Floripa - Dutch Gin House - Nola Bar

Wednesday 5th July - One week before this outing, I was having a moan about how Brixton manages to have style and quality for half the price of a night out in Soho and Shoreditch, but here I am back in Old Street again (and Soho two days later).  It was pretty inevitable wasn't it?  Let's see how it compared.

The sun was out so I decided to meet List Leader Natalie, 4th placed Lauren and 7th placed Cath at Brazilian bar Floripa as they have a fair amount of outside space on the corners of Great Eastern, Rivington and Old Street.  A generous happy hour is in place every weekday from 5-7 with £2.50 bottles of Sol, £5 Caipirinhas and Mojitos, and a £6 flaming Fogo de Floripa - keeping pace with Brixton so far.  The interior is tropically decked out with a stage for live music.  I'm pretty keen to return for their Sunday Jazz Meat Roast which sounds excellent.

We moved back outside to take advantage of their free babyfoot table - it's hard to beat £2.50 beers and free table football outdoors in the sun for after work drinks.  Natalie didn't manage to build on her last table football session with Marta and the boys in Azulito as Lauren and I remained undefeated throughout happy hour.  I will need to return for the whole Comer, Beber, Dancar experience - music listings look good and I am tempted by their Beijos (a shot of Cachaca with a pepper rim and a strawberry on the side).  For sharing cocktail lovers, there is a £36 Bloc Party Punch for 5 served in an antique suitcase.

With happy hour finished, we wandered down Rivington Street to the Jubjub Bar in Callooh Callay to try out their latest pop-up theme, the Dutch Gin House.  Last month the bar was in brightly coloured Cantina de Cuervo mode with Chilli Tequila Slushies and Lucha Libre wrestling on TV in the corner.  They have done wonders to make it look completely different this time around with cosy candlelit tables and tiny clogs all over the place.  

Tiny clogs on the ceiling!

The drinks are still being served up by Clo who was up there for Cantina de Cuervo.  Eggs "over easy", Freshly Squeezed, Mumbo Jumbo, Melba Tulip and Red Light District all impressed.  Well done to Cath for ordering Crunch Corner - Genever with peach, mango and yoghurt liqueurs garnished with a sprinkling of muesli.  Thanks to Clo for a free taster of the Bols Natural Yoghurt liqueur which reminded me of Amarula - strange stuff.  I went for a Kopstootje (translates to little headbutt!) which is essentially a beer and a shot of Genever - you must take a hands free sip of the Genever first followed by a swig of beer before you can drink the rest of it.  There was only Amstel on the beer side - some more interesting Dutch choices would have been appreciated though that is a small complaint.  We made our way through their bar snacks menu as well - Chips, Dutch Potato Croquettes, Gouda Cheese Fritters and Pork Bitterballlen all served with tasty homemade tomato dip and spicy mustard mayo.

Kopstootje - Little Headbutt

There a few events going on there including a Bols Brainiest quiz tonight (11th June) and celebrations on World Gin Day (Saturday 15th June if you haven't managed to get tickets to Ginstock).  I tried to get Clo to reveal the next Jubjub bar theme (launching July 4th) but she was having none of it - judging by the last two it will be worth a visit.  Our final stop was just over the road at Nola Bar above Bedroom Bar - apparently several groups have been taking in these two neighbouring places in the same evening.  Clo told us to order a round of Ramos Gin Fizz (which is supposed to be shaken vigorously for 12 minutes) to wind them up.  Luke joined us as we were leaving (squeezing in a speedy cocktail at Jubjub) and the 5 of us walked over to Nola.

Dutch Gin House - finishes June 29th

Nola Bar is a New Orleans inspired bar with everything you would expect - Creole cuisine, Hurricanes, Sazeracs and live music.  Unless you knew where you were going, your only chance of finding it would be hearing the music out of the windows above Bedroom Bar.  It makes a pleasant change to have a bar tucked away upstairs rather than in a basement!  Bedroom Bar was totally deserted but Nola was buzzing.  It's worth booking ahead if you want to guarantee yourself a table.  Their chef sadly left them in the first week so they are generously dishing out free delicious taster portions of Jambalaya to plug the gap until they are satisfied with a new authentic Creole cuisine trained cook in the house.  Natalie did go for a Ramos Gin Fizz in the end, whilst others had various Hurricanes and Dixieland beers.  The brave can order a Doctor John twist on a Cosmo for 6 served in an absinthe rinsed glass skull.  One pound of every drink goes to relief efforts in New Orleans which makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside (or maybe that's just the booze?).

