Whiskey Cocktail Recipes | Cocktail Ideas

With cocktail season fast-approaching, thirsty folk on the search for the perfect summer sundowner need look no further than The Wild Geese whiskey cocktails.

The super premium Irish whiskey makers have teamed up with renowned bartender Marian Beke of critically acclaimed, Nightjar, voted one of the world’s best cocktail bars, to create a range of exclusive cocktails perfect for those long sunny days. Multi award winning The Wild Geese, enlisted the expertise of Marian, to hand-craft an array of bespoke and soulful cocktails bursting with intense flavour and dressed with delicate garnishes.

The first in the line-up, The Irish Apple, will invigorate and refresh at the end of a hot, balmy summer’s evening. The Wild Geese Classic Blend is fused with dry apple cider and tart rhubarb juice to create a cocktail to enjoy whilst soaking up the last of the rays. Sweet caramel is drizzled over the top of the long drink to add a touch of sweetness to this artisanal cocktail.

The Sarsfield Swizzle is a twist on the classic swizzle cocktail with a hint of spice. The Wild Geese Classic Blend is firstly mixed with crisp, botanical gin syrup and a dash of green tea bitters. Tangy lemon balm is added to the drink to bring out the citrus notes in The Wild Geese Classic Blend, and finally topped up with lemongrass and chilli beer for a zingy finish. Named after Patrick Sarsfield, the Irish hero who led the original Wild Geese in 1691, this cocktail mixes innovation and tradition perfectly.

For the third recipe, Beke marries The Wild Geese Rare Irish with the exotic juices of the Ugly Fruit, to achieve the ultimate bittersweet serve. The Freedom Sour is an innovative take on the ever-popular Whiskey Sour, freshened up with maple syrup and a layer of Matcha tea foam.

The three times voted ‘Best Irish Whiskey’ collection is made with superb quality aged Irish Whiskey stock and uses a special Extended Double Distillation process, creating a unique smoothness and richness unlike any other whiskey. The subtle and complex flavours are created using a pioneering distillation process, providing an unusual balance between robust and spicy malt, and light smooth grain.

Irish Applecocktailrecipe

Irish Apple

2 parts The Wild Geese Classic Blend Irish Whiskey

1 part apple and rhubarb juice

3 parts dry cider

1/2 part Kamms & Sons

Mix the Classic Blend, dry cider and apple & rhubarb juice by ‘rolling’ them in a cocktail shaker. Pour into a highball glass and float a large ice ball on top. Add the Kamms & Sons to create a bittersweet taste and garnish with a crab apple and apple blossom. Drizzle fresh caramel over the garnish for the final touch.

Sarsfield Swizzlecocktailrecipe

Sarsfield Swizzle

2 part The Wild Geese Classic Blend Irish Whiskey

1 part gin botanical syrup or 1/2 part gin & 1/2 sugar syrup

Dash of green tea bitters

Lemon balm

Top up with homemade lemongrass and chili beer

Pour a full measure of The Wild Geese Classic Blend directly into the serving glass. Add gin syrup as a sweetener and a dash of green tea bitter. Add lemon balm leaves to compliment the citrus notes in the Classic Blend. Top up with lemongrass & chilli beer and ‘swizzle’ the ingredients to mix them. Serve with pinewood and sweet spice.

freedomsourcocktailrecipe

Freedom Sour

2 part The Wild Geese Rare Irish Whiskey

1/2 part maple/ honey syrup

2 parts fresh squeezed ugly fruit juice

Few dashes of bitter

Matcha tea foam

Shake and serve in martini glass, top it off with matcha tea foam.

One last one for the World Cup.

Gold Cup

goldcupworldcupcocktail

Ingredients
2 parts The Wild Geese Classic Blend Whiskey
1/2 part of lime juice
1/2 part coconut cream
1/2 part sugar syrup

Garnish
1/2 part of blue curaçao
lemon
passion fruit shell

Method
Blend a small handful of basil leaves, coconut cream and lime juice together until you have a liquid form. Pour into a cocktail shaker with sugar syrup and The Wild Geese Classic Blend Irish whiskey then shake hard with ice.

