Boozy Brunch with Mr B...

I've wanted to try Mr Buckley's for some time, however it's one of those places that, unless you live out East, is just not that convenient. The perfect opportunity arose for a girlie weekend lunch with all parties living in the Hagerston and Bethnal Green area! 

Located at 255 Hackney Road, you'll see why it's tricky for a post work meet-up for anyone outside East London, with the closest tube being Bethnal Green and that being a bus journey away, your next best bet is the overground to Cambridge Heath and then a further brisk trot. However, despite these complications, you'd be a fool to miss out on this one! Plus not having a tube station next door means you avoid the crowds and can actually enjoy this little gem! 

 

Having just celebrated his 2nd birthday, Mr Buckley is still relatively young, but fear not, he knows exactly what he's doing!

The ambiance is super laid back, it doesn't try too hard, which creates the perfect cocoon to while away many hours...which is exactly what we did! The decor is simple yet cool - exposed brick walls with peeling paint, mismatched school chairs, Mr Buckley's stencilled across one side of the room, quotes scrawled in neon lights and all dimly lit by shabby outdoor lamps. Urban meets chic at it's best!

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our visit, the downstairs bar was booked out for a private party, so unfortunately we have no pictures to show, however this didn't stop us from sampling the amazing cocktails! My favourite had to be the 277 - Sloe Gin, lemon juice, cucumber and prosecco...so fresh and incredibly moreish! Having said that the Raspberry and Basil smash slipped down just as easily, as did a bottle of ice cold Savignon Blanc! There's no doubt that we'll back to check out the bar and the rest of the cocktail list!   

 

 

 

And finally...the food! WOW! You're in for a serious treat! We arrived towards the end of the Saturday brunch service, but being four hungover girls with impressive appetites, they kindly served us an edited version of the dinner menu and thank God they did! 

Firstly there's no messing about with small portions, even the jars are big enough for sharing - which was a great way to explore the menu options! We went for:

 

Shredded wild rabbit with chilli & tarragon...

 

Spice roasted peanuts, macadamias & almonds with vanilla salt...

Butterbean hummus with aubergine & pepperade...

Everything is presented beautifully and the flavours they pack in are incredible - who would have thought a jar of nuts could be so delicious...the perfect mix of salt, sweet, spice and delicate vanilla! Jars devoured, we decided to move onto mains...

 

Fillet of sea bass with lemon crushed potatoes & spinach purée...

8oz Onglet steak with bone marrow, blue cheese butter & skinny fries...

Some serious silence went down around a table that had previously been filled with constant chatter, squealing and laughter! There wasn't even time for food envy...both dishes were so lip smackingly good Middle Mouse and I forgot to do the obligatory spoon swap taster! 

 

By this point our tummies were so swollen with our amazing feast and 3 too many cocktails, we decided pudding would have to be bypassed! Well not completely...we ordered a couple of portions of Mr B's salted chocolate fudge and replaced the accompanying coffee with an espresso martini of course!!!! 

Divine is the only word to describe these little diamonds of heaven...wow wow wow...you need to get yourself down there if only to sample these bad boys!!! 

Our new favourite haunt and with a brunch menu and Sunday dinner menu still to sample, one we will need to frequent manyyyyy more times! 

See you soon Mr B.... 

World Cup Hang Outs...

Yes it's that time again, when the majority of guy's lifes stop as they know it and they become angry men screaming at the TV with a pint constantly in hand thinking they know best...yes it's the World Cup!

Stereotypes aside I do actually quite enjoy watching the England games, there's nothing quite like a bit of patriotic sporting rivalry and maybe this year we won't end up bitterly disappointed....we can only dream (especially if our game against Italy was anything to go by!)

With kick off times perfectly planned with the end of a working day, it pretty much guarantees London will be buzzing over the next few weeks and it seems everyone and anyone in the bar world is jumping on the back of it!

We've had a little peruse of what's on the agenda and in summary you'd be totally crazy to miss out on the fun!

N.B Girls - Even if you're not into football, just imagine the male to female ratio in every bar with big screens?! During the match you won't exist but half and full time will be your time to shine - commiserating or celebrating, both work!  

