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
This cocktail is pure indulgence in a glass. In fact it is so scrummy and filling that it could easily be a desert. If you like your cocktails thick, creamy and chocolaty then a frozen mudslide is definitely a winner!
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 Cosmopolitan cocktail adopts just that in attitude by mixing alcohol with alcohol and topping up with just a dash of juice. If you want to intoxify your guests then this is the one to serve up! Short and strong, small sips are recommended to avoid peaking too early in a room spinning, dizzy head, hazy eyes drunken disaster!
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!
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.
Warming heat of vodka plus silky smooth chocolate equals heavenly, boozy simplicity in a glass.
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%.
From the makers of Tyrrell’s comes Chase Vodka! Perhaps wondering what to do with an excess of potatoes one day they set about cooking it up into alcohol and thank goodness they did!