The Cocktail Trading Company

Last Friday, I *finally* got a chance to go to a bar that I have been very keen to visit ever since I first heard about it opening- The Cocktail Trading Co. Now, I’d tried to go to the Cocktail Trading Co. twice previously but, first time I made the mistake of not standing in the (at the time, rather short) queue, and the second time I just got there far too late- the queue was out the door! However, this time, luck was on my side!

In a tiny basement pretty much bang opposite Liberty, down a narrow, slightly rickety staircase The Cocktail Trading Co resides with its truly remarkable menu.

It comes in a tiny book and each cocktail listed is accompanied by a detailed illustration of what to expect. I looked through it slightly incredulously- some of the drinks just looked impossibly fabulous!

I started with a ‘Sauvignon Private Ryan,’ which, consisting of sherry and apple brandy, turned out to be totally and utterly delicious. It came dressed with some micro basil, mint and another purple herb I didn’t recognise, as well as a surprising sprinkle of a kind of fruit a fibre mix and a pair of smoking matchsticks!

My friend Immy went for a Tu-Whit-Tu-Whoo-Woo which tuned out to be a bubbly concoction in an owl tumbler, garnished with a healthy dose of candyfloss…

James tried a Scouts Honour, which much to our delight, came with a skewer of toasted marshmallows which were melted in front of us by a chatty (and rather entertaining) barman. Not only that, there was a small flat tin stuck in the ice on top. I won’t tell you what was inside as it would ruin the surprise, but it had us giggling into our cocktails to say the least!

Unable to avoid the lure of that little illustrated menu (and of course, because the company was too much fun to leave) we decided it was perhaps time for seconds.

After much umm-ing and ahh-ing I finally settled on a ‘Welcome to Kentucky, have a nice day.’  This rather extravagantly named tipple turned out to be more of an alcoholic meal than a simple drink as piled on top was a hearty handful of dried, flavoured noodles, dusted with icing sugar!? Somehow, this worked pretty well and I happily munched my way through my drink.

Immy’s second drink was a Violet Fizz which came (I guess kinda unsurprisingly by this point) in a rather tasteful shade of lavender. The top was decorated with more mystery herb, broken meringue and an edible flower! These drinks were seeming more and more edible works of art and I almost felt guilty as I dismantled them to slurp them up!

Needless to say, I really enjoyed my experience at the Cocktail Trading Company. The staff were wonderful (thank you for the extra marshmallows!) and the drinks really quite special (and not too expensive at £9 each!) – the whole experience was definitely worth the wait! So if you find yourself near Oxford Circus, definitely go and if there’s a queue, just wait- this bar is most definitely worth it!

Tipsy Tea at Mr Foggs

Last week, I was lucky enough to be invited to Mr Fogg's tipsy afternoon tea in Mayfair. Unfortunately for me, one of the perils of a full time job is that I can't just pop out for a few hours to drink cocktails and nibble on sandwiches on Friday afternoons, as much as I'd like to. Therefore, instead, I sent the first lady of our family- my mother. Here's what she had to say about it...

"In the winding backs of Bruton Lane, Mayfair, lay the doorway to Mr Fogg's quirky victoriana experience. The long bell is wrung, the door slowly opens outwards, careful not to knock the unaware off the step. Visitors are greeted by a tall, red waistcoated server who waves us inside with a friendly "welcome to Mr Fogg's." Inside, music drifts towards us, setting the scene. (For those who have timed their evening bar visit right, there's apparently live music later on, but we were on the recorded variety.) The walls are cluttered with travel memorabilia- conversation pieces, stuffed animals, hanging bicycles and hot air balloons. (Even the restrooms, I later discovered, echoed with story time of Mr Fogg's adventures!) Seating is of the low level leather buttoned variety with afternoon tea served on battered travel chests, although a few traditional table and chairs were scattered about. 

