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Monday 23 July 2012

Mice Advice: Laid-back London Cocktail Spots

Monday morning. The weekend's cocktails, lie-ins and lazy brunches seem like a distant memory already... Well not to worry, next weekend's only five little days away and in the meantime the Mice are here with a slice of Mice Advice to cheer up the gloomiest day of the week and help you plan your next instalment of drinking and dancing...

Last week we got an email from one of our lovely readers asking for some help finding a laid back venue in London for her Birthday celebrations...

Love your blog girls but need your help.

This year I'm stuck for a birthday venue for my 29th.

Wanted to try Bubbledogs in Holborn but apparently its opening has been delayed. The concept of gourmet hotdogs and champagne sounds fun.

Can you girls suggest an equally cool and casual place for some yummy cocktails on a school night?

Thanks

Rosh x

The Mice Advice
We agree that Charlotte Street newbie, Bubbledogs sounds super fun! For anyone who hasn't heard about it yet, we're talking gourmet hotdogs (think the BLT a hotdog wrapped in bacon and served with truffled mayo and caramelized lettuce) and Grower Champagne served by the glass or bottle. With prices starting at just £6, we're thinking this may become a fav post-work pitstop. We're also pretty excited about the other side of Bubbledogs, a private dining space for up to nineteen people called the Kitchen Table. Hidden from view from of the hotdog chomping crew, head chef, James Knappett will whip up contemporary European dishes right in front of his guests in an open kitchen. Lunch will be a three/five course menu (starting from £25) and dinner will be a twelve course affair (starting from £50). 

Mouth watering yet? The only issue that it hasn't opened just yet... head over to the website and sign up to the mailing list to make sure that you're kept posted on news of the dog landing...

In the meantime Rosh, we bring you our top ten laid-back London spots for some seriously strong cocktails and a lot of mid-week misbehaviour! Duvet Days at the ready...

Shrimpy's
A disused petrol station in King's Cross may sound an unlikely location for the Bistroteque boys' latest joint but, perched on the edge of Regent's Canal, its neon sign reflecting in the murky waters, Shrimpy's is refuelling London's hipsters themselves rather than their cars these days. With the forecourt acting as the bar, the shop has been transformed into a diner complete with colourful wall scribblings and quirky pineapple lamps. Fortunately the diner doesn't serve up your usual service station fare - think less limp, insipid sandwiches; more juicy soft-shell crab burgers, crispy fried chicken and Peruvian seabass ceviche. The Filling Station is scheduled for demolition in 2014 so make sure you catch it before the wrecking ball does.

Shrimpys
The Kings Cross Filling Station
Good's Way
London
N1C 4UR
+44 (0)20 8880 6111

Image via: www.wwd.com


Burger & Lobster
Lobster in Mayfair without making your wallet yelp? It could only be Burger & Lobster. With just three choices on the menu: burger, lobster or lobster roll each priced at just £20 and a cocktail list helpfully divided into 'B' and 'L' categories, this cosy, West-end spot is the perfect place for a hassle-free evening. The no booking policy is slightly tedious (but is apparently the basis for keeping prices so low) so get there early, get your name on the list and head round the corner to Tempo for a couple of aperitifs while you wait. Cocktails, lobster and plastic bibs - what more could a girl want on her Birthday?! 

Ps. A new Burger & Lobster has just opened on Dean Street and a Farringdon branch is tabled for the not too distant future...  

Burger & Lobster
29 Clarges street, 
Mayfair, 
London, 
W1J 7EF

+44(0)20 7409 1699

Image via: www.barchick.com


Brooklyn Bite

For enormous slabs of New York style pizza and a small but perfectly formed cocktail menu, head to Brooklyn Bite. Skip past the street level Pizzeria and head down to the basement bar for a chilled, speakeasy vibe – exposed brick walls, neon wall art and red leather banquettes - a slice of NYC in the heart of Chelsea.  With sport on the big screens and a soundtrack of laidback beats, the cocktails may be good enough to draw Carrie Bradshaw and co but the crowd's definitely more louche than Louboutin-ed. 

Brooklyn Bite
342 King's Road,
London,
SW3 5UR
+44 (0)20 7352 5057

Image via: www.brooklynbite.com


La Bodega Negra
Like your cocktails a little more x-rated? Head for the flashing Sex Shop sign on Compton Street, slip down the stairs and you'll be greeted not with a grubby porn store, but instead with Soho's current it spot, La Bodega Negra. For mind-blowing margaritas, spicy chorizo tacos and a little light celeb/ general beautiful people watching - La Bodegra Negra can't be beaten. The vibe is far more sexy than a sex shop could ever be - crumbling plaster archways, flickering candle-light, shadowy alcoves and ridiculously good-looking staff. The only slight niggle is the two hour turn around time, we suggest heading there for as late a sitting as possible which should hopefully mean that Kylie's already pushed a lettuce leaf around her plate and you'll be able to stick around after your ceviche for some after hours debauchery...