The viewing options are endless so we have selected our top 3 World Cup hot spots to make life a little bit easier...!

Bounce are holding a World Cup party for every England game. They have two 10 ft cinema screens so everyone can be part of the action. If football, pizza, ping pong and cocktails are your kind of thing then head on down, the party carries on when the final whistle is blown with DJs and of course more ping pong!! Register online and get on the free guest list ASAP!

Bounce 

121 Holborn

London

EC1N 2TD

Sushi Samba are screening every World Cup match up on the 38th floor of Heron Tower - some will even be screened on the outdoor roof terrace if the sun decides to shine! They've also created a Brazilian themed menu and cocktail list...I'll have the Kiwi Caipirinha please! 

Sushi Samba 

Floors 38 & 39

110 Bishopsgate

London

EC2N 4AY

Fat Ronaldo's is a Shoreditch pop up bar from the team behind Happiness Forgets. If, like us, you enjoy watching a few matches but mostly want to be in amongst the atmosphere - then this is one for you! Deck chairs, wide screen TVs, palm trees, cocktails, burgers and wait for it...a sticker swap shop for all those sticker book fans!!!! 

Fat Ronaldo's

347 Old Street

London 

EC1V 9LP

Finally parting words...?

COME ON ENGLAND!!!

London's Sensational Suntraps...

It's June, it's officially summer, and from what I've read, it's set to be a scorcher. Last weekend's sunny, blue-skied days kicked the month off nicely, so we thought what better way to celebrate than a post about all our fav rooftop haunts to give you a little Summer 2014 inspo! 

Forget sitting curled up under a duvet hungover on your sofa - no, no it's all about alfresco drinking, catching some early summer rays and celebrating that London can do something other than rain and moan!

Us London Mice took advantage of the sun last weekend and whiled away our Sunday with good friends and cocktails at The Boundary in Shoreditch. It's amazing how once your settled in a big comfy chair, sunglasses on and a cocktail in hand you feel a million times happier and a world away from the non-stop bustle and stresses of London. 

As we're not all fortunate enough to be members of the fabulous Shoreditch house (not jealous at ALL!!) we've got our thinking caps on for non-member options. They may not have pools and a 'no photo' policy but cocktails and BBQs are pretty much a dead cert and who wants to go somewhere you can't brag to the world about on Instagram anyway?!!

Take a look at our short list and get planning your summer weekends crammed full of daytime boozing and sunny fun...

The Boundary - a firm favourite of all three Mice, you can't get much better than this. If you're after a chic Hamptons style escape then this is the one! A sea of oversized, comfy, white sofas, a wood burning stove centre piece, chill-out music and the best bread baskets I've ever had the joy to sample! Chic, beautiful and the perfect way to spend a sunny day or laidback evening with friends.

Queen of hoxton - a more upbeat option complete with fake grass, mismatched wrought iron tables and chairs, pitchers of pimms, seaside hut toilets and a killer BBQ. Fun, happening and always a great spot for people watching. 

Dead Dolls Club - not a roof we've ventured to as of yet but it's on our June agenda. Dead Dolls itself is a quirky, fun and totally crazy place but now with an added bonus of a rooftop...I'm not sure they're going to get rid of us! Officially members only however the application form is online here and all you have to do is bring them a present (we bought them a dog from Hong Kong - a twist on the China Dog category...) and the members card is yours - AMAZING!

Radio Rooftop - if you fancy something a little more central with great skyline views then The Radio Rooftop Bar will tick the boxes. It's got a strong nod to Vegas with a lot of white going on but it had a fun vibe, great music and delish cocktails - win win!!

Madison - with St Paul's Cathedral literally on the doorstep this gem is all about the view. Warning - there's a relatively high proportion of besuited drinkers here and the queue at the bar is a bit of a shocker, but when you step out of the lift and see the skyline all's forgiven! I haven't been at the weekend but as it's right in the centre of the City, I imagine a Thursday or Friday evening is when the atmosphere's best anyway.

Aqua - slap bang in the middle of town this is the ideal option for a post-shop refuel stop! A pricier option, but that buys you an expertly shaken cocktail, impressive decor and gives you the choice of two different terraces to recline on! 

