn’t just him being weird. Nonetheless, 384 is comfortable and buzzing.

Two menus are provided, the house cocktails and the classics, coming in a large leathered, weathered tome. House cocktails are a short list, but a healthy mix of long and short drinks.

The star of the night: The Smoked Manhattan was an obvious first choice: Pikesville Rye, Punt e Mes, Luxardo Maraschino, stirred and smoked with cherry. The Maraschino and Punt e Mes work well to present a Perfect Manhattan, the smoke initially adding a rich mouthfeel further back on the palate before dissipating. An excellent Manhattan any fan would enjoy.

Then, the Negroni Sbagliato; Campari, Punt e Mes and sparkling red wine – was certainly Campari heavy. Though the Manhattan appealed to me more, the Sbagliato has been well executed with its bite. The classic Bramble, though still sweet, was far less thick in texture, with more of the gin coming through – a Bramble for those of us with less of a palate for sweet drinks.

The Smoked Manhattan

The Cherry Bakewell Caipiroska; Luksusowa & Davna Cherry vodkas, orgeat syrup over muddled lime and sugar was an odd one – you have to keep the ingredients in mind compared to the misleading name. It starts off with the intense cherry before suddenly warping to the strongly citrus lime and orange of the orgeat, the almond of the orgeat doesn’t come through – strangely enough.

Finally, the drink of the night that didn’t quite work: The Mr. Flambastic; Blackwell’s dark & Red Leg spiced rums with Cointreau, shaked with flambéed peaches in Gran Capataz brandy. I think I was expecting a dark drink served short (think of the Detroit Bar’s Stingwray: overproof rums, fruit liqueur, flambéed red fruits, served warm), but was served a tall, ice-filled bright orange drink that was both too sickly sweet and too tart for myself, and for most present.

The characteristic Classics menu

Food, generally excellent. You can’t go wrong with sweet potato fries/chipotle mayo. Pinchos Maruno Moroccan spiced pork skewers work a charm, as do the ‘Nduja, Ricotta and Quail’s Egg on toasted bread. Ceviche could definitely come with more fish than cucumber.

Service was excellent. No complaints here. Crowds can make delays, but not obscenely so.

Summary? Three Eight Four is a great addition to the growing Brixton environment. Food and service is great, small venue means I’d recommend a booking. Cocktail wise, they’re excellently priced, with great handling of the Classic drinks, or twisted classics. In regards to experimental drinks, they can be a hit or miss, and also really up to the taste of the drinkers. Personally, the Classics really do win out here, and are a bargain – which is what makes us want to return. A star in Brixton.

NOTE: The ‘Drinks’ score get 4 stars for the Classics and value for money. The experimental drinks would get 2 stars otherwise.

Drinks: ****
Atmosphere: ***
Service: ****

Three Eight Four

384 Coldharbour Lane, Brixton
London, SW9 8LF

http://www.threeeightfour.com/

Gaucho Winter Terrace, Broadgate

Nov9

Type of Bar: Pop Up, Winter, Terrace, Bar/Restaurant, Tiny
Damage: ££
Ideal for: Date, Small Groups, Food, Rainy Days

What timing. The Hoodooist runs through the rain with an umbrella that is dying on him to Gaucho Broadgate’s launch of their Winter Terrace. Curious to see how the outdoor terrace stands the downpour, he shakes some of the rain off and fell in love.

Mind you, it’s tiny. If you can book a space, do it. But on a cold rainy day, I can’t say I’d be anywhere else than under that canopy with the scorching heaters, snuggled in the couches with friends and the blankets and hot-water bottles Gaucho provides. Yes. Blankets and hot-water bottles. Entirely enclosed by plush ferns and twinkling lights, this city centre oasis offers a wintery haven complete with a stunning hand-carved ice sculpture.

Wanna make that deal sweeter? How does a Hennessey Hot Chocolate sound? Hennessey fine de cognac, chocolate liqueur, hot chocolate. It ain’t inspired, but it’s what you need. Served in a tall tumbler with chocolate shavings, it defines the venue for being a warm snuggle-haven as the rain pours down just inches away from you behind the thicket of bushes.

