If Salvador Dalí were to design an upscale east London cocktail bar, it might look something like Flipdog. Taking its name from a little-known 17th-century cocktail-making technique involving a red-hot poker – more on that later – this eye-catching venue in Old Street’s Imperial Hall is like a Surrealist painting come to life. Textured metallic walls in the upstairs ‘Drinkery’ make it feel like you’ve been beamed onto an especially stylish spaceship, while Dalí-esque faces and eyeballs adorn the upholstered booths in a low-lit subterranean bar that features chrome surfaces, wooden panelling and liberal use of burnt orange and electric blue. Eclectic, eccentric, yet somehow it really works.
And you might say the same about Flipdog’s drinks. Intended to evoke moments that will be familiar to anyone living in a bustling metropolis like London, the signature cocktail list features concoctions with names like ‘Sunday Roast’ and ‘Morning on the Platform’. There’s real creativity and panache to presentation at Flipdog; the ‘Half Pint’, a sweet, tart, carbonated concoction featuring Johnnie Walker, Nixta corn liqueur, sherry and citra hops, looks every bit like a fancy craft beer, arriving on a beer mat with a head of oat-corn foam, while the warm, dark rum-based ‘Night Cab’ is garnished with an impressively realistic edible leather tag.
And as for that red-hot poker? It’s used to make ‘Morning on the Platform’, a rich, nutty concoction of toasted sesame bourbon, peated Scotch, amaretto, oloroso sherry and coffee that’s given a smoky, caramelised note as it’s seared by a 1200°C instrument in a method known as the loggerhead. It doesn’t get much more theatrical than that.
Order this
‘Gallery Visit’ is a woody, musky, bittersweet delight. As delicate as a Monet yet as robust as a Rodin, it’s garnished with a tiny chocolate portrait that’s almost too cute to eat.
Time Out tip
Don’t skip the bar snacks. The playful popcorn chicken bites have a slightly sweet, almost caramel seasoning evoking that classic movie theatre combo of sweet and salty.