Sushi Samba - another 3BM favourite, some may say a little touristy, but nobody can blame the visitors with a view like that! We love the orange tree terrace and fire pits for when the evening chill sets in - plus delectable sushi just a skip away from the bar = heaven! 

Kensington Roof Gardens - we recently posted about this little oasis of tropical calm and it's still firmly on our favourites list. A great option to instantly whisk you away from the city with surroundings of luscious gardens, beautiful people and of course flamingos - we're pretty much head over heels!

A few others that we're yet to try, but are filling our diaries with as we type...

Vista
Coq d'Argent Dalston Roof Park 
Frank's Cafe

This Week the Mice Have Mostly Been...

Why do weeks when you're on holiday fly by? This week has whizzed past in a blur of gelato, limoncello, shopping and sister time... So much fun all packed into a few short days. In fact, this week the Mice have mostly been too busy to blog... gasp!

Over the next couple of weeks we'll be blogging about all the cocktails sipped, the dinners gobbled and maybe even the dancing on the tables... Oh and did we mention the shopping?! Right now we need to go and attempt to cram all those purchases into two very teeny suitcases - normal service resumes next week!

Happy Friday!
x
The Mice

Japanese Cocktail Den in Hong Kong: Butler

A couple of Fridays ago after a long, long week I decided to try somewhere new for my kickstart the weekend cocktails. In my quest for somewhere completely different, I decided that it was time to pull out the big guns and head over to the dark side - the deepest depths of Kowloon.

And I'm very glad that I did.

Once I'd found a Kowloon taxi, grappled with telling him where to go and sat through three quarters of an hour's worth of traffic, I eventually arrived in Tsim Sha Tsui. Dumped on a street corner on a particularly lurid drag of neon signs and grubby shops, I cast around desperately trying to find anything that vaguely resembled the entrance to a bar.  Suddenly, conspicuous in its bright shiny newness, I spotted Mody House, which according to my Blackberry was the portal to the evening's martinis. I certainly got no hint that from the office-like facade that this was the gateway to sleek, minimalist Japan.  But a mere lift ride later and I had arrived at the doorway to Butler, a cosy 20 seater Japanese whisky and cocktail bar.  

Drawing up a stool at the spotlit, cherry wood bar I eyed up the impressive array of bottles, shelved in neat rows, patiently waiting to be plucked from their perch and crafted into my first drink of the night. 

Not being a whisky girl I was a little concerned at the abundance of the spirit and the fact that it was dubbed a 'whisky bar'.  I needn't have worried though, within seconds I was presented with a leather bound cocktail menu featuring plenty of non-whisky options. Dazzled by the bafflingly extensive menu we opted for a couple of dirty martinis - bold, smooth and briny - absolute perfection. 

Martinis sunk, we decided to let one of the chatty, bow-tied cocktail waiters help us out with our second concoction. Dropping him hints about what we like and what we don’t we then sat back and watched him create our bespoke drinks. The theatre of the cocktail creation is half of the fun here. Your glass is meticulously chilled, each ingredient is painstakingly measured and fruit is sliced with the skill of a surgeon yet the sublime finished product is served with typical Japanese modesty. 

A few more cocktails down, we decided that some food was necessary to avoid Friday night descending into oblivion. The menu offers a range of light dishes which are prepared with just as much precision and care as the drinks – julienned shards of crisp vegetables are served scattered with crushed ice alongside a moreish miso dip; brie is expertly sliced before having its rind scorched with a small blow torch right in front of your eyes; and Jamon Iberico is carved by hand in tissue thin slices from a leg perched on the bar. 


If you're tired of the identikit bars on Wyndham Street and the you want more than a mediocre Mojito, Butler provides a refreshing evening of painstakingly crafted, unusual concoctions with a side of sophistication. 


Go thirsty and peckish with plenty of time to savour the experience, this is more than just a cocktail pit stop.

Butler

5/F, Mody House, 30 Mody Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui.

+(852) 2724 3828.


Butler rates as one of my top five martini spots in Hong Kong. Hop over to Sassy to see my four other picks in my Top Five Martinis piece.