Josh Barrie On the Sauce at the Donovan Bar: And they all drank Happily Ever After

A moustache-wearing Italian is adding bubbles to my cocktail, enormous spheres that sit bouncily on whatever concoction it is, some filled with smoke to signify “nightmares”, others transparent, these an example, apparently, of daytime.

Bubbles are part of a “narrative”: drinks and bar snacks that tell a story. So en vogue today in London — see the chefs who conjure memories of climbing trees in Norfolk or wherever by putting slivers of scallop on pieces of moss. All unbearable bollocks: it’s just dinner, they’re just drinks.

Still, my drinks here at the Donovan Bar in Mayfair (1am licence, FYI) are fun and for all the style, there is ample substance. No wonder every table is accounted for. This is largely thanks to head bartender Salvatore Calabrese, who has created a list called Happily Ever After. From this, some drinks are being matched with new bar snacks from the chef Andrew Wong. After his three-month residency, Tom Kitchin will arrive, later Mitch Tonks of Devon.

I am saddened to learn the drink with the best name, Peter Punch, is not on the pairing menu. I have a Green Light, a blend of vodka, Acqua Bianca, matcha, sherry and cucumber. It comes with a prawn wonton. Acqua Bianca, I should say, is top level, not least because it calls for the rare ingredient ambergris, a waxy substance sourced from the digestive system of sperm whales.

Then a Little Red matched with little strips of wagyu beef and XO sauce. It was a combination of Uncle Nearest whiskey, Macallan 12, amaro, a liqueur called Muyu Vetiver Gris, nettles and strawberries. Another one to flag? The Muyu Vetiver. It’s made of cedarwood, grains and pepper from Nepal, among countless other things. £30 a bottle.

To finish, the bubbles, from earlier. They were gunned onto a cocktail called a Whizzpop by the Italian. They’re all Italian at the Donovan Bar. Best food and drink marketers in the world. Thanks to stories, mostly; nonsense or not, they do a fine job.

Brown’s Hotel, 33 Albermarle Street, W1. Cocktails from £26, roccofortehotels.com

Bar snacks

Nancy Spains

143 Fenchurch Street, EC3, nancyspains.co.uk

Irish bar Nancy Spains opened in Shoreditch earlier this year and it must be doing well because a second is on the way. Number two will launch at what was the Wine Lodge in the City, a venue that has been dormant for almost five years. The Kerry-born founders Peter and Nicholas O’Halloran serve Murphy’s stout (rather than Guinness), Tayto crisps, and are big on live music.

Black Lines limited edition white negroni

£27 for 500ml, blacklinesdrinks.com

Ever had a white negroni? It’s supposedly a bit of a secret among diehard drinkers and bartenders. No longer, because high-end drinks brand Black Lines has brought out a limited edition bottled version. The drink is a mixture of East London gin, the French bitter liqueur Suze and Dolin Blanc vermouth. It makes for a fine aperitif and a bottle would no doubt work well as a Christmas present.