Happiness Forgets, Shoreditch

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Happiness Forgets promises high end cocktails in a low rent basement.

Down a shabby metal staircase past the cartoon-esque entrance sign and you reach the bar. Simple, no-frills decor is found inside, exposed brick and a lack of girly glitz and glamour. This serious cocktail den is mimicking the popular New York prohibition style. This moody ambience is all very well, but please give us a little light, the menus are impossible to read without your iPhone and cocktails cannot be properly admired in such gloomy conditions.

The drinks, many served in icy frosted coupes, remain cold for the duration of their life in the glass. Expertly constructed and perfectly balanced, they are remarkably good. Mikey Rivers is a safe bet for boys, a mix of Elijah Craig 12, clove bitters and maple syrup shaken with fresh-pressed apple and lemon juices and topped with dry apple cider. Artistic and refreshing, it is presented in a tumbler with a ball of ice. Jerezana is a more challenging drink for more daring drinkers: Manzanilla and amontillado sherries stirred with sweet and dry vermouths, a dash of vanilla syrup and orange bitters. Dutch Courage should suit most palates, a delicious combination of Ketel One vodka shaken with overproof rum, creme de cacao, fresh lemon and mint.

The crowd we sat amongst were thankfully not too surly-Shoreditch-pretentious. Without a booking, you are turned away at the door so only those keen and organised enough to book in advance are welcomed inside.

After a few of these cocktails you may forget a lot of things, but happiness is not one of them.

More information here: www.happinessforgets.com

Burgers at Automat, Green Park

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A few people have recommended Automat to me, but it was only when I heard about the burger that I felt any urgency about going.

Seeing the perfect opportunity while working in Green Park, I popped to Automat on my lunch-break to see if their burger was anything to rave about. Hoping to offer something new to Mayfair’s elite dining choices, Automat aims to fuse London’s pleasure-seeking social appetite with New York’s inimitable style presenting a brand new venue for relaxed, fashionable dining.

Classic diner red cushioned seats are available round tables in the first part of the restaurant but keep walking through and you discover a more relaxed bistro. We sat in the back perched on high stools and sipped lemonade while waiting for the food to arrive.

AUTOMAT USDA PRIME BURGER (10oz) with fries £14 add bacon, cheese £1
CHICKEN BURGER with fries £14 add cheese £1
AUTOMAT VEGGIE BURGER with tomato chutney & fries £12 add cheese £1

I tried the classic burger while my friend opted for the more adventurous festive burger of the day which came with melting brie and cranberry sauce. The burgers are a generous size, evenly stacked up and easy to eat with your hands. The meat was nothing special, cooked for too long and lacking flavour perhaps due to the meat being too finely ground. The burger bun was slightly on the stale side and the lettuce and tomato looked limp. Fries were suitably thin and crispy but served lukewarm which soon turned to cold, all in all a bit disappointing.

The Automat burger has little substance and zero passion. I guess the Mayfair should stick to fine dining, and leave the burgers to Soho.

www.automat-london.com

THOROUGHLY MODERN MAN: Espresso Martinis at Forge and Foundry, Camden

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It was nervously that I arrived at the Forge and Foundry last week, for a dinner to launch their newest cocktail, the Espresso Martini. For a coffee-avoider such as myself, this was a relatively daunting drink, but one that slipped down a real treat, particularly after the first one.

We met for drinks before the dinner, and the barman talked us through the recipe. The cocktail is a creation of the legendary Dick Bradsell, the “cocktail king” of 1980s London. It requires one and a half measures vodka, half a measure Kalhua, and the all-important measure of fresh espresso. The source of the particular espresso used by the Forge and Foundry is as charming as it is local. George, an elderly owner of a café located a few doors down from the restaurant, has been roasting a secret blend of Arabica beans for 36 years. The roasters he uses were built between 85 and 100 years ago, and luckily he can keep them in perfect working order, given his training as a mechanic in earlier life. Every day, he wanders down to the Forge and Foundry, and has coffee with the barmen there, and of course tinkers with the machines, offering advice on the coarseness of the grind, and the amount of water required.

The cocktail itself is surprisingly smooth, and despite not being a coffee aficionado, I found myself really warming to the espresso bitterness that perfectly complemented the smoothness of the vodka and the sweetness of the Kalhua. The second, and third went down even more nicely, and each glass was met with sounds of approval from all round the table.

The dinner itself was average, unfortunately, and didn’t quite live up to the promise of the cocktails. The gourmet ploughman’s platters were solid but rather uninspiring, with the Blacksticks blue cheese and Keens mature cheddar proving to be the highlight. The honey-roast and Parma hams were everything you would expect, and nothing more. For the main course, I chose the duck breast, served with an orange sauce, cocoa powder and plantain chips. The duck was a little overcooked, and the plantain chips had no reason to be on the plate. Texturally they were more like casino chips than edible ones. My companions at the table opted for the sea bass, and that looked a better decision. The highlight was undoubtedly the desserts, all round the table. My chocolate marquise with vanilla cream, hazelnuts, saffron marshmallow and strawberry sauce was divine, and the pastry chef Juan Pablo really impressed with his other offerings of Tocino del Cielo – a Spanish crème caramel dish – and the Lady Grey tea cake, with a nutty centre and wonderful “white chocolate soup”.

All in all, the Espresso Martini itself was a great surprise, and well worth a try, and the dessert section really was the jewel in the menu’s crown. Some shortcomings in the savoury offerings, however, meant that this was a slightly disappointing meal.

More information here. The Forge has just launched a new music event every Saturday called Fired Up at the Forge. With free entry from 7.30pm, it will play host to the best of new and breaking talent across the UK, focusing on live music and DJ sets.

www.foundrycamden.co.uk

Written by a Thoroughly Modern Man, James Bomford.