Cucina povera means ‘poor/poverty kitchen’, and this restaurant specialises in traditional Italian ‘peasant food’. If I was reviewing food and service this place would get full marks. So when I have to mark them down for very small (but crucial) martini points it makes me feel bad. I even added a subjective point to this rating – because they make their own in-house olive-infused gin. … Continue reading Paesan Restaurant, Farringdon, London, 4/5
‘Dishoom’ is a traditional Bollywood onomatopoeic word (like ‘Kapow!’) used to express the noise of someone getting punched or slapped in an old film or comic book. In London, Dishoom Shoreditch is an eatery inspired by Mumbai cafe culture. It is easily identified by the queue outside its doors most evenings. It gets points for its evocative, eccentric decor, attentive service and excellent array of … Continue reading Dishoom Packs a Punch
Roka: 4/5 Roka is a lovely Japanese bar/restaurant with a couple of branches in London. I’m not here to review the food, I’m here to review the martini. They had a beautiful array of sakes, shochu and cocktails but with a very slight nudge their martinis could make this place out of this world: They don’t keep the gin/vodka and glasses in the freezer. That’s … Continue reading Roka Bar could rock my world with one small adjustment: 4/5
This is a crowd pleaser. Winston Churchill was one of the world’s greatest war-time political leaders. He was also a martini drinker. We can thank both him and the classic drink for leading the fight against fascism. “I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me” What should be noted is that Churchill liked his martinis to be somewhat … Continue reading The Churchill Martini
Whether or not you are a fan of Ian Fleming’s work, you cannot deny the inextricable association of James Bond with martinis. When Mr. Fleming was writing about this complicated anti-hero character it was a time of austerity and post-war reconstruction, when international travel was for the few and parts of the world were rendered out-of-bounds by the Cold War. Part of the appeal of … Continue reading “Shaken, not stirred”
Nibbles I don’t actually like the word ‘nibbles’. It sounds frightfully bourgeois. Nonetheless, it’s nice to have something to eat to accompany a martini, especially if it’s been a long day and you’re waiting for dinner. Here are some past examples. The root of all evil: carbs, fat and cheese flavouring, deep-fried. Langoustine with roe. Olives, of course. Nuts. You can’t go wrong with nuts. … Continue reading This post is self-indulgent
The classic martini will always be my favourite, but of the non-classics, I think this is definitely one of the tastiest (even if it looks slightly alarming). The breakfast martini was invented by Salvatore Calabrese in the Lanesborough hotel in London. It involves gin, marmalade, lemon juice and Cointreau or Triple Sec. However, I’ve had some lingonberry jam in my fridge from my last Ikea … Continue reading The Frukostini (the Swedish breakfast martini)
My cousin was visiting for a catch up so I decided to make her something sweet and dark. I saw fresh cherries for sale, incidentally from the same shire that she comes from, so I bought them and went from there. So here is the result, the dark cherry martini. 3 parts gin or vodka 1-2 parts sweet vermouth (to taste) 2 parts cherry syrup … Continue reading Cherry martini
This spicy drink was inspired by the mermaid inn in New York, which does a tasty oyster happy hour. I had a spicy vodka martini there before consuming a platter of various types of oyster with friends. They garnished theirs with a hot pepper, but I didn’t have any of those available so I improvised with olives and sliced spring onion. The latter went very … Continue reading Spicy martini
I told you I like Bar Polskie. Here are some of their vodka delights. Oak and quince flavour. They have a massive range of other nice flavours (traditional ones, not trashy vodka flavours). My favourite drink though, was not vodka, but mead. We also had pickled gherkins, pickled herring, and pierogi to eat on the side. Continue reading Bar Polskie
The Martini Socialist 