Serve in a rocks glass over crushed ice and add a passion fruit shell. Fill the shell with blue curaçao and garnish with the zest of a lemon. Add your nation’s flag to celebrate your team for the final, champion touch.

The combination of the triple citrus notes (orange, lime and lemon) with the coolness of the basil leaves make this a super refreshing cocktail with a mild and creamy, sweet finish.

Which one will you make?

The Noodle House London Restaurant Review

I love Asian food so was absolutely delighted when we were invited to review the newly opened Southeast Asian restaurant The Noodle House on Shaftesbury Avenue. The decor looks great and it is busy. It may be newly opened but it already has found plenty of customers. It is not a tourist trap however, it has enough calm to be an enjoyable experience. We start off with some cocktails. We have the Moonshadow: vodka, lillet blanc, chrysanthemum, jasmine tea syrup and a Hit The Rojak: tequila, kamm & sons, star fruit juice, apple juice, Rojak syrup and lime. Both cocktails are great. Delicious and unique.

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For starters I have the Crispy Calamari: Crispy fried calamari seasoned with sea salt and Szechuan pepper served with chilli dipping sauce and my colleague had the Si Racha Prawns: Tempura style prawns served with our signature spicy mayo. The crispy calamari is delicious and comes with a great sauce. The prawns are amazing, very generous in size and the sauce is great. It has a bit of a kick to it. Both starters are great and the portion size is generous. The waiter is good at recommending food and really knows his stuff. Although he didn’t realise what a wimp I am when it comes to spice!

 

BqCtKyHIcAAvC6P noodlehouse thenoodlehouse2 thenoodlehouse1 thenoodlehouserice thenoodlehousecocktailFor our mains we have the Javanese Nasi Goreng: Wok-fried rice with prawns, chilli, spring onions and Sambal Belachan, topped with a fried egg, served with two chicken satay skewers and prawn crackers and the Bakmi Goreng: Udon noodles with chicken, prawns, bean sprouts, cabbage, pak choi, eggs and a sweet chilli ginger sauce, garnished with spring onions and fried banana shallots. For our sides we have the Broccoli: Tenderstem broccoli with oyster sauce and Fried Jasmine Rice: Wok-fried jasmine rice with chicken, prawns, bean sprouts, eggs, chilli and Thai basil. 

The Javanese Nasi Goreng is something to behold. It has absolutely everything in it and a fried egg on top. The chicken satay skewers are tasty, as are the prawn crackers, the fried egg, the whole shebang. This is also spicy although there are plenty of things you can order at the Noodle House which are not spicy. The Bakmi Goreng is a great noodle dish which also has a generous amount of ingredients. It is amazing. Really great.

I also loved the Fried Jasmine Rice we have for our side and the broccoli is also good. If we thought the starters were a decent size, the mains and the sides were even more generous. We could just have had those and nothing else. We end up taking what we don’t eat away in a doggy bag.

We order more cocktails. The amazing Bayside Bellini: Kamm & sons, spiced Asian pear, orgeat & prosecco. and Spice Island Iced Tea: Gin, spiced tea gin, lemon, abbots bitters & ginger ale. The Bayside Bellini is absolutely brilliant. All you need to know is that it is a champagne cocktail with an Asian twist. Wonderful.

thenoodlehousedessertFor dessert we have the Sweet Sharing Plate: a sample of the Lime &  Ginger Cheescake, mango coconut pudding and banana spring rolls. Each one is amazing and unique. Just incredibly good and comes with a brilliant ice-cream.

We then finished with some tea. Fruity Fresh Hibiscus: an infusion made from a blend of Hibiscus, orange flowers, rosehip, sea buckthorn berries & lemon verbena. A pink brew that is sweet, fresh and hydrating. A mix of flowers and fruit. This is great tea, I could drink it everyday. Downstairs there is more seating and a bar and you can see all of the Noodle House’s amazing tea in large jars.

The Noodle House is a great restaurant. The service is amazing, the waiters are friendly and knowledgeable, the food is amazing and unique as is their cocktails and tea. Prices are reasonable, from low to high. I highly recommend The Noodle House and will be going back.