Then came the afternoon tea. Three gin cocktails, presented in teapots, were offered with names like '1840', 'Woburn Abbey' and 'Catherine of Braganza' (with a quality base of Tanqueray No TEN). The champagne offered, Ruinart, is an offering from the first champagne house established in 1729, perhaps a little less known than some of the more heavily marketed brands. Four novelty champagnes with names like 'Belvoir Castle'  were also available as cocktail bases. Mixers were presented in iced teapots with separate milk jugs containing either gin or champagne. The cocktail is taken in teacups poured according to taste. My favourite had to be the '5th Duke of Rutland', a concoction of Tatratea, cognac and angostura bitters, plus a kick of absinthe!

 A tired cake stand was full of sweet offerings and finger sandwiches, although the experience is less about the food and more about whimsy and drink. After all, the mirrored bar which stretched the whole length of the room was stuffed with quality boutique brands of alcoholic beverages. I could tell that sitting at the bar on an evening would be a whole new vibe!

This is a Friday/Saturday afternoon venture with a lively, quirky vibe and the odd unexpected surprise- keep an eye out roaming magician, Mr Singh!"

Cocktails at Kingly Court's Cahoots!

We clattered down the narrow staircase, following the sign to the ticket office. A smartly dressed ticket officer in a double breasted blue coat and flat cap greeted us. “The train tonight is full Madam, unless of course, you were looking for something else..?” We were handed our tickets and buzzed through a door, where we were directed ‘to the trains.’ We rounded a corner and ended up on the most lively platform I have ever seen. No, sorry, the tube hasn’t started hosting secret after hours parties- we were in Cahoots, London’s newest (and only) war-time tube themed bar!

 Cahoots has taken one of London’s old air raid shelters and turned it into something totally magical. Sand bags line some of the walls, while vintage posters, signs, tube maps and train paraphernalia cover the others. We sat on the southbound platform (others sat in a recreation of a 1940s train carriage!) while staff dashed around not only in costume, but also in character! The menu looked more like a collection of vintage newspaper clippings, each page different, while the cocktails were themed with some rousing names such as ‘give peas a chance’ or named after stars of the ‘40s!

The cocktails were all tasty and presented beautifully. Mine came in a pretty crystal champagne flute, decorated with an apple crisp and a skewered blackberry. Another came in a tin mug (white with a blue rim of course!) and apparently you can even get one which is served in a working clock! We were also given a tin proclaiming to contain baking soda but instead was filled with popcorn, and, much to our delight and surprise, we were later presented with two complimentary lunchboxes filled with mini sandwiches, crusts cut off and filled with classics such as cheese and pickle. Hey, nothing excites me quite like free food!

Cahoots was a lot of fun- there was so much going on around us that I had to leave my seat several times to go have a closer look at something I’d just noticed and I caught myself more than once just gazing around the bar, taking it all in! All in all, Cahoots is definitely worth a visit, but I’d recommend you book- rush hour seems to go on all night!

Maggie's '80s Big Hair Party!

So you know how last post I mentioned that '80s party I had been invited to? Well, last Thursday after work, my friend Rebecca and I hopped on a tube and found ourselves walking down the Fulham Road, not quite knowing what to expect.

Soon, we were entering Maggie's. A union flag lined stairwell took us down into the main club area where we were welcomed by the sound of drums, over the top of cheesy '80s tunes.

The '80s theme was definitely going strong inside as the tables were giant Rubix cubes, the staff bedecked in crazy wigs and the walls were painted with various '80s characters such as Mario and Pac Man. Girls who had got there a bit earlier already had their hair done and were back brushed and crimped to the nines!

Our first stop was the bar where there were tempting platters of orange and pink swirled LaDiDa cupcakes on display (apparently vodka laced and definitely delicious. I may or may not have ended up eating more than three....) We nabbed our '80s themed cocktails (one cosmopolitan, one Moscow mule, both made with Ciroc vodka. Yum.) and then headed straight for the hair stylists who'd set up shop in one corner of the club.

