Hot new London bar openings

Evans & Peel Pharmacy 

Evans & Peel, who brought us their Detective Agency in Earls Court that you need a code word to access, has opened a sister site in Chiswick, which masquerades as a 1920s pharmacy.

On entry, you’ll be given a once over by the pharmacist who sits looking scholarly in a white coat among pill pots, potions and giant jars filled with gobstoppers. If deemed of sound health, you’ll be led down to the bar, which has blacked out windows to add to the air of secrecy.

Decked out with vintage furniture and festooned with antique surgical equipment, Bourbon lovers are in luck as the bar specialises in Old Fashioned and Japanese whisky, while those made of sturdy stuff can brave the Gaviscon Martini. Eats include grilled cheese sarnies served in cigar boxes – what’s not to love?

Brick & Liquor

Having opened its first site in Tooting last October, speakeasy cocktail bar Brick & Liquor has launched a sister site in Clapham that takes inspiration from bars in Manhattan’s East Village via wood panelling, exposed brickwork, pendant lighting, and brass fixtures.

Run by David Layton, mixologists take centre stage at the double tiered bar creating signature serves like the Salted Caramel Espresso Martini and the Nine and a Half Weeks, named after the steamy ’80s film starring a very young and bouffant Mickey Rourke, which blends Havana 3 rum, orange curaçao, white vermouth and orange bitters, and is aged for 9 1/2 weeks in a an old Merlot barrel.

On the food front, expect the likes of risotto croquettes with mozzarella, chorizo and white truffle mayonnaise.

Cub

Master mixer Ryan Chetiyawardana, known as ‘Mr Lyan’, has launched a drinks-led restaurant in Hoxton. Teaming up with Doug McMaster, head chef of zero-waste restaurant Silo in Brighton, the venture, called Cub, is housed above Mr Lyan’s ‘Super Lyan’ bar.

The 35-cover Cub blurs the boundaries of food and drink by approaching them as a united entity. Noma food scientist Arielle Johnson has developed the dishes and drinks made with experimental ingredients grown on site.

Former scientist Chetiyawardana is keen to research the effects of environment on food growth and flavour. Among the dishes on the debut menu are Krug with water jelly and spiked herbs, Japanese knotweed with raw sheep’s milk and ramson.

Jacob and the Angel

Having made London yelp with glee with their Levantine delights at The Palomar and then repeated their success with sister site The Barbary, which serves dishes inspired by the Barbary coast including an addictive dessert involving shredded pastry, pistachios and melted cheese, hopes are high for Becky and Layo Paskin’s latest venture, Jacob and the Angel, a tiny 10-seater coffee shop in Covent Garden’s Neil’s Yard.

Expect freshly baked pastries and pies, giant sarnies and seasonal salads from ex Ottolenghi chef Daniela Gattegno. Among the dishes on the debut menu are merguez sausage rolls; toast with whipped feta, honeycomb and walnuts; spinach, leek and nutmeg bourekas, and tahini madeleines.

Coal Rooms

Londoners have learnt to be canny with space, given that we live like sardines. The latest venture to make the most of a quirky setting is the Coal Rooms, which resides in an old train ticket office in Peckham Rye that happens to be a Grade II listed building.

Run by the team at Old Spike Roastery, Coal Rooms is a coffee shop by day and bar at night, and even boasts an in-house butchery and robata grill. On the food front, meat reigns supreme here, with dishes like dry aged duck breast, smoked eel and pig’s head sausage and roasted bone marrow curry headlining. You can also enjoy a coffee-cured bacon sandwich with your morning brew.

The George & Dragon

Aidan McGee of popular pub The Truscott Arms, which was forced to close after a sizable rent hike, has found a new home at The George & Dragon in Fitzrovia, which boasts its own beer and a selection of craft ales.

Focusing on “pub food with a modern take”, McGee’s is already garnering a lot of hype after The Sunday Times dubbed him creator of “the best roast in Britain”. Having worked at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, McGee’s dishes include confit duck leg with cabbage, mash and duck sauce; Cornish lemon sole in a citrus sauce; and a hazelnut and chocolate choux for pud.