Hagen & Hyde - Poulet Rouge - Balham Bowls Club

Friday October 4th - South London is very quietly being taken over by Antic, the group responsible for Effra Social, Brixton Dogstar, Battersea Mess and Music Hall, and Tooting Tram & Social.  They are trying to bring the social club back to London, and it seems to be working.  Balham has two quirky Antic boozers so I decided to check them out, along with the charming Poulet Rouge in between for some food.  I was accompanied by Coral, Lucy and Amy, who make limited Team List appearances due to a strict "no school nights" policy.  

Our first stop was Hagen & Hyde, one of Antic's newest pubs.  It is right next Balham Station on the High Street, so many punters might dismiss it as a rubbish station pub - more fool them.  It also looks vaguely like a shop, with coats and other garments on show in the windows. Every table inside is a different shape and size, and the walls are covered in all sorts of vintage paraphernalia.  

I arrived first, so I got myself a very tasty pint of By The Horns Hopslinger, and found a quirky table in a corner which had a bookshelf in the middle of it, just in case you don't like the people opposite you. I'm sure this will also be used regularly for some classic library style flirting through the shelves.  I resisted the urge to sit at one of the two upright piano tables - I'm not sure I would feel comforatble putting a pint on top of a piano anyway!  

There were plenty of beers to choose from and a couple of interesting ciders as well.  They have built a separate dining room upstairs that specialises in fish, seasonal game and colonial British fare, and they are still decorating a large space at the back.  In any normal pub, it would feel odd having part of the place unfinished, but it doesn't seem to matter here at all.  After a couple of drinks we moved on to get some food elsewhere, but I will definitely return as it is charming little pub and it was not too busy considering its location.

We only had to walk for about a minute to get to Poulet Rouge, a cosy new restaurant that focuses on rotisserie chicken, galettes and crêpes.  They don't take reservations but we were seated straight away. The turnaround is pretty quick, so there should hopefully never be too long a wait.  The design is simple and lovely, with colourful patterned floors and an open kitchen visible at the back where the chickens can be seen rotating away.

To drink there are several affordable wines and some fizz, plus a short but sweet bottled beer list that includes Poulet Rouge Golden Ale (brewed for them by the Two Cocks Brewery), Redhook Longhammer IPA (from Washington), and Kona Big Wave (all the way from Hawaii).

The girls all went for bargain £5 1/4 chicken with various sides that turned up in attractive baby Le Creuset pots, whilst I went for the Chicken, Chorizo and Rocket Galette (only £7.00) that was fantastic.  I can't see myself ordering anything else next time or even bothering to look at the menu, it was that good.  The sides were a hit too - we sampled the Chorizo Cassoulet, Corn and Dauphinoise Potatoes.  You can turn your meal into a £10 roast of sorts by ordering the Sunday Sides at £5 with your 1/4 chicken.  There are also some enticing vegetarian galette options if chicken isn't your thing!

Most of us still had change from a tenner so we decided to treat ourselves to their dessert crêpes.  I was expecting your standard underwhelming undersized pancake that you finish in two bites, but instead a monster pudding was put in front of me, which I struggled to finish.  We tried three between us - Banana, Nutella & Honeycomb, Vanilla, Pecan & Maple Syrup, and Apple Crumble & Mascarpone, which was probably the pick of the bunch.  You can also get a simple Lemon, Sugar & Cinnamon crêpe for just £2.50!

We were all very impressed with Poulet Rouge and I can't wait to take some more people there.  They even open up at 8am to serve Breakfast Galettes including a Sausage & Mustard option at just £2.00. They could get away with charging a lot more, but I hope they keep the prices low.  They will have to, as competition is arriving in the form of a second Chicken Shop site in Tooting, after a successful year in Kentish Town.  Hopefully there is enough for both of them!

We hopped round the corner for a final drink of the evening at Balham Bowls Club, one of Antic London's older establishments. Unsurprisingly, it was originally a Bowls Club which has now been converted into a social pub and restaurant spread over several warm, inviting rooms.  It gets very busy but it is a relaxing, fun place to drink nevertheless.  I would imagine it is very popular for roasts on a Sunday, when people settle in for the whole day with some board games.  Check the pinboard on your way in for info on events such as pub quizzes (on Tuesday), live comedy and film showings (which take place in the beautiful upstairs event space).

