Moods, atmospheres, places change. Where once there was an adult cinema, now exists Khao Bird, a buzzing, neon-lit Thai-inspired joint with crispy sea bass and curries full of lemongrass and galangal. The sex has gone, but there are other pleasures: stimulation today comes by way of cocktails and a little chilli heat, the promise that Soho remains a fruitful endeavour, a chaotic, jazzy epicentre for a city ever-changing, only tempered a little now as society dictates. Take that how you will. You can still buy a gimp suit a few doors down, so what does it matter?
More concerning — enraging, perhaps — about London today is the price of getting loose. “Sir, that will be £25”, a well-dressed man says to me far too comfortably. I imagine he’s the type of guy to have grown up in St Albans with the surname Gooch but came good in his late 20s and now “cleans up” on Hinge. Anyway, I have ordered a simple negroni… not something that should cost £25 outside The Connaught. How welcome then that this Thai-inspired restaurant sells a drink called I’m Broke for £7.90. It blends a double shot of Lidl vodka, lime juice and soda over ice (yeah, a skinny bitch). Always a refreshing, generous and fortifying medley; a savvy drink, a genius move.
Lidl’s vodka is tremendous. I defy anyone, especially those purporting to have a “refined palate”, to be able to tell the difference between it and something fancy. Grey Goose or some other blithering status symbol. The budget retailer has a sense of humour, too: the vodka is German-made but named after a Russian, the late Sergei Rachmaninoff, a musically precocious and virtuosic composer who ended up in New York. It’s used faultlessly by the tenders at Khao Bird. In a tumultuous world, here is something of near-peerless value, cinematic and sexy.
24 Brewer St, London W1F 0SN, khaobird.com
Bar snacks
Carmy’s
The hottest food trend in London right now is pizza. Namely, the New York-style variety, which is finally rewarding Londoners with slice culture, something devoid here for decades, madly (it’s vital food culture for any busy city). The latest is Carmy’s, from the team behind Carmela’s in Islington. A “grab-and-go” offer will open in Covent Garden in the summer, just in time to pair with alfresco pints around town.
1 Monmouth Street, WC2H 9DA
Hide
On the subject of affordable drinks in sumptuous locations, Hide, the upmarket restaurant in Mayfair with a car lift for secretive diners who wish to drive in unseen, has launched a “cocktail hour” which includes £10 martinis. Every day, between 5-7pm in the basement bar, guests may choose from a list of five experimental drinks, or twists on classics. Another imbibement on the launch menu includes the Birdie, inspired by the Manhattan.
85 Piccadilly, W1J 7NB, hide.co.uk