 
The Noodle House, 117 Shaftesbury Avenue,  London WC2H 8AD  /  0203 725 5777
 

 

L’Orchidee Westfield London | Restaurant Review

L’Orchidee is situated in The Village, the luxury arm of Westfield. It is in an island, giving you a great view of the hustle and bustle of Westfields, whilst also being a place of calm and serenity. It is incredibly glamarous and I feel like I am in an episode of Gossip Girl while I sit in the luxurious, beautiful surroundings, cocktail in hand.

A band is playing, usually it is just a piano, the lovely manager tells me, this time it is much noisier and a trumpet player had joined in the fun. The entire experience is wonderful and we haven’t even ordered any food yet.

I have the Lobster Brioche. Which is brioche with lobster, salmon roe and curried mussels. It is amazing and comes with a salad on the side with a great dressing. My colleague has Confit of Duck with Caramelized Onion. I am obsessed with anything curried favourite and I love lobster so the lobster brioche was perfect for me. It really was superb and unique. It was a good portion too, the lobster was great, as was the salmon roe and the curried mussels were perfectly judged: not too overpowering. The duck confit sandwich was also superb, it came with a good salad and dressing and some amazing terra chips. It is full of flavour and the duck is delicious and goes fantastically with the onion.

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We also tasted some of L’Orchidee’s amazing cocktails. Two of our favourites were the English Rose cocktail – Syrup de Rose, Creme de Cassis, Prosecco and gin, finished with rose petals and the Hazelnut Alexander – Frangelico, dark cocoa liquor brandy, hazelnut puree, and double cream. There cocktails are brilliant. I am going to work my way through their entire cocktail menu.

For dessert I have the amazing Black Magic which is Dark chocolate and passion fruit, coconut scented base, topped with dark chocolate glaze and finished with passion fruit macarons. It was all kinds of wonderful and is one of the best desserts I have ever had in my life. I still have dreams about it. The passion fruit works very well and all of the ingredients work well together. My colleague had the Zoe: Tender chocolate and almond dacquoise biscuit finished by our apricot preserved chocolate ganache and raspberries. It was also very good.

We finished off with some macaroons. A passion fruit one and a ferrero rocher one. We will definitely be going back to L’Orchidee. We loved everything about it and definitely want to sample their Champagne afternoon tea – specialty mini pastries and macaroons from their chef’s selection, with the hand-picked distinctive Mecier Brut champagne. This is a wonderful Parisian patisserie in the heart of bustling Westfield. The one in Westfield London has just opened but there is also one in Westfield Stratford.

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L’Orchidee is a must go: stunning food and cocktails, wonderful, relaxing surroundings and great service. We will be regulars now.

Great Gifts For Dad | Father’s Day Gift Guide

It is father’s day tomorrow but you can still buy your dad something. If you buy online he might not get it on time, but, hey, it’s the thought that counts. We have done all of the hard work for you, here are some great gifts.

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Taylor’s Eye Witness – professional knives for foodie dads

Taylor’s Eye Witness have an eco-friendly range. They use ethically sourced, raw materials to create quality tools for your kitchen. This Slate Cheese Board & Knife Set is beautiful and practical all in one. http://taylors-eye-witness.co.uk/

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Black Sheep Coffee – fine Robusta Rivaval coffee for caffeine crazed dads

Black Sheep Coffee has launched the UK’s first fine Robusta bean product, set to turn the heads of coffee connoisseurs and seriously shake up the scene. It’s new Robusta Revival has a surprisingly different taste profile to the Arabica beans that currently saturate the premium end of the market… rich, creamy and sweet, with a less acidic tone reminiscent of walnut and dark chocolate. Very good coffee.