Like most Antic venues, they have a nice range of ales including some local produce.  I had my first pint from Belleville Brewing Co who are just round the corner at Wandsworth Common.  I tried to visit them earlier when I had some time to kill but they weren't open, so I was delighted to see their Thames Surfer on tap at BBC.  I was envious of the buzzing atmosphere in the dining room and might have to try eating here next time, if I can resist the temptation to return to Poulet Rouge!  Antic can do no wrong at the moment, and I will hopefully report back soon on more of their excellent creations, including Sylvan Post in Forest Hill, and Graveney and Meadow in Tooting.  Thanks to Lucy, Coral and Amy for joining me on the Balham crawl - 3 points each.

More info on the SW London microbreweries mentioned in the post:

By The Horns brewery is located between Earlsfield and Tooting - they open their brewery tap bar Thu-Fri 5-10 and Sat 12-6.  Head over on Fridays to try out their hop rocket!

Belleville Brewing Co. is right next to Wandsworth Common station, which is a 10 minute walk from Balham.  They are mostly brewing American style beers.  They don't have a brewery bar yet, but if you get in contact they are often happy to let you taste on site and buy some bottles.

Toy Shop Bar - Byron - Lost & Co - Bricklayer's Arms - Dr.Ink of Fulham - White Horse

Wednesday 2nd October - Way back in June, Team List tried to go to the opening night of Toy Shop Bar in Putney.  It turned out to be a friends and family only night, so we wandered off and went to a couple of reliable boozers in the area instead.  We finally returned last week and made it inside this time!

They now have an incredibly generous Happy Hour from 5-8 Monday-Thursday which was the perfect excuse for us to work our way through their cocktail menu.  It was pretty empty when we arrived, but I'm sure it will get busier once Putney locals get wind of the discounts!  It apparently gets a bit crazy at the weekends so take your pick.

Most drinks have ridiculous names and an even sillier list of ingredients.  I started with "Newton's Cradle Old Fashioned Tipple" - Toy Shop Dried Fruit Infused Malt Blend, Absinthe Mist, Rosehip Tincture, Aged Cardamom Dark Cacao, Vanilla Extract, No 1. Bitter Blend Marinated 8x, Coated Fruits.  Lauren went for "Clubland a la Polly Pocket" which was served in a bizarre conical glass on ice, with sherbert, chocolate cigarettes, and lollies.

Clubland a la Polly Pocket, Professor's Negroni and Slinky Margarita

Natalie's "Professor's Negroni" (see above and below) was amusingly presented, with a nectarine blossom sphere inside slowly melting, letting the Negroni drip into the bottom of the glass gradually whilst infusing it with a different flavour.  It also had a pipette on top for a bit of extra D.I.Y bitterness.  I was also fond of my "Elmo's (tickle me) Grog" served in a bottle wrapped in scented newspaper.  The whole place has a Willy Wonka feel to it, so it is no surprise that the drinks are on the sweet side and fairly theatrical.  This suited Mary & Lauren down to the ground, but there were still a couple of bitter options to keep Natalie and I happy.

If cocktails aren't your thing, then you might want to go for the Prosecco on tap, or the Toy Shop Beer which is a lager created for them by Shepherd's Neame.  You might not be able to resist the bonkers sharing cocktails if you are in a large group.  "The King of the Castle" pictured  below (coming in at £100) is the most impressive, but I would opt for the cheaper option of "Ralph the Robot" (£35) which lights up and lets of a lot of smoke.  Some will complain that it's all show, but I appreciate that they are serving up bonkers concoctions that you couldn't ever recreate at home.  This isn't some Mahiki style attempt making a killing on sharing drinks, they are just going for fun all round.

The sharing food is also well worth a look.  We only had the Goat's Cheese Lollipops, but there are plenty of tempting offerings on the menu.  If you want to go for the whole Toy Shop experience, get yourself a ticket to one of their Sunday Roast parties which they describe as a kids party for adults - roast dinner, unlimited prosecco and beer, DJs, balloon modelling and more!

