The nights are closing in, Christmas lights twinkle and it’s about that time of year where I get terribly excited about heading out into central London for after-work cocktails with my friends. Recently I tried just this at Apres cocktail bar and lounge, just off Oxford Street. The bar area is just snug enough to feel intimate and is decked out in a cool, eclectic style; all glowing orb lights and glowing LED bar. The outside seating offers hookah pipes and there’s a large downstairs area which, I’m told, turns into a pretty swish club later on.
The cocktail list is vast and themed from classics, summery, to something terrifying called ‘big guns’. Top tip: the ‘essential’ house cocktails come in at £5 between 5-8pm making it a super reasonable spot for pre-dinner drinks. We tried an assortment of the cocktails to get a feel for the menu. I’m a terrible Old Fashioned snob and always order them as my baseline for cocktail bars, so of course, I began with the Spiced Old Fashioned; a heady blend of Wild Turkey bourbon with a spicy syrup made in house. It was pretty good and stacked up pretty well against some of the other excellent Old Fashioneds that I’ve had in London.
Next, the Boom Island Iced-T. This was one of the aforementioned terrifying ‘big guns’ cocktails, named for their alcoholic potency. This zesty cocktail was a blend of pisco, cachaca, tequila, lime and grapefruit soda. Other highlights included the Rum Old Fashioned (I couldn’t help myself) and a ‘Passion Flower’ drink of vanilla vodka, fresh strawberries and lychee.
Food wise, the menu is simple and good for sharing. We tried the lamb kebabs, which were flavoursome and served with a nice side of tzatziki, and a trio of cheese burger slides, served with caramelised onions, which were adorable. Sliders seem to be somewhat of a speciality there; they have a whole menu page dedicated to them and they range from a club sandwich slider, to mushroom melt ones. Jerk Chicken Arancini were also good, crisp on the outside and oozingly stodgy on the inside. Their chilli smoked chicken wings went down a treat too, though to be frank; anything served with a blue cheese dip is always going to be a winner with me. There is nothing revolutionary here food-wise; just decent sharing food, appropriate for its context.
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31 Duke St, London W1U 1LG
020 7224 3452