Then, everything was completely out of my hands! My stylist plonked me down in my seat, took one look at my hair and started backcombing it as if there was no tomorrow! After one last suffocatingly large cloud of hairspray, I had a quiff which practically touched the ceiling! I have to say I loved it just a little too much!

Rebecca was also attacked with equal vigour and ended up with a mini crimped pony tail with purple strands! I have to say I thought we looked totally hair-tasic!

Unfortunately for us, Rebecca and I weren't able to stay for as long as we would have liked, but managed to have a bit of a catch up at one of the Rubix cubes and a boogie to the really very fun music. Before long though, it was time for us to have our final sips of cocktail (and just one more cupcake...) before making our separate ways home.

I had a really fun evening at Maggie's. The venue was brilliantly quirky and it was definitely different to my normal kind of night out. Some of the looks I got heading home were completely priceless, but hey, you had to be hair to get it!


P.S- apologies for all the terrible hair puns.... I  think all that hairspray must have got to me!

P.P.S- also sorry for the lack of posts recently- I have just started a new job, am currently in Chicago and life has been hectic! But don't worry, I will get back on it soon!

Back to the 80's...

This is just a little post to give you all a heads up about an event I've been invited to and which I think is going to be hair-raisingly good fun! Maggie's, an 80s themed club in Chelsea, has teamed up with MichaelJohn (the luxury hair and beauty organisation) to put on their '80s Big Hair Party' on 5th February!

'So what's all the fuss?' you may be (quite rightly) wondering. I felt the same way until I found out that upon entry, MichaelJohn and L'Oréal would be offering to do your hair and makeup (in an 80s style, of course)! This just struck me as a rather fun way to try out prestigious brands while having a night out on the town. And hey, don't all girls just wanna have fun?

So if you're in the mood for some crazy big hair, a special CIROC vodka cocktail made for the event and a chance to boogie on down to some classic '80s hits, I'll see you there- just look for the girl in the neon leg warmers!

And for those who can't make it, don't worry- there will be a full report to come.

One Aldwych and Cucina Asllina at the ME Hotel

On Friday night, we had a little family get together. My little sister had travelled back to London from uni and so my mother and I went out to meet her and her boyfriend for dinner and cocktails.

We started in the lobby bar of One Aldwych. I'd never been here before, but it was a firm destination in Mum's stomping ground and so I was quite interested to see what all the fuss was about.

Well, I learned pretty quickly. I'd been expecting pretty traditional cocktails from such a well known establishment, but was more than pleasantly surprised when I was presented with the menu. After much um-ing and ah-ing, I opted for a whisky based cocktail called 'The Magic Gift' which contained a chocolate liquor and a mushroom infusion, and came presented in a hip flask. My sister's boyfriend had an even more interesting concoction which came served in a mini smoking cocktail shaker!

We all happily sipped away until suddenly realising that we were running a little late for our restaurant reservation so, hurriedly gathering our things, we nipped over the road to Cucina Asllina at the ME Hotel.

Cucina Asllina was pretty busy and very loud when we arrived. Every table seemed to be full, but it sounded like there were twice as many people there. I'm not entirely sure if this was due to one or two tables being particularly noisy (there was a birthday going on in one corner) or just the acoustics of the place, but we found ourselves nearly shouting over our table to hear each other, despite being in a less busy corner.

However, rather hungry after our cocktails, we happily perused the Italian menu, opting for three courses, while sipping on glasses of bubbles.

The food was lovely, but nothing particularly special taste wise. The presentation was nevertheless very pretty and I felt rather remorseful as I munched through it. Well... for about thirty seconds at least. It was also nice how the staff filled our glasses with cucumber flavoured water without being asked, something that surprisingly you often don't see in other restaurants. Yet, it was a shame that they ran out of one of the puddings and so my sister was unable to order her first choice. They did resolve this in the best way possible though, by offering her a selection from an alternate menu.