King of the Castle - Cocktails - Sunday Roast Party

"What about the toilets?", I hear you cry. Don't worry - Team List did a recce.  The ladies room has barbies stuck to the walls ("Now I know that barbies don't have nipples" - Lauren) whilst the gents has brightly coloured urinals to aim at.  Both rooms also have glittery walls which create a disco ball effect in the room. We eventually asked for the bill, which was accompanied by some tasty chocolate lego men.  Thumbs up all round - go along with a group of friends for fun evening of food and cocktails that won't break the bank (unless you order that castle!).

We decided to pop next door to Byron for a late night burger.  I wouldn't normally mention a chain, but Byron are right up there with the very best on the London burger scene.  They are constantly doing special one off burgers, and also have the Byron Van out on the streets - read about my Wholey Cow experience here.  I particularly like the fact that they adapt the décor to suit every location, rather than going for one colour scheme.  Other chains would do well to copy this model.  They also have one of the best bottled beer lists (short but superb) for a food joint - go for Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA.

They are currently serving "Le Smokey" burger (until 31st October) in tribute to the growing Parisian burger scene.  I did have one at National Burger Day, but I don't remember there being a smoked chilli BBQ sauce last time.  It's got a bit of a kick to it, but most people should be able to withstand the heat.  Well worth a look before it disappears at the end of the month.

The evening ended with Byron, but I'll mention some other watering holes in the area just in case you want to make a day of it!  I'll start with the couple of places that we went when we were first turned away from The Toy Shop Bar back in June.  

You don't have to go very far out of Putney mainline station to make it in to Lost & Co, a neighbourhood bar and restaurant from Lost Group.  The other Lost Group property on The List is Ales & Tails out in Twickenham, where they have 20 beers on keg and cask.  Lost & Co was previously Citizen Smith (same owners) and it has kept the excellent range of beers (including their own Lost Brewing beer).  The food and cocktails are also worth turning up for, and there are often 2 for 1 offers and special events - head there for Day of the Dead on November 1st for £5 tequila cocktails all night long.  

It inevitably draws a big crowd as it is close to the station, but there is enough quality on show here to make it worth it.  Alternatively, head there early in the morning for some Death Wish coffee from 8-11am, Monday-Friday. 

Putney's real hidden gem is The Bricklayer's Arms, a fantastic little pub tucked away down a side street off Upper Richmond Road.  It regularly wins pub awards, which it deserves for its dedication to serving well kept real ales and hosting beer festivals in their cosy beer garden.  There is plenty to enjoy for non-beer fans as well here, with old fashioned bar games such as Shove Ha'penny and Bar Skittles set up to play.  This is place to spend a whole day in with board games.  Pay it a visit if you haven't already - it's in my Top 5 London pubs.

Just over the river on Fulham Palace Road (10 mins walk from Putney Bridge / Parsons Green) is one of my pre-List favourites, Dr.Ink of Fulham.  It is a bottled beer shop with a twist - you can open the beers on site and drink them outside in their front garden until they close at around 8pm (check site for times as it isn't always open).  The range is awesome and constantly changing, and you get to drink them at shop prices rather than pub prices.  There are often tastings and meet the brewer events going on in the shop, so check the website for details.

It's not just about the beer though.  They also specialise in fresh Indian curry pastes, made to order while you wait.  Indian snacks are available to enjoy with your beers in the shop, including samosas, ondhwo, dokhra, daal wada and pattis.  They also run a special supper club called Flavour Experience hosted by beer sommelier Alex Barlow - 4 courses of Gujarat cuisine are matched with 10 beers to taste.  This has been on my to do list for far too long!

When Dr.Ink of Fulham closes, the best place to go is The White Horse (affectionately known as the Sloaney Pony).  I often link the two together, lugging all of my newly bought bottled beers to Parson's Green. Sure, it is packed full of Made in Chelsea lookalikes but this is all part of the fun.  This is one of the best places to drink beer in London, and the local clientele always keep me entertained.  There are often beer festivals to take advantage of.  In summer months, the beer garden looking on to the green is packed, and the BBQ is fired up.  In winter everyone huddles inside - it is worth booking ahead if you know you are heading that way.  The pub food is better than your average fare - I have never looked past the excellent fish and chips. 