Hurricanes

The main reason to come is to let the whole experience (especially the music) transport you to the French Quarter.  I wasn't initially blown away with covers of Amy Winehouse etc not quite hitting the New Orleans mark for me, but a larger band started up as we were leaving who seemed to be on the right track.  I would love to see Snarky Puppy or the cast of Treme squeezing in here! They did have Dan Ackroyd down in their first week which I sadly missed. Fridays and Saturdays are supposedly wonderful with the bar open til 3am.  Their is a members only policy after midnight to keep the rabble out - fill out one of their hilarious annotated forms mocking Shoreditch House membership to gain access.  This could well be the nest new place to end your night in Shoreditch - head down there soon to find out.

So it was inevitably more expensive than Brixton, but this time I'm not complaining.  There's so much variety that I just can't stay away!  I'm a sucker for a theme and being able to enjoy Brazil, Holland and New Orleans is why I love London this year.  Stay tuned for the next post in a couple of days on a night out in Soho with 5 new List-worthy places! Thanks to Team List - Leader Natalie edges closer to the big 50 points marker, will anyone ever catch her?

Golden Bee - Callooh Callay - Cantina de Cuervo @ Jubjub - MEATmission - Rodizio Rico

Tuesday 23rd April - Despite having my ankle mauled (though not bitten) at football the night before, I stuck to my Shoreditch-based plan for the evening and met Will on the roof of The Golden Bee for a quick drink after work.  For some reason, everyone formed one long line to the bar, snaking around the whole rooftop - very British behaviour!  Once the sun comes out for good this will be a a nice spot for some beers and cocktails, though there are many exciting rooftop bars (I have a separate rooftop List!) so it isn't your only choice.  You can get yourself 2-4-1 cocktails from 5-7, Tuesday - Friday.

Golden Bee Rooftop Bar

We moved down the road, as fast as I could limp, to Callooh Callay who were launching their new menu that evening.  They have apparently had various themed menus in the past but this was my first visit so I haven't seen any previous incarnations.  We were greeted and led through a wardrobe door in to the lounge where our table was waiting.  Jane and Lee (List debutants but experienced Londoners) arrived a few seconds after we sat down.  I had originally made the booking for 2 weeks before, but the menu launch was postponed. Callooh Callay (or Marie) generously offered me the first round free for the inconvenience - not a bad deal when you are ordering four £9 cocktails.  The new theme is School which they represented by having a menu in the form of a High School Yearbook, and by dressing the bar staff in school uniform.  The first guy we saw when we arrived had a school tie for a bandana but I assumed he was just a hipster (he probably is anyway - he had the lumberjack beard).  The menus cost a fair amount to print so our waitress wasn't too happy when I pointed out a typo after a few minutes - elderflower iqueur anyone?  

The quality of cocktails varied.  I was lucky to have two of the best - 'La Penca and the Brain' and 'Monkey Nuts' were both excellent, but others seemed watered down or didn't quite live up to the description.  Thanks to our waitress for bringing us a free taster of Xante (Pear and Cognac Liqueur) which we hadn't come across before.  Perhaps they will continue to tweak them over the next few weeks.  Apart from the wardrobe entrance and the cassette wall, the design isn't too quirky and when you are sat down it feels like any old dimly lit bar.  I think once you have gone to the effort of concealing a door with a wardrobe, you should make the hidden room slightly more exciting! I can't comment on the atmosphere as it was a Tuesday night and everyone else in London was probably drinking outside in the sun.  The vibe was picking up by the time we left.

Wall made of cassettes in Callooh Callay

After a couple of rounds, we moved upstairs to Callooh Callay's secret weapon, the Jubjub bar.  It used to be a members club with different guest bartenders serving up their own menu each month, but now anyone can go up (booking advised).  Every 4 weeks or so, they completely change the bar to fit a new theme.  First off was a month as a Parisian Absinthe house serving up oysters and absinthe.  Currently it is Cantina de Cuervo, a Mexican Tequila bar.  It's a colourful little room with Lucha Libre (Mexican wrestling) playing on a TV in the corner.  There are several Mexican beers and cocktails on offer (as well as a wide range of tequilas), but you really have to go for the Tequila slushy made with pineapple and chilli.  It's one of the best drinks I've had since starting The List.  The Mexican street food was also tasty.  One thing that Jane ordered ran out, and so she was offered anything else for free. Obviously she went for the most expensive thing on the menu, a Chimichanga (a deep fried burrito).  This then took so long to arrive that they offered us another round of free slushies!  This took our freebies total to about £68 for about the evening.  I urge you to catch Cantina de Cuervo before it disappears on May 18th.  You may also want to head there on 5th May for the Cinco de Mayo takeover - Live Mariachi band. free slushies for those in Mexican outfits plus much more.

