Opium is a hidden gem amongst the back to back bustling restaurants of Gerrard Street.
At street level you are presented with a door with a simple wall plaque on which the establishment’s names is emblazoned. Three windy flights of creaky wooden stairs up through a haze of burning incense and you reach a cosy den of nooks and hidey holes in which to sit and enjoy a quirky cocktail or two and perhaps some king prawn dumplings to wash them down. The food (albeit a limited bar snack menu) is outstanding and is available late into the evening/night, perfect for the munchies that tend to kick in at about the 11pm mark. Depending on what night you go they may also open the Apothecary Bar and Cocktail Kitchen. This bar is definitely worth a visit or two.
Visit Tips
We love how the drinks are presented in a ‘First Course’, ‘Second Course’, ‘Mains’ format in their menu.
The cocktail range is vast and out of the ordinary.
You cannot go wrong ordering their dim sum platter!
www.opiumchinatown.com
The perfect drink to soften the blow of autumn onset. This is a sweet twist on a classic drink with a mild poke of spice.
This flirtatious cocktail adds a bubbly, pineapple twist to a Cosmopolitan. If you are feeling frugal switch the champagne for a Prosecco (arguably a more palatable fizz at a fraction of the cost).
A strawberry summer slush is the perfect concoction to chill you out in the heat of the sun whilst relaxing on a beach somewhere exotic! Or if you don't happen to be sunning yourself in a picture perfect, sun-drenched location then you can enjoy the drink whilst daydreaming about your next jaunt!
Pure boozy, chocolaty indulgence; these chocolate martin's should be sipped not gulped, especially seeing as they are both alcohol, alcohol mixed with alcohol!
This is both a popular and potent classic cocktail with vodka being just one of 5 spirits that make up the toxic mix of alcohol.
Who doesn’t take great pleasure in requesting “One Screaming Orgasm please!” tee he, he?! This is a cocktail that tastes sweet and harmless but the combination of spirit plus spirit with a mixer of spirit is a lethal one!
Here is a list of vodka brands available across the globe:
London cocktail week was a great opportunity to try out bars and cocktails that you hadn’t yet got around to checking out or test driving and it also provided a perfect excuse (if you needed one) to get out and about a few nights in a row to squeeze in as many £4 discounted drinks as you could in one week!
The Brand:
Smirnoff is by far and away the biggest producer of vodka in the world today. It outstrips the nearest competitor (Absolut) by 50%.