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E-auto – a great car cleaning range for petrol-head dads 

The e-auto range works using the same microfiber technology  as it’s sister brand e-cloth and uses just water to clean as well. Products such as the e-auto dual action mitt quickly and thoroughly remove dirt without the need for harsh and expensive cleaning products. This is a great car cleaning kit. http://www.e-cloth.com/e-auto-range

workforcesocks

Workforce socks http://www.workforcesocks.co.uk/index.php

These are socks that are great for anyone that enjoys walking, gardening, has a construction job or just spends a lot of time on their feet! Everyone needs socks and these are great for practical dads.

multicigecigarettes

multiCIG,the UK’s premium e-cigarette brand, is perfect for anyone wanting to encourage their dad to quit smoking traditional cigarettes. Tar and odour free, they are healthier than normal cigarettes. http://www.multicig.co.uk/

afternoontea

The five-star Athenaeum Hotel in Mayfair is doing a bespoke gentleman’s afternoon tea including Wild boar sausage rolls, miniature steak & ale pies and includes a dram of single malt scotch Whisky for every Dad. Priced at £34.50 and available from 12-7pm until 30th June.

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Gillray’s Steakhouse & Bar in the London Marriott Hotel County Hall is offering a free Aston Martin for every Dad dinning on Sunday! The traditional English steak house will be serving roast beef with all the trimmings and a match box Aston Martin for Dads.

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These spirits are great and unique. We loved them.

Vintage Pear Spirit (Owler) ABV 40%The Vintage Pear Spirit is made from the fruit of rare pear trees – which once appeared to be dying out. With names such as Hedgehog, Cowslip and Painted Lady, these unique and exquisite varieties ensure a refined drink – with a distinct pear flavour. A touch of fruity floral elegance.

Available in 700ml, 500ml and 50ml bottle.

700ml – £49.00/ 500ml – £39.00/ 50ml – £5.50

Vintage Apple Spirit ABV 40%

A similar product to the Vintage Pear Spirit – made from milled Gloucestershire apples that are grown on the farm. The end result is a spirit with a punchy tang and apple aroma.

Available in 700ml, 500ml and 50ml bottle.

700ml – £45.00/ 500ml – £35.00/ 50ml – £5.50

700ml and 500ml bottles are presented in a Charles Martell tube – which depict the view of May Hill from Hunt’s Court Farm.

Jack High Cider Spirit ABV 40%

A modern spirit distilled from local cider – it is diluted with spring water from the farm and aged in oak barrels to provide a warmer, mellower drink – almost like a delicate malt whisky. In January 2014, Charles Martell introduced Jack High Junior – a 5cl miniature bottle. Jack High Spirit comes in three light-hearted label designs; ‘Cider Spirit with mud on its boots’, Cider spirit that’s as strong as an ox’ and ‘Cider Spirit that was born in a barn’.

Available in 500ml and 50ml bottle.

500ml – £30.00/ NEW 50ml bottle – £5.00

 

Some cocktail ideas for the above.

 

Vintage Pear Perfect Serve

50ml Charles Martell Vintage Pear Spirit
1 slice cinnamon coated pear
Add ice to a rocks glass and pour over the Charles Martell Vintage Pear Spirit. Cut a slice of fresh pear and sprinkle some cinnamon onto one side. Slide the cinnamon coated pear into the side of the glass, swirl and enjoy.Vintage Pear Sour
50ml Charles Martell Vintage Pear Spirit
15ml egg white
25ml lemon juice
10ml sugar syrup
1 dash orange bitters
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with cubed ice and shake very hard. Double strain the mixture over fresh cubed ice in a rocks glass and garnish with a slice of fresh pear.

 


Vintage Apple Perfect Serve

50ml Charles Martell Vintage Apple Spirit
4 slice apple fan
1 dash orange bitters
Fill a rocks glass with cubed ice and pour over Charles Martell Vintage Apple spirit. Add a dash of orange bitters and stir gently, top with ice if needed and garnish with an apple fan.

 

Vintage Apple Elegance
50ml Charles Martell Vintage Apple Spirit
25ml Elderflower Liqueur
20ml fresh lime juice
2 dashes rhubarb bitters
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with cubed ice and shake hard. Double strain the cocktail into a large wine glass filled with cubed ice and garnish with an edible flower and a mint sprig.
Apple Jack
50ml Jack High Cider Spirit
120ml apple juice
Fill a Kilner jar with cubed ice and pour over a double measure of Jack High Cider Spirit. Top the drink with apple juice (non-cloudy) and stir well. Garnish with an apple fan.