I also popped in to Amuse Bouche Champagne Bar (opposite Parsons Green tube) the other day for a friends birthday.  If bubbles are your thing then this is the place for you - I survived on a healthy diet of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.  There was a lively pianist when we arrived singing some jazzy pop covers.  There is delicious food upstairs in Claude's Kitchen, some of which is also available downstairs. Head there early when it is pleasant before the unbearable crowds descend late doors and ruin the atmosphere!

Street Food Europe - Jolly Butchers - Ruby's - Ridley Road Market Bar - Hops and Glory

Saturday 28th September - If you read my last post (see here), you will know that I spent the night of the 27th on a luxurious Ploum sofa in Hoxton after a night of bar hopping with the siblings.  I would normally opt for an epic multiple night bus journey back to Battersea, but I had tickets for Street Food Europe in Dalston the next day, so I decided to stay East.  I had some time to kill when I woke up, so I watched the first half of Spurs vs Chelsea (with Russian commentary!) in a lovely little pub with a countryside feel called The Baring. They even have their own football, cricket and rounders teams.  They are recognised by Camra as a top community pub with excellent beer.

With Spurs comfortably 1-0 up, I made my way over to Dalston Junction to meet Natalie and Lauren (Leading List Ladies) for an afternoon of street food.  This was effectively a special edition of Street Feast with traders from all over Europe competing (confusingly) in the British Street Food Awards.  We bought £6 tickets in advance which gave us entry as well as a pint of brewery fresh Meantime lager and an Aperol Spritz.  Dalston Yard was looking as photogenic as ever, with colourful mobile kitchens of all shapes and sizes filling every nook and cranny.

We dove straight in to the food, starting off with some mixed gyoza (dumplings) with wholesome fried pearl barley from Dorshi which was delicious.  It lasted all of two seconds so we moved on straight on to Heisser Hobel from Berlin who were serving up Kässpätzle, freshly cooked noodles with Bavarian cheese, black pepper, chives and crunchy fried onions.  This ended up being our favourite dish of the day, and Lauren went back for seconds.

Heisser Hobel's Kässpätzle - Best Overseas trader and our favourite

I could go into great detail about many of the traders, but I would only be copying and pasting from the British Street Food site.  Click here to read some really interesting stuff about everyone that turned up.

Clockwise: Ginger's Comfort Emporium, Dorshi Sushi, El Taco Truck and Wild Rover sauce

Ginger's Comfort Emporium (last year's winners) and the pink El Taco Truck from a tattoo artist from Stockholm

Clockwise: Buskruid, Bunsmobile, Chinampas (juice served in bags) and Katie & Kim's Kitchen

Next up, we munched on some tasty Torta Fritta (traditional fried dough puffs with pork cold cuts) from Gurmetti, an Italian Deli truck - hopefully they won the Best Moustache Award.  We also had a Venison and Giant Couscous Wrap from Wild Rover Food, who travel around Scotland with their 1961 Land Rover and pop-up ex-army kitchen.  We tried to cash in on our Aperol Spritz but they were low on Prosecco so we went for a pint of Meantime instead.  Natalie showed her Team List pedigree as she came away from the Aperol bar with a half-used drinks voucher that was lying around.  

We went for a wander to decide on our next move and came across a Kamm & Sons cocktail bar which was giving away some tasters of their Sunshine Mary (a Bloody Mary twist) and Summer Tonic.  Kamm & Sons is a Ginseng Spirit made with 45 botanicals in a similar way to gin.  The main ingredients are ginseng, fresh grapefruit peels and manuka honey.  It was created by Alex Kammerling and is currently creating quite a buzz in London.

Kamm & Sons Montage

We decided to get back on the food, and Natalie and I went for a messy Belly Connection Heartbreaker burger from Tongue and Cheek.  Natalie struggled slightly and ended up covered in burger juice - you would think she might have learnt by now! Tongue and Cheek's "No Lobster Roll" made with cod cheeks was very popular and went away with the Best Sandwich Award.  The Aperol bar had been restocked with Prosecco so we cashed in - remarkably, none of us had ever had an Aperol Spritz before.

