Hot new bar openings: July

Alcoholic Architecture

Taking cocktail drinking to another dimension, food and drink alchemists Bompas & Parr have launched the world’s first breathable cocktail bar in Borough Market. Dubbed “Alcoholic Architecture”, the bar on Cathedral Street features a breathable cocktail cloud that guests can wander through and gulp up. The immersive experience sees spirits and mixers turned into a cloud of alcohol with the help of humidifiers creating an environment of 140% humidity.

Visitors are asked to don protective suits and breath in the cocktail vapour, with the alcohol entering the bloodstream through the lungs and eyeballs rather than the liver. The duo worked with respiratory scientists to calculate a safe amount of time guests can spend inside the cloud – visits last 50 minutes and offer the alcohol equivalent to one mixed drink. In addition to cocktail clouds, regular cocktails will be served at the bar, which runs for six months with tickets priced at £10 per visit.

Surrealist cocktails at Artesian

The ever-innovative Artesian at The Langham hotel has launched a new cocktail menu inspired by an erotic cookbook written by Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí. The bar’s envelope pushing mixologists Alex Kratena and Simone Carpale dipped into Dalí’s Les Diners de Gala in search of ideas for their new list. The duo have taken a perfumier’s approach to the cocktails, giving scent, presentation and garnishes as important a role as flavour in the final serve. Led by André Breton in the 1920s, the Surrealists were inspired by Freud and imbued both everyday objects and their dreams with lofty significance.

“We chose Surrealism as it allowed us to break down the boundaries and perceived norms when creating cocktails. We wanted to challenge ourselves and our guests by creating completely new drinking experiences playing with flavour, texture and glassware,” says Kratena. Priced at £18 each, among the crazy cocktails on offer are the Join the Colony served in a giant copper ant, the Your Place or Mine? housed in a furry cup and the Anti Hero, presented in a silver Lego elephant. Curiouser and curiouser.

Les 110 de Taillevent

A casual offshoot of Paris’ iconic, two Michelin-starred restaurant Taillevent is to open on the site of Coutt’s Bank in Mayfair this September offering 110 wines by the glass. The 80-cover Les 110 de Taillevent will be similar to the Paris brasserie offering “simple, high-end classical French food”, with a €44 prix fixe menu and four possible wine pairings suggested for each dish at different price points. The brasserie will serve wines from all over the world, rather than just French, and due to its London setting is keen to shine a light on English wine.

Looking after the interiors is Pierre-Yves Rochon, who was in charge of the redesign of the Savoy and also designed Les 110 de Taillevent in Paris. Using materials found in the winemaking process, oak will play a pivotal role in the design, while the walls will be lined with empty wine bottles lit from below. The original restaurant opened in Paris just after the end of the Second World War in 1946, with Les 110 de Taillevent brasserie opening in the city in 2012.

Storeys

The former BBC car park at Television Centre in White City, west London has been turned into pop-up rooftop bar and street food venue Storeys. Launching on 31 July, Storeys will offer “killer cocktails in a vibrant urban setting” according to organisers Afternoon Delight LDN. Spread across two levels spanning 24,000 square feet, the space will be open from Friday to Sunday during the summer months.

Flair bartenders will mix up cocktails from the Rum Shack, while the TV Bar will serve beer and Bloody Marys. Among the street food on offer will be Le Bun, White Men Can’t Jerk, Crabbieshack, Randy’s Wing Bar, En Brochette and Aji Ceviche. The interior of Storeys features striking graphic artwork, wall plants, reclaimed materials and colourful wall murals by young street artists. Evenings will include live DJ sets and outdoor film screenings, while rooftop yoga classes will take place on Saturday mornings.

Bone Tea

Taking the trend for ramen a step further is London’s first “broth bar” Bone Tea in Notting Hill. The 30-cover pop-up will run until the end of October serving stock from slow-cooked roasted bones. Bone Tea will operate as a test lab to gauge the popularity of grab and go broth among hungry Londoners. If successful, expect to see Bone Tea shops popping up all over the capital.

Popular in New York and Asia, among the broths on offer are Cornish grass-fed beef, pork, Cotswolds chicken and mushroom, all of which are serve with bread and condiments either to eat in or take out. Broth fanatics can even stockpile on a litre of broth to go. Those seeking something more substantial can enjoy glazed chicken wings, pulled port buns and fruit scones with clotted cream. Wine from Dynamic Vines, whisky and Mezcal will also be on pour.

Her Majesty’s Secret Service

Bristol newcomer Her Majesty’s Secret Service (HMSS) opens later this month in Clifton and promises creative cocktails at wallet-friendly prices. The brainchild of the team behind the Cocktail Trading Company in London, the bar’s cocktail menu is presented as a passport and includes sharing punches and quirky serves in everything from owl-shaped mugs and tin cans to gumball machines.

The 80-seater bar is part gin palace part spy den, boasting vintage upholstered chesterfields, gun cabinets, Churchill portraits and an old upright piano. Among the signature cocktails will be the Daisy de Santiago, made with Bacardi Heritage, citrus sherbet and Chartreuse; the Delicious Sour, featuring Calvados, peach, lemon and egg white; and the Violet Fizz, which blends Liqueur de Violette, lemon sherbet, milk, rose and orange blossom.

The Opium Den

Chelsea stalwart Nam Long has opened an opium den in its basement. Living up to its name, The Opium Den features plush red velvet banquettes, gold curtains, wooden screens and a horseshoe-shaped, marble-topped bar.

Once descending the wrought iron staircase past handcrafted statues into the belly of the beast, guests will can enjoy signature sips like Mr Thai, featuring rye whiskey, truffle honey and grapefruit bitters; Jade, which blends gin, cucumber, elderflower and lime, and the Bardot, made with gin, lychee liqueur, cherry heering and rose water. Nam Long is the birthplace of the Flaming Ferrari cocktail, which is set on fire and drunk speedily through a straw. 

Piano Works

Fans of tinkling the ivories will be pleased to hear that a dedicated piano bar has just opened in Farringdon. Live music venue Piano Works is housed in the basement of a Victorian warehouse and features two in-house pianists and an accompanying band that take requests from the audience. The 400 capacity bar is backed by Alan Lorrimer, a music lover keen to revive the atmosphere of Victorian music halls. In addition to renditions of As Time Goes By, guests can enjoy an array of classic cocktails with a contemporary twist and light bites.

Humble Grape

Battersea gets a new wine bar this month in the form of Humble Grape by the UK wine importer of the same name specialising in drops from small, independent producers. The bar is the result of a crowdfunding project that raised £500,000. Based below the wine merchant upstairs, guests can buy wines in the shop and drink them in the basement for a small mark-up with cheese and charcuterie platters and mortadella, porchetta and provolone sarnies.

The bar itself has been fashioned from old Champagne riddling racks. Among the drops on pour will be Blackwater Underdog Chenin Blanc; Domaine des Maréchaux rosé, and Galfano Frappato from Sicily. Cheeses meanwhile, include Bleu de Basques, Brebis de Lavort, Pont-l’Évêque, Chevre Sainte-Maure and Comte served with olive sourdough.