 

Jack High Mojito
50ml Jack High Cider Spirit
15ml sugar syrup
40ml fresh lime juice
10 fresh mint leaves
100ml soda water
Stir sugar syrup and lime juice in the bottom of a Collins glass and fill with crushed ice. Add the Jack High Cider Spirit and churn well to mix all of the flavours. Top the cocktail with soda water and crushed ice.
Garnish with a straw and a mint sprig.

 


Jack High Fruity Cup

50ml Jack High Cider Spirit
Mixed summer berries
6 fresh mint leaves
15ml fresh lime juice
100ml still lemonade
30ml soda water
Add plenty of cubed ice into a large wine glass and top with a handful of mixed berries and mint leaves. Pour over lime juice and Jack High Cider Spirit. Top with still lemonade and soda water – stir very well and top with cubed ice if required. Add a straw and enjoy!

 

All recipes Charles Martell and BlackLeaf Events.

 

 

Bottle Green Elderflower Cordial Review & Cocktail Recipes

We love Bottle Green’s Elderflower Cordial at Frost. It is a delicious, refreshing and versatile drink. We got sent some to review this week and have been trying it in different ways. It is great with cold water, either still or sparkling, and preferably with ice. It also tastes great in hot water, champagne and various cocktails. We have some great cocktail ideas below.

bottlegreenelderflowercordial

The light, delicate taste of hand-picked elderflowers perfectly captures the essence of warm summer days and relaxing evenings on the veranda. Simply dilute with iced water or try adding to Champagne for a refreshing twist.

 

Grey Goose Le Fizz

grey-goose-lefizzcocktailrecipe

An elegant and refreshing combination of Grey Goose vodka, fresh lime juice and elderflower, served in a flute topped with chilled soda.

Glass: Flute

Ingredients

35ml Grey Goose vodka

15ml elderflower cordial

15ml freshly squeezed lime juice

75ml chilled soda

Method

Add the GREY GOOSE vodka, fresh lime juice and elderflower cordial into a cocktail shaker and shake hard. Double strain into a flute glass and top with chilled soda water.

 

The Elderflower G&T

 

G&T Cocktail recipe

Gordon’s & tonic and elderflower cordial – two British classics, one classic drink.

Step 1 Fill a chilled glass with cubes of ice

Step 2 Add 50ml* of Gordon’s gin and 5ml of bottlegreen Elderflower cordial

Step 3 Squeeze a wedge of lime into the glass and add a choice of fresh cucumber, mint or strawberry

Step 4 Top up with fresh tonic and stir to release the refreshing taste

 

Elderflower Cooler

 

elderflower_cooler_cocktail recipe

Utterly refreshing and elegantly simple, this cooler really hits the spot with the elderflower and vodka complimenting each other perfectly. Enjoy.

Ingredients

25ml bottlegreen Elderflower cordial

apple wedges

Fill with ginger ale

50ml Vodka

Glass

Highball

Decoration

apple wedges

Method

Stir ingredients into glass and add apple wedges to decorate

 

Elderflower Delight

 

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A wonderfully light and refreshing cocktail, blending the freshest ingredients to finish with a perfect cocktail for a Summers evening.
Ingredients

6 mint leaves

50ml Gin

15ml bottlegreen elderflower cordial

15ml Orange Juice

5ml Syrup

Glass

Martini

Decoration

Mint leaf

Method

Muddle Mint with Lemon Juice and Sugar Syrup.

Add remaining ingredients and shake with ice, fine strain into chilled 5oz martini glass.

Garnish with mint leaf on surface of drink.

 

Available from Amazon and Ocado.