Aperol Sprtizes? Aperols Spritz?

We couldn't leave without some dessert, and we had been eyeing up Tinderbox's Plum Crumble.  They deservedly went away with the Best Looking Mobiler Award, and their food was very attractive too.  So much so that another foodie photographer scampered up and started snapping away.  I correctly suspected that it was Giulia (caught red handed below) who runs a foodie photo blog (check it out here) as she is often putting up photos for Street Feast events.

Heisser Hobel (left) and The Tinderbox (right)

Snapped! Visit Giulia's blog here - http://mondomulia.com/

A lot of the traders took a short break around 17.30 before opening back up for the evening session, so we decided to make a move.  Street Food Europe carried on to Sunday as well, with the impressive 13 year old entrepeneur Stan taking part selling his snow cones - find out more about him here.  It was another successful event from the Street Feast / Tweat Up team - they are taking a short break now whilst they come up with a site for Autumn/Winter feasting.  They are hopefully launching something near Old Street on November 1st.

I had keenly booked us in to Ruby's for 18.15 and so we powered up towards the Jolly Butchers pub to fit in a quick half.  The Jolly Butchers is the sister pub to the Crown & Anchor in Brixton (read about my trip here), which basically means that they have an awesome beer and cider selection.  They were even named as one of the 10 best pubs in Britain by the Guardian, though that was in 2011! They had a tempting range of beers in when we went, including Brewdog, ELB, Dark Star, Rogue, and Anarchy.  It is possibly the furthest out List place that I (a South West Londoner) have made it to so far (not counting Paris!) - it must be close between this and The Big Hackney Day Out.  Flatmate Maggie (famed for her late arrivals) texted at this point saying she might join us around 20.30.

We had to rush off, as we were due at Ruby's cocktail bar down the road.  Ruby's was one of the first places on The List but it was just a little too far North East for my Battersea ways.  I am glad we finally made it, as it is a cracking little bar.  It is on Stoke Newington Road, but you may well miss it if you don't know what you are looking for it.  It is underneath an old cinema sign, which they have creative control over and change fairly regularly.  When we arrived, the door was shut, and we were in the process of knocking on the wrong door when a kind local told us which one to go for.  Having rushed over from Jolly Butchers, it soon became apparent that Ruby's didn't open til 6.30! I could have sworn I booked for 6.15, but after a bit of Twitter searching, I was proved wrong - rookie mistake for an experienced bar hopper.

Booking was pretty unnecessary since we were the first ones in, but I had no idea whether a queue formed early, or whether everyone else usually booked it up, and we didn't want to be turned away.  Anyway, that allowed us to sit at the bar, always the best seat of the house, with a barman per person ready to serve us! They were still setting up, and were fairly entertained by how punctual we were.  If we had arrived later, we might have missed their warm up music, a hilarious funky album of unreleased 70s porno music called Cream Streets by Pornosonic, written as a mock soundtrack to a non-existent movie - you can buy it on Amazon here! Our ever innocent List Leader misheard it as Paul O'Sonic - bless.

Ruby's have just launched their new Autumn menu so we worked our way through a few of those, plus some old classics.  We started off with Gone with the Bees (Cachaça, St.Germain and Honey), English Garden (Gin, Apple Liqueur, Apple and Rhubarb Juice & Mint) and their classic Blackberry Mojito (presented in a milk bottle).  All 3 received the thumbs up and we took our time enjoying them as the place started to fill up.

We carried on chatting with the amusing bartenders who were also a joy to watch up close (especially "Frank Turner" man according to the girls).  One slightly bonkers drink called Lucyfer on the new menu (involving bourbon, chambord, curacao, apple & chilli) is named after a fun customer who came in demanding something odd.  Hopefully Paul O'Sonic will make it on to the Winter menu.  They kindly gave us some tasters of their chilli bitters (which packs quite a punch) used in the Chilli Apple Martini, and the walnut bitters used in Japanese whiskey inspired Kurimi.  They also let me sample an incredibly bitter Negroni twist involving Fernet Branca, Cocchi Americano and bitters, before it was sent to the man that ordered it.  It was too bitter for all of our tastes, but the customer seemed very happy!

