For several months now, our friends Kieran and Janey have been talking about taking us out to some of the world-renowned London cocktail bars before we leave the city. With the bank holiday yesterday, Sunday evening seemed like a perfect opportunity.
We met up at White Lyan in Hoxton, a concept bar that doesn't use any ice or perishable items like fruits or juices, and makes all of their cocktails ahead and then serves them from the refrigerator. They also foresake branded spirits and create their own by working directly with distilleries. With special ingredients like pomegranate paint, absinthe rice, beeswax, and vinegar, the menu definitely piqued our interest. Of the four drinks we tried between us, Joe and I preferred the White Guiness - it was delicious even if it did leave an ash mustache on your upper lip for the first few sips. (Time Out review here. World's Best Bars review here.)
From there Kieran and Janey lead us to Nightjar, an internationally acclaimed cocktail lounge feels like a speakeasy and has a themed menu to match (divided into eras like Prohibition and Post War). We couldn't get a reservation ahead of time so we queued up for about 20 minutes - at 10:30 on a Sunday night, that should give you an idea of how important it is to call ahead here. You can only order if you have a seat; no standing room here.
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| The unmarked doorway is the entrance to Nightjar, very near Old Street Station |
Where White Lyan's approach is all about consistency and eliminating errors, Nightjar is all about flare. The menu reads like a book; each cocktail has about 8-12 ingredients in it and they all are served in unusual containers. The Yorkshire Punch that we ordered to share while we all took our time reading through the menu was served in a Rooster-shaped metal watering can with the smoke from dry ice spilling out the back. We later received drinks in an owl vase, a coconut on ice, with a dehydrated lime garnish, and with a peacock feather, among other novelties. All of this showiness might undermine the actual cocktails if they weren't so delicious. The Yorkshire Punch was probably the best cocktail I've ever had. For our LA friends, Nightjar reminded us of both the Edison and Seven Grand. (World's Best Bars review here.)
One of the best parts about our London cocktail adventure, however, was the fact that it made the birthday surprise I'd planned for Joe the next day even more surprising. Joe's birthday was at the beginning of April, but the Book of Mormon tickets I got him as a gift were for a showing at the end of May. What he didn't know is that Kieran and Janey were coming, too. He even asked them for suggestions of where we should eat dinner before the play without realizing that they would be there with us.
When we walked up to Flat Iron off Regent Street to find our friends standing with the hostess, Joe thought it was all a coincidence. He didn't realize that the dinner had been planned until we sat down and didn't think that they were going to the play with us until I said something. I'm proud but surprised by how well we were able to pull this off.
Briefly, Flat Iron is a steak place that's all about doing one thing really well. This is the menu:
They also have specials like beef belly, sirloin, or steak burgers sometimes. The simplicity of the menu makes it easy to order because you know that what they do is going to be done very well. Our meal was delicious!
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| simple presentation and a mini meat cleaver |
From there it was just a short walk to the Prince of Wales theatre for Book of Mormon. We had our own four-seat box on stage left. This gave us the freedom to move around as we wanted and bring drinks to our seats.
Seeing Book of Mormon in London was especially fun for Joe and I because it reminded us of so many friends from home that our British friends can only imagine. We were laughing out loud from curtain to curtain. (It was also interesting to speculate which actors were actually Brits doing American accents.) Such a hilarious show!
Thanks Kieran and Janey for two great nights (in a row)!
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