 

 

Après turns 4

unnamed     To celebrate their 4th birthday, Après, W1’s late night cocktail bar decided to throw a party complete with musical chairs, balloon animals and an array of glowing jewellery. To top it all off they were serving special ‘Birthday Milk’ cocktails to mark the occasion.         If you haven’t heard of Après, it’s probably because it hides nicely next to the side entrance of Selfridges and not centrally located in the tourist trap, a good thing in my opinion. The decor is cool, slick and stylish. The music was pumping and differed between the lounge and the main bar upstairs. I feel like Après have mastered the balance with the two spaces with the club offering a fun place to let loose and go crazy on the dance floor, and the upstairs area being the ultimate chill out with a much lighter area next to a shisha terrace outside.   The cocktails were delicious and fresh, perfect for the summer. Their signature cocktail, Le Birthday Milk, is made from a blend of coconut milk, nutmeg, rum and some other exotic flavours! Kudos for the invention it is well worth a try and will be available throughout the month of June! unnamed-2   Après has the right amount of ‘cool’ without being too hipster and not too corporate. There’s something to please everyone in this club so it’s well worth a visit if you’d like to escape the hustle and bustle of Oxford Street or fancy a good knees up with some mates and most importantly, the service is excellent!   You can find them on 31 Duke St, W1 just off Oxford St.

Bounce Ping Pong And Cocktail Club | Restaurant Review

It is hard to create something unique and different in London, but it is fair to say that Bounce – Europe’s largest social ping pong and cocktail club based in Holborn, achieves this. In fact, it has everything you could need: cocktails, good food and ping pong.

The venue was designed by lauded interior designer Russell Sage and is visually stunning. It boasts an impressive 95 cover restaurant and cocktail bar and 17 bespoke designed ping-pong tables available for play – one being the Olympic final table. All of this can be enjoyed surrounded by London’s most impressive UV installation rolled out throughout the entire club.

bouncerestaurantreview bouncerestaurantreviewpingpong bouncerestaurantreviewprawns bouncerestaurantreviewfood bouncerestaurantreviewcocktail bouncerestaurantreviewcocktails1 bouncerestaurantreviewdrink bouncerestaurantreviewpingpongcocktailThe Frost team went down in force to review. Here is how we got on.

Paloma, Marcin, James and I arrive and head to the restaurant area. The menu has a great selection and it takes us a while to decide what we want. We order our starters and a cocktail each.

Paloma has the H Forman’s Scottish smoked salmon, roasted beetroots & horseradish cream which she says is earthy and smoked. The horseradish was a perfect accompaniment, didn’t have too much of a sting. Marcin has the Bruschetta 3 ways (Parma ham & pesto, Datterini tomatoes, peas, broad beans & pecorino): he says it is fresh and the pea complimented the mint well. James had the Gamberoni – baked king prawns, smoked garlic, chilli, Sicilian lemon butter, rocket & parsley: he says the prawns were huge and juicy and the sauce was amazing. For my starter I had Buffalo Mozzarella, Pixel tomatoes, Sorrento olives, toasted pine nuts, wild rocket & lemon infused olive oil. It was amazing. The ingredients are high quality and the combination really works well together.

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For mains Marcin had the Baked salmon, heritage beets, broad beans and horseradish cream which he said was excellent: tender on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside. Paloma had the Spiced Newlyn Bay crab macaroni cheese. She said it was slightly a let down and overshadowed by chilli. James had a Spicy pork & fennel, plum tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, basil & fresh chilli pizza which was excellent. James thought it was perfectly spicy. I had the Pan fried Label Anglaise free range chicken breast with smoked pancetta, roast squash, Italian beans in a rich tomato ragu: this dish was amazing. The best one I think. It was comfort food but even better. The sauce was amazing and the chicken was perfectly done.

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For my dessert I had the Rum & raisin panna cotta with winter berry compote. It was amazing, with real raisins in. A very unique and tasty dessert. Paloma had the Warm chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream, which she said was possibly the best she had ever had. James had the Spiced plum & amaretto tart with Devonshire clotted cream which he says was superb. Marcin had an expresso which he said was good and we also had some really good English Breakfast tea. The service was also amazing. Everyone is really friendly.

We made a fair dent in the cocktail menu. We had The Tipping Point, which tasted fruity and dangerous. It was far too drinkable for something which had every alcohol under the sun in it including absinthe. Bounce only allow two per person, the clue is in the name but Marcin handled it well, a Hatton Garden Spritz which was delicious and summery, a Wiff Waff which was also amazing and different, The Pink One which was yummy, a Ladies Delight No 2, which, indeed, was a delight, a Ping Pong Show which was brilliant, a Daddy Mac, which says it is not for girls but we’ll show them, it was very tasty and strong. Lastly we had a Gin Lane Spritz which was superb. Phew! All of the cocktails were fruity and easy to drink.