La Bodegra Negra
9 Old Compton Street
London
+44 (0)20 7758 4100





Image via: www.labodeganegra.com


Wahaca Southbank Experiment

Continuing in the Mexican vein, how about a little pop-up in a sombrero? The Wahaca Southbank Experiment brings the Mexican favelas to the South Bank for the next eighteen months. Housed in eight brightly coloured recycled shipping containers with floor to ceiling sliding doors and a large terrace overlooking the river, the decor's minimal but kept playful with strings of fairy lights, neon signs on the ceiling and bright Mexican street art on the walls. Open since the start of July, the menu will change monthly with the most popular dishes being added to the menu of the chain's other six outposts. For those on a liquid diet, cocktails are served up from the dedicated tequila bar. We say swap the Birthday bumps for tequila shots - one tequila, two tequila, three tequila...floor.

Wahaca Southbank Experiment
Terrace under Queen Elizabeth Hall,
Southbank Centre,
Belvedere Road,
London,
SE1 8XX

Image via: www.blog.wahaca.co.uk


Ruby's
For somewhere a little more slinky yet rough around the edges, Dalston basement bar Ruby's is a real little gem. Head towards the seedy red glow of the doorway under a large illuminated sign declaring 'Nothing to see here', trot down the stairs and prepare to be impressed by some seriously great cocktails. This former Chinese takeaway has been converted into a cosy little speakeasy which looks a little like your granny's sitting room but with exposed concrete walls and a well-stocked bar. The menu features locally brewed beers, all your usual wines and spirits and a carefully curated selection of just six cocktails which change every six weeks. Expect to we wowed not only by the delicious drinks but also by the quirky way that each is served - think a blackberry mojito served in a 1940s Manchester milk bottle and a passionfruit julep served in a retro tin mug. One word of warning, Ruby's doesn't do food, so we'd suggest a hearty meal en route to avoid any julep-induced memory loss and general bad behaviour... 

Ruby's
76 Stoke Newington Road,
Hackney,
London,
N16 7XB

Image via: www.timeout.com


MEATliquor
Killer cocktails served in jam jars and 'Dead Hippy Burgers' which we've awarded the title of best burger in London, you can't go wrong with a place that does exactly what it says on the tin and does it extraordinarily well. As the name suggests, MEATliquor serves up hunks of cow and delicious but deadly cocktails against a backdrop of punk scribbled walls, red neon lighting and a large table that's designed to be danced on. Although this is another no bookings joint, once you're in you can settle in for the night, so go early and hungry with a glint in your eye and an appetite for mischief. 

MEATliquor
74 Welbeck Street
London
W1G 0BA

Image via: www.telegraph.co.uk



Flat Iron
Here for six weeks only, Flat Iron launched just last Wednesday and serves up steak and cocktails above one of our top Shoreditch watering holes, The Owl & Pussycat. The name is taken from the single cut of meat on the menu which is served rare with freshly grated horseradish and triple-cooked beef dripping chips. YUM. Cocktails come courtesy of the boys from the London Cocktail Club, and include a build your own Bloody Mary. Another no-bookings policy culprit (all the cool kids seem to be these days...) we're hoping that the annoyance can be offset by being able to enjoy a couple of pre-dinner sharpeners at the O&P bar while you wait.

Flat Iron
Upstairs at the Owl & Pussycat
34, Redchurch Street,
London
+44 (0)20 3487 0088

Image via: www.londonpopups.com


Evans & Peel
Dust off your trilby and trench coat, secret codewords at the ready, it's time to go undercover for a visit to underground detective agency, Evans & Peel. Call ahead and make an appointment with Detective Peel and then at the prescribed hour ring the bell at the agency door and wait to be escorted to his office. Beginning to worry that you've inadvertently stepped into a real life game of Cluedo? Worry not, charm the detective sufficiently and you'll be rewarded with passage through the bookcase to a secret drinking den. Lowlit and shadowy, the music crackles from a gramophone and the decor is straight from the 1920s. In keeping with the era, drinks are served Prohibition style - beer and wine cloaked in brown paper bags and cocktails in teacups. When your tummy begins to rumble there are hearty snacks to keep the wolf at bay, think sliders and mac and cheese. Languid lounging and lethal liquor, Evans & Peel really is the Cat's Pajamas but keep it under your hat...  

Evans & Peel
310c Earls Court Road
London
+44 (0)20 7373 3573

Image via: www.evansandpeel.com


Dach & Sons
Only dogs will do? Don't worry, Bubbledogs aren't the only crew in town serving up gourmet sausages in buns. North London's new kid on the block, Dach & Sons dishes up four types of hot dogs as well as sliders and burgers in a very cool little space which looks far more East Village than Hampstead Village. But the dogs aren't the only draw, Dach & Sons also boasts a dinky roof terrace for sundowners and alfresco bites as well as a mind-boggling library of whiskies. And that's not all. Our favourite part of all is the under the radar bar upstairs. Once you've eaten your fill of meat, discreetly mention to the bar staff that you'd like to continue drinking and you'll be whisked up to Flat P. Did we mention the brains behind Dach & Sons are the molecular magicians from 3BM fav, Worship Street Whistling Shop? Navy velvet booths bathed in flickering candle-light are the perfect pews for gawping at the theatrics of the cocktail kings of London. The resulting concoctions are deliciously potent - walk up the stairs and fall back down them... 


Dach & Sons
68 Heath Street
Hampstead
London
NW3 1DN
+44 (0)20 7433 8139


Image via: www.zagat.com

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