Tag Archives: cocktails

BAR + BLOCK ALDGATE: A RESTAURANT TO BLOCK OUT SOME TIME FOR

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As soon as you enter Bar + Block you’re immediately enveloped by this cosy, atmospheric and bustling steakhouse – mood lighting included! We took a trip to this humble favourite and are here to give you the lowdown.

THE FOOD

If at first you’re intimidated by the extensive menu, you’ll soon  be put at easy by the modest, and ‘so-not-London prices’. Everything about the menu screams comfort and big flavours, from the pulled beef tacos, aromatic crispy mushroom pancakes and middle eastern king prawns through to the hispa cabbage and beef dripping triple cooked chunky chips (heaven). And that just scratches the surface. The quality of the steaks at Bar + Block rivals the best steakhouses in town. Choose from classic cuts like rump and ribeye or specialty steaks like the spiral cut (marinated in garlic and parsley) or the Tira De Ancho (similar to the spiral marinade but with a chilli kick and chimichurri sauce).

Steak not whetting your appetite? Don’t worry, you can choose from handmade burgers, grills or fish. We hear that the grilled veg and burrata burger, lamb souvlaki and grilled salmon are excellent choices. If you think you’ve got room for appetite, we struggled but made it through, the Chocolate Toffee Fondue Sharer is the perfect sweet ending. Made up of warm churros coated in cinnamon sugar, triple chocolate brownie chunks, fresh strawberries, banana and apple served with a chocolate toffee dipping sauce – you’re welcome.

THE DRINK

As with the food, the drinks prices are much more appetising than that of other steakhouses. Cocktails start at just £7.99, swoon, and specialty gins come in at £4.95. Take your pick of wine, beer or soft drinks if you’d prefer – the welcoming prices continue!

THE ATMOSPHERE

Warm and welcoming would be how we sum up the atmosphere at Bar + Block. There’s a constant buzz about the large dining area and it’s packed with a mix of corporate singletons grabbing dinner, groups of friends, date night couples and families.

THE PRICES

Starters begin at £3.95 for the creamy mac and cheese bits and steaks begin at £12.95 for an 8oz rump. A steak sample will cost you £27.95

THE OFFERS

Half price cocktails Monday to Thursday – 5pm – 7pm

LET ME BOOK

To book, visit https://www.barandblock.co.uk/en-gb/locations/london-aldgate/book

 

 

 

 

Festive Cocktail Guide Vol. 1 ft Italicus

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It’s that time of the year again… and to kick it off, we bring you our favourite festival tipples guaranteed to wow your guests and to top your Christmas lists. 

Impress your guests this Festive season by creating a cocktail using a fine and majestic liqueur. Italicus is made from Rosolio di Bergamotto and was actually the main Aperitivo drunk by the King of Savoia.

This exquisite liquor is made from Bergamot from Calabria, Cedro form Sicily, Roman Chamomile, Lavender, Melissa Balm, Yellow Roses, Gentian. 

The result; a finely aromatic and floral flavour with light notes of citrus which certainly mixes well with a number of mixers, garnishes and other spirits.

Italicus has already won numerous awards including a few for the packaging which is utterly show-stopping, another reason to grab a bottle this Christmas. The beautiful design will certainly wow sitting atop your bar or drinks cabinet. 

Italicus can be served in a number of ways

Negroni Bianco:

35ml Italicus

35ml London Dry Gin

35l Dry Vermouth 

Served: In a tumbler with 3 olives.

Italicus Cup:

50 ml Italicus 

25ml Pink Grapefruit

Top with Soda add a Pinch of Salt and 3 Olives

Italicus is priced at RRP £29.95 for 70cl bottle ABV 20%

https://www.rosolioitalicus.com

IT’S PIMMS O’CLOCK  – SUMMER RECIPES FROM THE ULTIMATE FRUIT CUP

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OK, so the ‘Great British Summer’ mightn’t be so great now but there’s one thing that will make it better, a perfect pitcher of Pimms. We’ve shared our favourite recipes below and we defy you to not want to don the sunnies after a glass of one of these…

PIMM’S NO.6 – ENGLISH ROSE

Fill a tumbler with ice cubes

Pour 50ml Pimm’s No.6 (Vodka Cup),

125ml Fentiman’s Rose Lemonade

Add a dash each of lavender syrup, lemon juice and orange bitters

PIMM’S NO.1

Fill a tumbler or tall glass with ice cubes

Pour in 50ml Pimm’s No.1 and top up with lemonade

Add a few sliced strawberries, orange and cucumber

Stir and top with a sprig of mint

PIMM’S SPRITZ

Fill a Copa or wine glass with ice cubes

Pour in 50ml Pimm’s No.1 and 75ml lemonade, and top with sparkling wine

Add a few slices of cucumber and a sprig of mint

PIMM’S JUG

Half fill a jug with ice cubes

Pour in 200ml Pimm’s No.1 and top with lemonade

Add some sliced strawberries, orange and cucumber

Stir and top with a big sprig of mint

Christmas Cocktails  ft. The London Essence Company

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One month to go, ho ho ho… so to open our first installation of our Christmas Cocktail guide we are featuring two Low-Cal cocktails kindly provided by The London Essence Company. 