Paloma and Marcin play ping pong.

Paloma and Marcin play ping pong.

After all of that alcohol came the ping pong. I was terrible which I won’t blame on the alcohol but just on my general ineptness. I did get a little better towards the end. Annoyingly the boys did very well. Although Paloma held the girl’s side up. The ping pong is lots of fun and comes in thirty-minute slots. Bounce is the home of Ping Pong and you definitely get an amazing vibe from the place. Paloma text me the day before I wrote this review saying Bounce was on Made in Chelsea, so it has reached the peak of trendiness and is showing no signs of letting up. The day before we were going to go, my fiance and I were at his best man and girlfriend’s house and they were also going to Bounce. It is thee place to be seen at the moment.

Bounce has amazing food, brilliant cocktails and excellent ping pong. I cannot praise it enough, we really had a wonderful time. A hen party even come to our ping pong table after we had finished, so Bounce is perfect for many different occasions. We will be going back, numerous times.

 

Bounce
121 Holborn
London
EC1N 2TD

020 3657 6525

Verdi Italian Kitchen At The Royal Albert Hall | Restaurant Review

Rather obviously, the first thing you take in when going to Verdi is the surroundings. As gorgeous and historical buildings go, it is hard to beat the Royal Albert Hall. You really do feel like you are dining in a piece of history.

We start off by ordering Mozzarella di bufala with Coppa: Salted, seasoned, dry cured thinly cut pork shoulder from the Mozzarella Bar, where you order either mozzarella di bufala or a burrata along with a side of your choice. I have the Gamberi Con Pancetta: Grilled pancetta wrapped prawns, rosemary, chargrilled lemon.

The prawns are sizzling when they arrive and of a decent size. They are meaty and the pancetta is smoky. It is well seasoned. It is a good starter. The mozzarella is soft and creamy. It has a beautiful texture but could do with more flavour. There is too much rocket and the pork is absolutely delicious but is a little stringy.

We also ordered some bread, which we would have liked to have been a little softer. It came with some good balsamic vinegar.

We also ordered some amazing cocktails: a Aperol Spritz: Aperol, Moët & Chandon, orange bitters, which not only tasted amazing, but also a little like Irn Bru, so perfect for the Scottish amongst us and an IL Verdi: Gin, sciroppo di fiori and pressed apple juice, which was delicious and refreshing.

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The service was excellent throughout and the atmosphere was peaceful due to the fact we went in-between shows. For our mains we had Agnello Ripieno: Stuffed lamb breast, white beans, tomatoes, smoked pancetta, spinach, garlic, basil and a Gamberoni pizza: King prawns, asparagus, mushrooms, tomato, mozzarella. The lamb was soft and beautiful. It came in a nice sauce, the beans added texture but the stuffing was just a little bit too spicy. A good meal all in all.

For a side we had Patate Arrosto: Sea salt roast potatoes, sage, garlic. We were not overly impressed. They were okay but not roast potatoes as we expected. The pizza was superb. It had a thin and tasty dough and was just wonderful. The prawns were generous and the ingredients worked together amazingly well.

verdi stuffeflamb gameronipizza cocktailFor dessert we have Tiramisu: Mascarpone, coffee soaked sponge,cocoa, coffee liqueur and I have some Gelato because I am full and mildly allergic to coffee. You get to choose three scoops and I choose chocolate hazelnut praline, natural mint and chocolate chip and lime. The tiramisu is excellent, with a thick layer of cocoa dust and a delicious liqueur soaked base. The gelato is equally as good and the portion is generous.

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I would recommend Verdi for good food in a stunning location.

 

Verdi, Door 12, Royal Albert Hall
Kensington Gore, 
London, SW7 2AP 
Tel: 020 7070 4401

You can enjoy fantastic free live music on Fridays from 8:00pm played by popular jazz artists including favourites from Ronnie Scott’s and the 606 Club. Live music will also be performed on Saturday and Sunday lunchtimes. Full list of music dates and performers.