Despite the fantastic snack food, Will was still in need of a proper meal so we wandered over to Hoxton Square.  Red Dog Saloon had stopped serving food but luckily MEATmission (in the same series as Meat Liquor) was still open for business.  The red neon sign outside hints at the stunning interior design.  Having already eaten at Meat Liquor, I knew what to expect from the food.  I went for the Dead Hippie burger this time around which was messy and delicious.  Will went for the enormous Roast Beef Garbage Plate (order this if you are hungry) whilst Lee had the Peckham Dip (roast beef roll that you dip in bone marrow gravy and horseradish cream).  Although I was tempted by the 'Lagerita' tequila & beer slushy, we went for a jug of Brooklyn Lager to wash everything down. It's not all about the food. You can easily spend the whole evening sitting around the bar trying their mad cocktails.  The drinks menu is a great read. The description for the 'Dam Abassador' cocktail says "ACHTUNG in einem glas. Trockenbeerenauslese wine und finlandia vodka stirred down, garnished mitt ein ferroro rocher".  And how can you resist a glass of Argento Malbec? - "a cracking wine for just necking and giving you red teeth". I can see myself ending up here for late night food again pretty soon.  I was also intrigued by the mention of the MEAemisson Photobooth but we didn't investigate further this time around.  We left satisfied and went our separate ways after a successful Summer's evening out in Shoreditch!  Thanks to Will, Jane and Lee for getting involved.

Sunday 21st April - Just a quick mention for Rodizio Rico that I went to with Ali and others after her marathon last week.  She chose this Brazilian churrascaria (steakhouse) because 'rodizio' is a style of restaurant service where, upon paying a fixed price, waiters come round and bring you unlimited grilled  steaks until you can't eat anymore.  When you are finished, you turn a bar mat from green to red so that they stop offering you food.  I was only beaten by one person (yes, of course it's a competition) - the chicken sausage meat was the tipping point for me.  Final standings - Rich, me, David, Sophie, Natalie, Ali and Lauren.  There are various salads and extras available at the buffet which help to round out the meal, but the steaks are the main event.  It's good fun and you won't leave hungry!  Rodizio Rico is a chain and can be found in several places in London.  If there isn't one near you, try Rodizio Preto instead.

I don't know this woman.

Coming up: Blog on Street Feast London and more in Haggerston, plus I will possibly be ticking off more places in Farringdon and Brixton this week.

Rotary - Yum Bun - Monikers - Happiness Forgets - Looking Glass Cocktail Club

Thursday 4th April - This was my third outing into the East London hipster territories since the blog started.  My sister's boyfriend has just moved to Hoxton which gave me an excuse to explore some new places with them.  I put my hipster green jeans on and met my sister, Emily/Embob/Bobster etc, at Exit 2 of Old Street Station.

Our first stop was Rotary Bar and Diner (not near Exit 2 - Old Street Roundabout 1-0 Team List) which is part of the Rushmore Group (Milk and Honey, The Player, Giant Robot, Redhook and Danger of Death).  Downstairs is the Rotary Bar which is a members only drinking den, but upstairs is the more relaxed diner.  Embob and I ordered a  £10 'Giant Mojito' (one of six pint-sized cocktails on offer) which was presented in a Boston Shaker.  It took us a while to drink despite being excellent and is great value at a tenner.  Rotary is a temporary installation as building works are due to take place, though I assume they will move on to somewhere else, or return when work has finished.  The food looked good but we were saving room for other things, starting with Yum Bun.

Yum Bun serve up tasty, tiny steamed buns (known as 'Gua Bao' in Thailand) with fillings inspired by Chinese and Japanese flavours, for the cheap price of £3.50 for one or £6 for two.  They also have bento box deals and a dessert bun option with ice cream provided by Sorbitium Ices.  They are currently stationed right next to Rotary, having moved up in the world after starting life as a Street Food Van.  Our buns were satisfyingly squishy and moreish, and were served with a smile and a chat!