Our final round consisted of Fig Fall (muddled fig, bourbon, vanilla), Fog Cutter (rum, cognac, gin, orange) and the Chilli Apple Martini (with vanilla infused vodka).  The place was really busy by this point, and we started to feel like we should let some newbies have a go in our seats.  For some reason, we made Lauren rush through the end of her spicy Martini, which left her mouth on fire for the walk to the next stop.  Every drink was delicious, and the bartenders were very engaging.  Frank Turner man gave us some top tips for where to go next, and we decided on Ridley Road Market Bar which was mysteriously absent from The List.

Ridley Road Market Bar is tucked away at the far end of quiet Ridley Road.  To reach it, you walk past a deserted row of fishy market stalls (very similar to Brixton and Peckham) but have faith because there's nothing fishy about the bar.  There was a fun crowd in taking advantage of the bargain £5 Ginger Mojitos. They have tonnes of plastic glasses ready to go with limes waiting to be muddled inside, attractively lined along the bar.  We got ourselves three of them, and settled on a sofa in the corner to do some people watching.

We got into a conversation with a couple next to us, who were celebrating buying a house by spending their remaining tenner on some ginger mojitos.  Lauren and I instantly warmed to them as they started mocking Natalie's incomprehensible Northern pronunciation of any word with more than one vowel in - moors, year, poor etc.  The bar was busy but very relaxed, and I would be here all the time if I was a local.  London needs more cheap and cheerful places like this.  There is DJ and dancefloor, plus street food outside which rotates  I believe.

We decided to squeeze in one last place before making the long journey home.  Flatmate Maggie finally caught up with us at 21.30, travelling all the way from Sheen for a couple of drinks in the Hops and Glory on Essex Road - Team List dedication.

Hops and Glory is a relatively new craft beer bar (opened December 2012) which also operates as a bottle shop, selling beers 25-30% below their retail price.  It's a cosy boozer with beautiful décor - having a piano always gets a pub bonus points.  The beer selection was interesting and we particularly enjoyed Liverpool Beer Co American Red and Windsor & Eton Brew 545 Wheat Beer (a collaboration with Natalie Reichert from Meteor Brasserie in France.  They also have a superb bottled beer list, and a beer-influenced cocktail list including Shakey Pete's Ginger Brew designed by Pete Jeary from Hawksmoor.  The food didn't look too shabby either, and Big Apple Hot Dogs were available when we were there.

It is another great Islington pub (thanks for the heads up from Foodie Islington) which makes me want to move closer to Upper Street.  That said, Battersea has it's fair share of top notch taverns - stay tuned for a pub round up soon. 

Lauren and Natalie pick up 5 more big points and Maggie gets another cheeky 1 to keep her in the mix on the leaderboard.  It is currently London Cocktail Week so hopefully I will have plenty of new places to report back on soon.  Will this be the week that sees Natalie make it to 100 points?

Nightjar - White Lyan - Liquor Cabinet - Mr.Buckley's

Friday 28th September - After seeing the state of the Team List Leaderboard, my siblings (and significant plus ones) decided it was time to get some more points.  Nightjar has been on The List for a long time, and Em has just moved up to Hoxton so I booked us in for some pre-dinner drinks at 18.30.  Early evening slots are quite easy to come by, but if you want to have a table later on (when the live jazz gets going) you need to book way in advance - I'm talking a month or two here.

Nightjar is tucked away inbetween various unsavoury looking kebab shops and cafés just off the Old Street roundabout.  You may have unknowingly walked past it during the day, but it is pretty obvious at night due to the queue and sore thumb doorman (Opium and Ballroom du Beef are also guilty of this hidden bar crime).  You instantly forget what neighbourhood you are in once you make it downstairs.  We were shown to a cosy table opposite the piano, which would have been ideal if it had been a little later on.  The background jazz was already much better than most bars manage.  We were brought the now customary jug of bizarre flavoured water (cucumber, apple, Miles Davis' sweat etc etc) with some free popcorn to keep us happy whilst we tried to make the tough first cocktail decision.