Two more hot cocktails on the menu: the first is the traditional Hot Toddy; Glenmorangie 10yr whiskey, fresh lemon, honey, orange marinade and cloves, though still a good hot drink, remind me too much of having the flu to really get into. What really did the job for me was the incredible Hot Smoked Apple; Belvedere Vodka, fresh pressed apple juice, a touch of Ardbeg 10 yr, and a cinnamon rim. Hot apple and cinnamon is always a good winter warmer, the vodka giving it the right alcohol content and that warmth of the whiskey is just right to not overpower. A favourite of the night.

Assorted melange of cocktails

Two cold spritzes were presented as well. The Spritz Rose mixes Argentine sparkling Rose with Torrontes white wine, elderflower and blackberry liqueurs. This was very well balanced, sweeter yes, but the blackberry helps mellow down the elderflower rather well – the preferred of the two spritzes. The second is the Spritz Blanco, Sauvignon Blanc/Torrontes, Aperol and fresh grapefruit juice, topped up Domaine Chandon; bit heavy on the grapefruit, this drink wasn’t a winner across the table, but one you can work with.

Drinks here are approachable and nothing too complex, but very well executed, and all at about 10 pounds.

A carefully chosen selection of Argentine wines is also available.

Domaine Chandon Brut NV

Besides that, the food served – spectacular. Canapés of rare steak, ceviche, sliders, and dulce the leche cheesecake made the night.

Service was polite and swift, and I must applaud Red Kite PR for a wonderful launch. I have to say, if there is anything to try this winter, it is this.

Drinks: ***
Atmosphere: *****
Service: ****

Gaucho Broadgate Winter Terrace

5 Finsbury Avenue,
London EC2M 2PG

http://www.gauchorestaurants.co.uk/restaurants/restaurant.php?id=broadgate

69 Colebrooke Row, Islington

Sep3

Type of Bar: Tiny
Damage: ££
Ideal for: Small Groups, Live Music

More officially, “The Bar With No Name”, is another masterpiece by Tony Conigliaro of The Zetter Townhouse Cocktail Lounge (Click HERE for review!). Followers might know that I’m already a major fan of Tony C’s work, whose style is always original, without being over the top, usually short and intense, and always impressive. 69 itself isn’t ‘hidden away’ like The Zetter Townhouse, but is certainly out of the way, but you can’t miss the little lantern and wrought iron gateway that marks it.

Let’s get down to biz: the venue itself is miniscule, if not cramped. The crowd is nonetheless presentable and polite, even though you’re plastered next to them. The large opened windows help, certainly. The 1940s pour in through the speakers as incredibly attentive servers hover in the small space. Considering the quality of the drinks, I’m half tempted to give a bit of leeway here, but it certainly isn’t a venue one could spend too long in (besides that rotation for a table is 90 minutes).

Port Habana

On a positive note, though; drinks wowed. The Soy Cubano bursts onto the scene with its Soy Pedro Ximinez and Havana 7yr, intensely sweet, almost sickly, with vanilla and woody notes, before being tempered by the musky ambrette, giving way to the simmering Rooibos bitters in the background. Though incredibly intense, an excellent and (thankfully) short drink, which is almost reminiscent of NOLA’s Slightly Sinister (Click HERE for review!) on steroids. The drier cousin of this drink appears as the Port Habana, Havana 3 yr, White Port reduction and Grape Honey – the intensity of the grape honey on the nose is unmistakable, reflecting the honeyed flavours of the Havana 3yr. The white port reduction initially takes centre stage before the honey comes in full force and blindsides you, readying you for a distant wash of fruitiness.

The Aerial was certainly unique. The Hoodooist certainly struggled trying to get this one, short, incredibly so, yet the strongest of the lot. Perfumey, almost risking it to a fault, the distilled bergamot is the primary flavour and scent, tempered by the ambrette and dried lemon. The Aerial is one of those drinks that must be made absolutely perfectly, or else it falls apart. Risky, ludicrous, and wonderful.

