This cocktail bar which is an’ associate’ of Raging Bull in Lothian Road opened late in 2021.
Tucked between Le Di Vin and Indigo Yard, it is a welcome addition to the West End. I tried to get in last year but the books were closed and our consigliere waiter tells me and Liz that weekends are currently jam-packed also. The bar has a clubby, underground feel with long banquets, heavy drapes and table lamps. Just add a DJ and I can see the weekend appeal. Liz and I however, are more of your weekday hard liquor sampling types and quite happy to have the lion’s share of the bartender’s attention on the Wednesday night when we visit.
The mafia is a fun theme on which to hang a cocktail list and drinks monikers include Swimming with the Fishes, A Bullet to the Head, and La Cosa Nostra.
I choose Le Milieu Vert from The ‘Join the Mafia’ section of the drinks menu which comprises Roku , Midori, Chartreuse, Citric Acid, Basil; a well-balanced herbaceous ‘hit’ with a basil infused sugar rim on the vintage 1924 coupé. I follow with El Peño, i.e., Olmeca tequila, Edinburgh orange blossom and mandarin liqueur, grapefruit, lime, jalapeño syrup.
That’s a taster but we sample more cocktails, seduced by the evidence that the mixologists know what they are doing. Atmosphere, service, attention to detail and good glassware all line up.
A private room has Miami-inspired décor that would be at home in the film Scarface and with Raging Bull already in the bag perhaps we will get a ‘Goodfellas’ or ‘Godfather’ to extend the family at some point in the future.
I hope so, because, these bars with their carefully curated, well thought out lists using premium spirits are definitely ‘our thing’.
Just look out for the horse’s head in Charlotte Lane (S Wilson).