Kicking off with a relatively healthy start, *wink, The London Essence Company have created some easy and elegant cocktails all under 100 calories. Winning.  Not only do they look and sound impressive, they are bloomin’ delicious and we think you’ll be impressed with the fab selection of mixers and tonics The London Essence Company have to deliver. 

Tangerine Mule – 94 KCAL

A lighter festive twist on the Moscow Mule

ingredients;

25ml Vodka

20ml Tangerine Juice

5ml Sugar Syrup

2 drops Chocolate Bitters

London Essence Ginger Beer

Method

Highball Glass ● Tangerine Wedge Garnish ● Build & Stir

Cinnamon Highball 94KCAL

For a warmer, spicier affair

ingredients;

25ml Aged Rum

15ml Lime Juice

5ml Cinnamon Syrup

30ml Cloudy Apple Juice

London Essence Classic Tonic Water

Method

Highball Glass ● Cinnamon Stick Garnish ● Build & Stir

London Essence are a collection of mixers made with distilled essences and are all under 20KCAL per 100ml and naturally sourced sweetness. The London Essence Company range includes, Tonics, Soda Waters and Ginger Beer  and are available to buy at selected Tesco and Waitrose stores as well as Amazon and Ocado RRP from £1.69

For more info visit;

www.thelondonessenceco.com

London – The UK’s Brunch Capital

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We’ve tried and tested our fair share of brunches in London and with new places popping up all the time, we wanted to throw down our forks (not literally, that’s not beneficial at all), and confidently confess to you what we consider to be the best brunches in town.

 

Dirty Bones (Bottomless option – yes)

‘Dirty’ being the perfect word. An American and darkened eatery, this place offers some of the tastiest breakfast grub around and there’s a bottomless brunch option so you can settle yourself in for the morning – win!

The cocktails are more adventurous than you ordinarily find yourself having on a typical bottomless brunch and include vodka and rum based options. The service can be a little slow to keep the drink topped up though so you have to keep an eagle eye on the waiting staff. If guzzling your way through the menu and making the most of each precious bubbly minute isn’t your primary objective though, this will be fine for you.

Food wise, we have two words for you: cheeseburger dumplings.

Good for you if: You want a low key, meaty brunch.

Book here: https://dirty-bones.com/

 

Beech Blanket Babylon (Bottomless option – no)

This place is always popping up as the ‘place to be’ on Instagram so we put it to the test. The décor is amazing. It’s lavish and luxurious but what more do you expect from Notting Hill! There’s no bottomless brunch on offer but the cocktails are brilliant value for the area at £10 a pop, so worth a visit.

Menu wise, their eggs benedict is a firm favourite – its béarnaise sauce is creamy, rich and has a kick. The house burger with caramelised onion, cheese and salad is really filling – juicy too!

Good for you if: Keeping up appearances is key. The clientele at Beech Blanket Babylon are predominantly Notting Hill locals so it’s less of a tourist attraction and instead will give you a taste of life ‘on the other side’.

Book here: http://www.beachblanket.co.uk

 

 

Hotbox (Bottomless option – yes)

Loud, busy and offering dishes that are deep with flavour. The waiting staff are as attentive as we imagine Prince Harry is to Meghan and your glass rarely gets empty. Exactly what we want from a bottomless brunch.

Located slap bang in the middle of Shoreditch, this former street art gallery (obviously) is rife with hipsters and has a real ‘up close and personal vibe’ as your’re seated along picnic style benches.  The food is all about the smokey meaty ‘cue, that’s what the cool kids say nowadays, and the meat is dry rubbed and cooked low and slow to create tender, succulent cuts that melt in the mouth.

Good for you if: You’re a sociable meat-lover wanting a good booze up.

Book here: http://hotboxlondon.co.uk/

 

Bunga Bunga (Bottomless option – yes)

‘Bigger, better and brunch-ier’ as they so eloquently put it, this is definitely the place to go if you want to show your friends a proper party. There’s live entertainment in the form of its Bunga Matinee show and you will feel like you’re enjoying your Saturday night out, no matter what the time is.