Finally, the star of the night: the meeting of Bacchanology, gastronomy and hangover cures that was the Prairie Oyster. Before you get turned off by the name, the Prairie Oyster is essentially a deconstructed Bloody Mary of horseradish vodka, Oloroso cherry, shallots, pepper sauce compacted into a ‘tomato yolk’, dusted with celery salt and micro herbs. Served like an oyster, one downs the ‘shot’ which climaxes in an explosion of hangover curing flavour.
I swear that was not meant to sound as erotic as it did.

Prairie Oysters

The drinks list being seasonal leaves much space for experimentation every month, which is fantastic since this is a venue I can see myself returning to time and time again.

Drinks: *****
Atmosphere: **
Service: ****

The Bar With No Name

69 Colebrooke Row,
London N1 8AA

http://www.69colebrookerow.com/

The JubJub @ Callooh Callay, Shoreditch

May12

Type of Bar: Tiny, Quirky, Members?
Damage: ££
Ideal for: Date, Small Groups
Callooh Callay has become a Shoreditch institution over the past few years, but recently there has been discussion on what to do with the Upstairs Bar, aka the JubJub. Do we make it members only again? Do we give make it members only after 10 PM? (Free) membership will kick in in the summer, at which point it will become members only after 10PM, whilst open to the public before then.

So we’re gonna tell you what you need to know before any of that comes in the way of your evening’s plan.

The JJ @ CC gets a separate article because of its separate cocktail list by manager Matt Fairhurst; yes, its list is different from the first two rooms on the ground floor. The menu is shorter, but typically Callooh Callay.

The bar-in-a-bar-in-a-bar itself is tiny, though not necessarily intimate; it fits a lot of people in. It has CC’s traditional sense of décor, large teal and hardwood sofas alongside wooden stools against purple walls decorated with massive pieces of art from the Pure Evil gallery: like pin up girls on a beach against a nuclear explosion (?). It’s actually a very relaxed little space.

Drinks wise, there is no trend per se, but we see a degree of experimentation with flavour with CC’s signature quirkiness. For example, the Rum and Coke (aka. Smokey Cokey), is El Dorado 12yr rum with coke reduction and Fernet Branca.

We began with the Fernet Me Not is described as ‘floral’ for some reason. Cucumber, Tanqueray gin, lemon, topped with fizz. We don’t get much of the Fernet Branca, but the cucumber and the notes of cucumber in the gin stand out the strongest, almost ultimately. With the fizz we get a wonderfully refreshing drink that is simple, traditional, but effective.

Holy Guacamole, has mezcal, lime juice with blended avocado, coriander and chilli to make a spring-green cocktail very reminiscent of Casita’s Tequila con Verdita shot. The avocado brings a velvety texture to the drink, the coriander and chilli being rather subtle and just adding a little spring in its step. The mezcal is the star of the show ultimately, with its smokiness. Bright, spry, this cocktail is perfect to perk you up in the evenings.

The Fig Shrubble in Little Cynar which brought Agricole rhum with fig shrub, sweet vermouth and Cynar artichoke liqueur bitter – of whose flavours the most prominent was the Cynar and sweet vermouth, surprisingly! It certainly wasn’t unpleasant, but not what one expected, either.

Service is swift and attentive, in such a tiny space, it really has to be. Sitting at the bar feels a bit uncomfortable and cramped though, so I’d definitely request being at the tables. The low, backless chairs may provide a bit of difficulty if you’re spending a long time there.

The Jub Jub provides a very similar look to the rest of Callooh Callay in terms of décor and cocktails. As for experience, it is, thankfully, less crowded than the first two rooms – which are the two things that often makes me cross the street to NOLA when on Rivington Street. In many ways, this contributes to the argument to bring the JubJub back to members only status. The only way to avoid making it members only, I think, is to make sure that only the smallest groups of people can make bookings. Whatever the decision CC makes, the JubJub is still worth trying out when possible!

Drinks: ***, Arguably ****
Atmosphere: ***
Service: ****

The Jub Jub,
Upstairs @ Callooh Callay

65 Rivington Street, Shoreditch
London EC2A 3AY

http://www.calloohcallaybar.com/

Highball Hoodoo

London, Cocktails, you know the drill

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