Waldorf Gloom Lifters and Cold Buttered Rum

The menu is split into Pre-Prohibition (1600-1918 - what happened in 1600?), Prohibition (1918-1932), Post War (1940-2000) and Nightjar Signatures.  There is also a Unique to Nightjar section which includes vintage liqueurs and spirits, an absinthe collection and all sorts of special gifts including the superb Nightjar pack of cards (see below) which I caved and bought.  Head bartender Marian Beke has travelled all over the world to source unheard of ingredients and garnishes, hence the need for a glossary at the back.  You can read an interesting interview with him here.

We were strongly advised to go for a crazy sharing cocktail with dry ice, but we steered clear since all the drinks are beautifully presented anyway.  We started with two Waldorf Gloom Lifters (served in Hip Flasks on ice), a Cold Buttered Rum (with a hot coconut butter float slowly infusing into the drink, and a dehydrated lime) and a Coffee & Cacao Soda (for a drugged up member of our party).  Al and I struggled to balance our hip flasks, which did actually fall and spill a couple of times before we just put them on the table.  It was a very boozy drink, which never seemed to run out.

Shrubbler, Nougat Cocktail and Rodriguez Sour

Our next round (pictured above) included a Shrubbler, a Nougat Cocktail and a Rodrgiuez Sour.  Al's Shrubbler came with an edible fruit basket (think creme brulee topping) containing his five a day.  Jo's Nougat Cocktail came with lightly singed white chocolate, and a liquid chocolate pot on top.  We had a taster of the very drinkable Ysabel Regina brandy that was used to make it.  My Rodriguez Sour had a paprika coated rim and a mysterious chocolate coated fruit dangling over the top of it.  As you can see from some of the cards below (which are slightly out of date), they really don't hold back on the presentation.  The drinks aren't just for show though, and they tasted as good as they looked.  Nightjar is quite comfortable one of London's best cocktail bars, and I think I would have to dedicate a whole evening (and a fair amount of cash) to it next time.  Book now!

Em only arrived as we were finishing our last drink, allowing Jo to gain a point on her in the sibling rivalry race.  We decided to pop in to the always wonderful Yum Bun (read more here) for some much needed sustenance before moving on to our second cocktail bar of the evening.  

It was the public opening night of White Lyan, a quirky new cocktail bar from master mixologist, Ryan Chetiyawardana, who has been involved with the much loved Whistling Shop in Shoreditch and Bramble in Edinburgh amongst other places.  The plan here is to speed up drinks preparation by pre-bottling many cocktails, giving the bartenders more free time to chat to customers.  No perishable ingredients are used behind the bar.  The most notable absence is fresh citrus - other souring agents are used instead.  There is also no ice involved to avoid unwanted dilution, with spirits and drinks instead being chilled to exact temperatures.  The bar therefore looks very different, with hardly anything on show except for a big fridge. Drinks are made with Mr.Lyan (Ryan's brand) spirits, and only house drinks are available.

They were lacking some electricity when we arrived, but candles were out on tables and the fridges seemed to still be working so we sat down in a quiet corner.  The menu is full of weird libations including Bone Dry Martini (flavoured with chicken bone tincture), Lyan Club Cocktail (gin, turmeric and red apple shrub, soda), and Lada Lada (tequila, smoke, elderflower and lager syrup).  Sadly though, the flavours didn't match the ideas at all.  We were really disappointed with 4 out of 5 of our drinks.  I don't think it helped that we had just been to Nightjar. The Beeswax Old Fashioned was the only cocktail that got the thumbs up.  Lada Lada and Yiddish Bubbles were far too sweet (bring a lemon) whilst the Lyan Club Cocktail tasted mostly of vinegar, with no obvious signs of turmeric and red apple shrub.  Al was unimpressed by his red wine, and it did not improve when they added a spice distillate the second time around to give it extra depth.  The only beer option is the canned (and highly overrated) Hobo Craft Lager, which you can alter with hop atomisation to turn it into a pale ale.  I know they are going for simplicity, but would it hurt to have a local beer or two in the fridge?