The menu is of course Italian and while the pizzas are authentic and tasty, you won’t be choosing this place if you’re just seeking out good grub.

The Bunga Bunga party brunch is definitely something every Londoner should experience but you might only do it the once as it comes with a hefty price tag and cancellation fee.

Good for you if: You’re looking for a PROPER party

Book here: https://battersea.bungabunga-london.com

 

Mac ‘n’ Wild (Bottomless option – yes)

Self-described as serving London with some of the best Scottish produce, this place is serious with its flavours. Haggis pops, veni-moo burgers and venison Scotch eggs are forces to be reckoned with and what we love about this place is the variety in its bottomless brunch cocktails.

The atmosphere is relaxed and the staff are always on hand to top up your glass. It’s very unlikely you’ll even reach the bottom of it!

Enjoy unlimited brunch cocktails for just £21 per person

Book here: www.macandwild.com

And our curveball…. PAUL (Bottomless option – yes)

So this is one we’ve thrown in if you find yourself sleeping through a bottomless brunch (we’ve all been there). PAUL, the decedent, Parisian patisserie is now offering a bottomless afternoon tea. Two hours of bubbly joy on Saturdays and Sundays. The afternoon tea includes lightly toasted sandwiches, a buttery brioche with whipped cream and jam and a host of sweets.

Definitely more civilised than your average brunch – one to enjoy with family, perhaps?

Bottomless afternoon tea is served Monday to Friday 2.30pm – 5.30pm at Tower 42 and weekends only in Covent Garden at the same time

Book here: www.paul-uk.com

The Grid: An Immersive Black Mirror/Dystopia Inspired Escape Experience

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Image:  Courtesy of brand

The Grid is an immersive, multi-room alcoholic escape experience where patrons get to go undercover an Artificial Intelligence firm in an attempt to learn and defeat the “system”

The tech-driven escape experience challenges guests to puzzles across a series of rooms, with the bar as a backdrop.

Participants are invited to join The Grid, a secret society of individuals working to safeguard humanity’s future against machines.

On the day of the experience, they arrive undercover at the AI corp’s (neosight.org) HQ, where they must move between different rooms, interacting with the Artificial Intelligence and Neosight specialist technology as they try to stop the corp from crunching human data for the “greater good”. The 1.5 hour experience is full of surprises, bespoke tech and futurists tonics (sci-fi cocktails).

“I believe the future of hospitality is all about having fun. Fun now lies in experiences and not only food and drink. This is our first multi-room experience and I am very excited for it,” said Sebastian Lyall, Founder of Lollipop, the immersive experience group behind The Grid.

Lollipop is an immersive lifestyle group known for its experiential creations both here and abroad, including ABQ (abqlondon.com), The Bletchley (thebletchley.co.uk) and The Bunyadi (thebunyadi.com). The mission of the group is to design experiences that cater to the more demanding consumer of today. The group has also recently launched a drink at home wine experience, Vinny (wearevinny.com)

The Grid is set to open its door to public in July/Aug. The waiting list is now open and reservations will be released on a first come first served basis.

Tickets will be priced between £30-£40 per head for a 1h 30m experience and 2 cocktails.

Website: thegrid.london (use code 456712)

Cocktail Ideas : Tanqueray Edition

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Every weekend until Christmas we will be offering you up some lovely cocktail ideas which you can use to celebrate the occasion or to create your very own cocktail guide with to use all year round. This week we were sent some exciting Tanqueray cocktails created by presenter Miquita Oliver. We think you will love her daring twists on some Gin cocktail classics.

First up the Tanqueray Martini – This is probably my favourite cocktail ever. Simple, sophisticated and packs a punch. Miquita has created;

Tanqueray Martini with Ginger Chilli and Coriander.

45ml Tanqueray London Dry Gin
10ml Chilli infused Cocchi Americano
10ml Chilli infused Dolin Dry
5ml Ancho Reyes Chili Liqueur
1 dash orange bitters
Atomised with coriander & ginger spray
Garnish: Coriander leaf

Stir all ingredients over ice and strain into a chilled martini or nick & nora glass
garnish with spray and float a coriander leaf in the drink

For the Chilli vermouth infusions
Take 2-3 dried whole chillies and break their skin and put straight into the bottle and allow to infuse for 1.5 hours – taste after this time to check that the chilli has infused – depending on the strength of the chilli it may need a little longer but this should add a gentle heat to the vermouths – after this time strain and rebottle

For the coriander & ginger spay
Infuse coriander and ginger for 1.5 hours. Strain. Transfer liquid to any plastic atomiser

The Green Tanqueray Tonic –

A refreshing and zesty green take on the G&T


For the Syrup:
500g Sugar
1.5 Litre Water
350g Cucumber
1.5 Granny smith apples (cored)
20ml Lime juice

Heat sugar & water up together and leave to cool to make sugar syrup
Blitz cucumber, apples and lime in a blender and strain. Add to the sugar syrup.

