Dabbous (bar)

Time Out says

Tue Aug 7 2012

Dabbous astonished us with its cutting-edge cooking, and its downstairs cocktail bar sets out to do the same. There is plenty of play with unorthodox ingredients, and at times the combinations look forbidding: the Giddy Up contains tequila, elderflower cordial, bramley & gage slider (traditional sloe-infused cider from Devon), lemon juice and camomile-infused acacia honey topped with Sierra Nevada IPA. But other drinks stay closer to classicism, and you can always order off-menu if you’re feeling timid. Three out of four cocktails were top-notch, especially the superb Oak-aged Negroni and the 2091210 (gin, Aperol and citrus juices topped with cream soda). The bar has the same stripped-back industrial décor as the restaurant, with bare walls that do a great but unwelcome job of bouncing noise all over the shop. Service was sweet and solicitous, bar snacks a cut above. A very good place, but read ingredients lists attentively.