All in all I had an enjoyable meal and although Cucina Asllina won't ever be my favourite restaurant, we had a very pleasant evening once we'd adjusted to the noise level. More importantly, it was lovely having a catch up with the family before we all went our separate ways again!  

Malta: Part Six

Our final day's adventures took us off to Marsaxlokk, a traditional fishing village at the south of the island. After a fairly lengthy bus journey (and some slight confusion over stops!) we found ourselves walking along the pretty sea front of the village. 

Floating in the bay were brightly coloured, traditionally hand painted fishing boats. Many of these had eyes painted on their bows, which superstition says protects the boats from danger. These little traditional boats provide the fresh fish cooked up in the numerous restaurants spaced out along the sea front.

After wandering the length of the village, we settled down in one of these little restaurants and tucked into some of the local produce, all of which tasted wonderfully fresh! 

The village was incredibly pretty and it was interesting to see how the fishermen still used the traditional boats to catch fish. However, before long, it was time to return to our hotel and hunt down dinner!

That evening (our last evening!) we walked into the centre of St Julian's and chose a restaurant called 'Zest' which turned out to be a real treat! The menu was, as far as I was concerned, perfect. Advertised as 'east meets west', it was full of sushi, Thai curries, Japanese grills and noodle-y dishes. I was in heaven!

We ordered off one of their set sharing menus and tucked in to the mountain of food which then appeared.

Firstly, an amuse-bouche and cocktails.

Then, we started with sushi, sticky chelsea buns, chicken and lamb satay, dim sum parcels and a fantastic glass noodle salad. 

Followed by a trio of thai curries (Lu had another noodle dish as well but I can't quite remember what it was!).

And then delicious deserts which included a fiery chocolate and chilli fondant with raspberry sorbet.  

I just wish I'd had more room to eat more- by the end I was bursting!

Zest was fantastic- the food amazing and the staff incredibly accommodating. They had delivered a truly wonderful last meal on Malta. 

I had a brilliant holiday visiting Malta. Not only was the island beautiful, but everyone we met was incredibly friendly and willing to share something about the island and its fascinating history. I learnt more than I could have expected from such a short stay and I would love to return in the future to find out more! 

Durham Part One: Zen

Last Friday, I packed my little suitcase, dug out my thickest pair of tights and hopped on a train to a part of North England I've never been to before, Durham.

Pulling into the station (which is on top of one of the many hills in Durham), I got my first pretty spectacular glimpse of the city spread out below. 

When the train finally stopped, I jumped out of my carriage and excitedly rushed to meet the rather special person who was looking after me for the weekend (more to be said on him later!). We then ambled our way through the city before heading home to get ready for college formal, which is where students who are part of the college dress up in gowns and eat dinner together at their college. After this entertainingly rowdy meal (and rather a lot of wine), I soon found myself tumbling into bed and falling deeply asleep, excited for the next day's adventure. 

The next evening, (the day had consisted of a long lie in, late lunch and lots of catching up,) we headed into the city centre for a wander around some of the sites. The cathedral looked beautiful all lit up and the castle was nearly as impressive! 

However, before long, we found ourselves outside Zen (a gorgeous looking Thai-inspired restaurant), where a table had been booked for our first proper date! We started with cocktails (a chilli mojito for me and a normal one for him) and a bit of people watching (who knew there were so many interesting characters in Durham?!). 

After a few sips, we were seated at our table and started umm-ing and ahh-ing over the menu- the poor waitress had to come back three times! I'm a complete sucker for Thai food and so I found choosing especially difficult! Eventually, we settled on scallops, fishcakes and sushi for starters, followed by pad thai for me and massaman lamb for him, all finished off with chocolate brownies to share. Every course was delicious but I have to say the fishcakes were particularly good- that perfect balance of spicy sweetness.

 All too soon, our food had been devoured and so we rolled ourselves back out into the chilly night air. We walked back through Durham by moonlight, and after one especially magical moment on a bridge overlooking the river, smiling happily to ourselves, we reached home.