To serve:
40ml Cucumber and Apple syrup
25ml Tanqueray
topped with Fever tree tonic

Garnish:
Pleated cucumber peel (full length of cucumber) pierced by a cocktail stick and rested on top

The Red Tanqueray & Tonic

The Red Tanqueray Tonic – perfect for Christmas, we love the spicy notes and cranberry twist.

For the Syrup:
500ml water
150g Sugar
100g Cranberrys
10g Cinnamon
10g Black Cardamon

All except sugar in a pan and  bring to the boil and simmer for 20 mins
Reduce to about half as much water and add the sugar. Simmer for another 4 mins on a low heat, remove the spice cinnamon & cardamon and blitz the rest. Strain.

Serve:
35ml red syrup
10ml Lemon juice
2 dash angostura bitters
top with fever tree tonic

Garnish:
3 cranberries on a cocktail stick

Tanqueray is available to buy from multiple major retailers. For more details visit www.tanqueray.com

Christmas Gifts : A Guide to Great Spirits and Liqueurs

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Foxhole Gin

Try an innovative English Gin this Christmas, multi-award winning Foxhole Gin has been created with a passion for sustainability. Distilled with a spirit made from tonnes of pressed grapes wineries usually throw away, Foxhole Gin rescues them to produce a beautifully balanced, aromatic and charming spirit. You’re bound to impress with their sophisticated packaging with a unique and impressive gin to match inside. Foxhole have a curated a selection of their range ideal for Christmas including;

Foxhole miniatures are a great stocking filler.

If you’re looking for a gift for collectors try the marc 3 limited gift pack which contains a 700ml bottle of the Foxhole Gin: marc 3 gift wrapped and adorned with an antique copper Foxhole spirits badge. marc 3 is strictly limited to 500 bottles due to the 8760 hrs it takes to produce this using the valuable 2015 by products from Sussex Vineyards.

Digital Gift Cards,

Available in (£10, £25, £50, £75, £100) this can be used to purchase any Foxhole Gin products on their online store including tonics.

foxholespirits.com

Baileys

This Christmas there are five different Baileys for you to try. For someone who like to keep it traditional we have Baileys Original and this year they have launched their new dairy free Baileys Almande. Blending crushed almonds, almond oil and essence of real vanilla, this new product is dairy free and vegan friendly and available at whole foods stores across the UK. Also available is the Baileys Chocolate Luxe blended with Belgian Chocolate and Baileys Original Irish Cream, Baileys Coffee and Baileys Orange Truffle.

baileys.com


Greenall’s Sloe Gin

Greenall’s the traditional British Gin have recently launched their new Sloe Gin recipe which is designed to be the perfect winter tipple. This ruby red blend of sweet sloe berries produces strong notes of almonds and cherry. Greenall’s created with a traditional, hand-crafted recipe has been made to be enjoyed not just as a liqueur but also as a great base for a cocktail. We highly recommend the ‘take it sloe toddy’ as your ultimate winter warmer. Greenall’s Sloe Gin is made through a completely natural and hands on method using only the product of the 8 weeks of sloe berry maceration. No additional juices or artificial colours are added and mixing is done by hand using the traditional Greenall’s recipe which has remained unchanged for more than 250 years.

Greenall’s Sloe Gin is available to buy through amazon.co.uk priced at £18 a bottle.

amazon.co.uk

Amarula

Personally, no feast is complete without an Irish Coffee and my perfect variation of one would definitely contain Amarula. This mysterious and creamy liqueur is distilled in South Africa and produced from the fruit of the Marula tree is aged in french oak before being blended into its luxurious creamy texture giving it a sweet honey caramel texture. This versatile liqueur can be enjoyed on the rocks, as a spicy winter warmer and even in desserts for all the bakers out there. Amarula has a 24month shelf life but we can’t guarantee it will last that long in your drinks cupboard as you won’t be able to get enough of it’s luxurious taste and texture.

Amarula is available in 700ml bottles and available to buy from multiple major retailers priced at £12.50 a bottle.