After swiftly despatching the buns that were yum, we tried and failed to get in to Nightjar without a booking (not sensible unless you arrive outside 10 minutes before it opens), but we weren't really expecting success anyway.  I will plan a trip more carefully at some point.  We wandered off towards Hoxton Square to try out a couple of bars.  On our way there, we spotted a cluster of hipsters on the street drinking weird fizzy drink based cocktails out of plastic cups.  This turned out to be the book launch for The Gathering of the Juggalos - a collection of photos covering a five day festival attended by 'Juggalos' (the followers of horrorcore rap group Insane Clown Posse apparently - Wikipedia tells me that I am not to confuse horrorcore with terrorcore, obvs).  We had some vodka mixed with Faygo (the soft drink often referenced by Insane Clown Posse, keep up!), some milk duds and a jello shot before running away.

We didn't have to run far to reach Happiness Forgets, a hidden underground bar on Hoxton Square with a fantastic reputation.  It was very busy when we arrived but one of the bar staff took my number so that he could text me when a table became free.  We decided to stay nearby so we popped into Monikers, a new school-themed restaurant and bar that has recently opened.  It was pretty quiet, but I would imagine it won't be long before this place is packed, as they have put a huge amount of effort into the décor, as well as the food and drink.  The menus are presented as old text books with doodles all over them, tables have drawers filled with crayons and football stickers, and there is even a school bus area upstairs where you can draw on the walls - the whole bus can be hired out if you so wish.  Alternatively, ask for the bus driver table when booking for a fun experience!  We were well looked after by Gianluca and his staff at the bar and I hope to return soon for the full restaurant experience.  We just stayed for one however, as I received a text with good news.

The elusive David Villa sticker

Em and I hopped back over to Happiness Forgets to claim our table.  We were still waiting for Al, who was stuck in his flat waiting for someone to arrive, so they put us in a cosy spot for two (with just enough room for a third).  The bar was buzzing, helped by the candlelit speakeasy vibe (though slightly hindered by the loud music that just didn't fit in my opinion) and we set about choosing some cocktails.  Our first two (Mr. McRae and Perfect Storm) were outstanding, rivalling the best drinks I have had so far from Candaleria in Paris.  Albert Sq. finally arrived in Hoxton Sq. and started playing catchup with a Dapperman Sour and some Dutch Courage whilst we waited for some Roast Potatoes with Chipotle Mayo (food provided by Master and Servant upstairs).  After a while, one of the staff came to tell us that they had sent the food back as it wasn't good enough for us, and that it would be free of charge!  When it did turn up, it was delicious.  With money to spare, we ordered some Honey and Pistachio doughnuts as well.

The service was top notch (though they didn't put any on the bill as it was obviously not up to their high standards!) and it's easily one of the best places that I have been to so far. They take bookings but only up until 8 - after that it is a friendly free for all. Growing a massive beard and wearing a checked shirt is advisable if you want to fit in with the Kings of Leon-esque hipster/lumberjack look - follow the link or see below for ideas.

We decided to pack in one more place before my last train from Shoreditch High Street so we sped over to the recently opened Looking Glass Cocktail Club on Hackney Road - the second Alice in Wonderland themed bar in the area along with Callooh Callay!  Apparently it is normally very busy with queues outside but it was totally empty. The friendly owner (who was either fully in character or on crack) took us "through the looking glass" into an even emptier room filled with mismatching retro furniture that probably looks a lot better when the place is full.

However deserted it was, I can't fault their cocktails!  Their list is really interesting so it's a shame I had to rush my decision - I went for a drinkable Pop Goes the Walrus (made with pop corn bourbon) whilst Alistair was very happy with his Shades of Green (vodka, dill syrup and absinthe mist).   They also very kindly made Em a fun mocktail for not much extra charge when she ordered a fruit juice.  The invention on show is matched by the taste, which reminds me of Southsider Cocktail Club in Battersea.

It is nowhere near as intimate as Happiness Forgets, but it's not trying to be.  Probably best to head here at the weekend - supposedly they sometimes have entertainment (not sure what exactly) in the larger room.  Alternatively (or additionally) head to the popular Callooh Callay cocktail bar around the corner for more Lewis Carroll-based antics - go through the wardrobe at the back to reach the hidden Jubjub Bar where you can find the Cantina de Cuervo Mexican pop up that is on until May 18th.  The main bar is launching their hotly anticipated new cocktail menu on April 23rd.

Sister Em gets 5 points on her List debut (are you reading Sister Jo?) whilst Al picks up 2 - not a bad start for my new Hoxton team.  Those East London hipsters are a nice bunch! Now I just need to get myself a lumberjack shirt...