There is a club downstairs which wasn't up and running when we went.  The décor is minimal - I would imagine that the idea is to let the drinks do the talking, which worries me.  I find it hard to believe that they have tasted our drinks and feel that they are worth up to £9.  With any luck, all of the other drinks are great, and the others will be improved.  At any rate, I'm not rushing to go back to find out.

We lost Jo and Ant (still feeling under the weather, despite sensibly moving on to whisky drinks) allowing Em and Al to extend their Team List lead.  We crossed over to Hackney Road, aiming to go to Sager & Wilde to get Al a nice glass of wine after the last two.  Before we made it there, I diverted them in to The Liquor Cabinet, a tiny bar underneath the Golden Grill kebab shop run by the experienced duo of Mikey Seddon and Thom Docker, both formerly of The Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town.

Before The Liquor Cabinet turned up, the space was used by Quiquiriqui Mezcaleria, which I annoyingly didn't make it to.  List regular Sam reported back that it was a lot of fun, and that it stayed open so late that they had to be let out through the kebab shop.  Quiquiriqui have now moved in to Catrina the Cocktail Ambulance, which also sounds pretty wonderful - read more here.

The Liquor Cabinet has only recently managed to sort out a license issue, so it had only been open for a couple of days when we went in.  The idea here is to have one excellent variety of their favourite spirits and a few mixers alongside a couple of solid wines and beers, whilst keeping prices low.  The atmosphere was buzzing, and the simplicity really works here (unlike in White Lyan!).  Al and Em were very happy with their red wine, and I had a very nice £4.50 G&T made with Three Corners Gin (which uses only two botanicals - Juniper and Lemon).  If I was a local, I think I would be here all the time.  It is open Tue-Sat and the bar is cash only.

As it was approaching 11pm, we decided to hop on over to Sager & Wilde for a final drink, only to find that they had just called last orders.  Sager & Wilde is an attractive new wine bar on Hackney Road, set up by Michael and Charlotte Sager-Wilde, following on from their successful pop-up in Shoreditch last year.  They are however on their best behaviour with their new neighbours so they currently aren't staying open very late. They hope to extend their opening hours next year.

Sager and Wilde

They kindly pointed us in the direction of Mr.Buckley's which is a bit further down the road, and helpfully stays open til 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.  I have passed it a few times on the way to Broadway Market and it always looked fun.  Upstairs, you can have food and drink - they open up at 10am Mon-Fri and 9am Sat-Sun for brunch.  We headed down to the late night bar underneath, which was surprisingly empty for such a nice place.  It's the perfect chilled out place to grab a late night drink, and the barmen know their stuff. One of them was keeping himself entertained by practicing his flair skills.

I was impressed by their bottled beers, and got myself a local Pressure Drop Pale Fire, whilst Al and Em went for wine (best of the night) and an alcohol-enhanced hot chocolate respectively.  London needs more relaxed late night bars like this which don't try and turn themselves in to clubs.  I'm very jealous of the Hackney Road locals who have so many friendly watering holes on their doorsteps.

Just as we were leaving, I asked the bartenders about a Pressure Drop beer that I hadn't seen before, bizarrely named "Wu Gang Chops the Tree" after a character from Chinese folklore who is known for endlessly cutting down a Bay Laurel on the Moon.  Neither of them had tried it before either, and so they just opened it up on the house, and poured it into three glasses.  Don't ask, don't get!  It calls itself a Forged Herb Hefeweisse - a pale and hazy wheat beer, with pronounced herbal notes, and hints of clove, citrus and banana.  It was a bit late for me to notice all of that, but it went down very easily.  Read more about Pressure Drop brews here.

I ended up crashing in Hoxton with Al and Em since I couldn't face a two night bus journey home, and I was conveniently heading out to Dalston the next day for Street Food Europe and more.  I will leave that all for another post however.  Em has now shot on to the Top 20 Leaderboard - she is currently tied for 16th on 11 points.  Al is not far away in 21st place on 9 points, whilst Jo and Ant have moved to 30th on 6 points. All to play for.