Tag: Cocktails

Bar Review: Stratos, Preston

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Stratos Bar – Preston’s Best Cocktails

Stratos is justifiably not a budget bar; nowhere in Preston is as attractively designed and fitted. Drinkers who behave themselves early doors, receive complimentary aperitivos – thanks to Stratos, visitors from Burnley can now recognise tapenade. Plus, nowhere else in Preston is open until 3 am with no entry free, with flesh and blood DJs, not iPods.

Stratos, Kuckoo and Forum are the only progressive bars in Preston shaking quality cocktails. The vast majority are £6.50, contain double premium spirits and often unusual ingredients – this price point is rare in Manchester and extinct in London. If you think Stratos is poor value, get out more. Something masquerades as similar in Yates or Revolution, but is predictably sweet, on a sticky table, in a cheap glass without a garnish, but with a 2005 playlist. Spend another £2 and drink something to enjoy, not something to later vomit.

Stratos’ bar staff unpretentiously graft, pushing Preston kicking and screaming to the next level of boozing. If you drink Cosmopolitans through a straw, think Daiquiris only exist with strawberries, and regard Mojitos as exceptionally exotic, converse with the passionate and knowledgeable Stratos’ bar staff. Likewise, if you’ve had more than your fair share of drams, Stratos staff are always happy to learn more.

The real value of Stratos is their willingness to develop customers tastes for those unaware of the great products available, and the ability to cater for the seasoned drinker. A Preston bar where customers can forfeit a menu entirely, forming a relationship with the staff is progress. Regardless of how manically busy Stratos gets, they will craft drinks to your individual tastes. This level of enthusiasm to learning and promoting cocktails is unmatched, making Stratos the best cocktail bar in Preston. (The food’s not bad either).

Stratos Bar Review Summary

Atmosphere 10  Cost 8  Quality 9 Service 10

Stratos Preston Bar Restaurant Review
Stratos – Still Preston’s Best
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Stratos – Still Preston’s Best
Stratos - Still Preston's Best
Stratos – Still Preston’s Best
Stratos - Still Preston's Best
Stratos – Still Preston’s Best

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Bar Review: White Stone, Cagliari

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White Stone – In The Holiday Spirit

White Stone Bar sat on the busy Piazza Yenna –  Cagliari Marina District’s focal point. It provided perfect people-watching potential, made all the more attractive by very reasonable prices. Be warned: everywhere in Cagliari, music is hideously inconsistent, fluctuating between naff and painful. Think MTV dance hits, intertwined with a Phil Collins medley nobody wanted. Fortunately, there was ample seating outside, mostly free of irritation.

Given White Stone Bars low cost relative to the UK, it would be unkind to be too critical. I visited three times in three days – they did something right. That said, there was plenty of room for improvement. ‘Bourbon Sour’ was made with Irish blended whisky. Everything arrived with a completely unnecessary cherry. The margaritas were undrinkable. They weren’t blends

‘Bourbon Sours’ were made with Irish blended whisky. Everything arrived with a completely unnecessary cherry. The margaritas were undrinkable. They weren’t blends of tequila, lime and triple sec – just tequila with lime wafted over the glass for ceremonial purposes. Crucially, White Stone Bar’s consistency of drinks between servers was laughable. Even the same drink, made by the same person, in the same evening, differed considerably.

However, the size of the pour was gigantic. The Weights & Measures Act of 1985 evidently hadn’t reach Cagliari. The Negroni was intimidating, taking me all afternoon to tackle. I appreciate Italian’s love bitter flavours, but I’d consumed 500ml of Campari after three cocktails. I like an occasional bitter drink, but not to be pummelled mercilessly by them. I hoped Stockholm Syndrome would kick in, so I could perversely come to welcome my aperitif abuse, but sadly it never did.

Thankfully, White Stone Bar wasn’t just quantity over quality. Despite its tacky name, the ‘Between The Sheets’ cocktail was an ironically classy drink. By some miracle, it dodged the ever zealous Campari, although couldn’t survive the obligatory cherry. The sophisticated combination of cognac, rum, triple sec and lemon juice was rather wonderful. An excellent Mojito benefited from mint and lime swollen by the sun’s loving rays. A pleasing frothy, beautifully balanced Pina Colada was perfect on a late summer afternoon. White Stone Bar’s free aperitivos were in plentiful supply, and their budget buffet offered vegetable lasagne and vibrant salads, that were embarrassingly delicious for their low cost.

White Stone Bar pertained to being a proper cocktail bar but lacked the attention to detail required to be one. However, White Stone Bar genuinely friendly staff shouldn’t be unacknowledged, who were happy to chat in broken English, despite my shameful inability to meet them halfway.

White Stone Bar Review Summary

Atmosphere 8  Cost 10  Quality 4  Service 9

White Stone Bar Cagliari Review
The Holiday Spirit

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Cagliari

Bar Review: Duck & Waffle, City of London

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Duck & Waffle – Rum With A View

Let’s be clear, Duck & Waffle is all about the view (and waffles). Located on the 40th floor of 110 Bishopsgate in London, Duck & Waffle inside Heron Tower boasts the highest restaurant in the UK. Guests are transported to Duck & Waffle London from a private entrance on Bishopsgate via two express, double-glazed scenic lifts. The vistas are stunning and the environment unique.

Designed by award-winning architects CetraRuddy, the Duck & Waffle restaurant features include a 24 seat “inside out” bar, a bustling open kitchen and a private dining room that seats up to 18 people. Despite these boasts, a comical gripe is that metal supports run at eye level across the window panels; only crawling toddlers and NBA superstars can fully benefit.

Cocktail prices are equally sky-high, but free entry, as opposed to the extortionate Shard, remedies this somewhat. The Duck & Waffle Cocktail Menu was original and intriguing, although style over substance in places. The Bourbon Old Fashioned was £15.50 (inc. service) but only used standard Jack Daniels. It was served on a bed of hay, yet the drink was made from corn (maize). I’ve no time for fussing about with inedible props. As the drinks menu offers oddities like Bee Pollen Liqueur and Beetroot Champagne, the bourbon and other base spirit selection felt pedestrian.

Finishing Duck & Waffle’s Truffle Cocktail was like waking up disorientated from a heavy night in a wet compost heap, with earthy garlic cloves pushed into every orifice. I have no idea what was meant by ‘removed citrus juices’ but the Removed Aviation was both ballsy and impressively floral.

Regarding Duck & Waffle’s atmosphere, the interior walls were intentionally covered in scruffy graffiti that failed to be edgy and smacked of pretentiousness. Duck & Waffle PR team disagree, describing their restaurant décor as “playfully injected with modern influences”. Unless Jackson Pollock collecting oligarchs, customers appreciating scribble on walls don’t generally buy £16 drinks. To be fair, the restaurant’s around the corner from Barclays and Deutsche Bank, but I’d suggest framed portraits of Margaret Thatcher would be more appropriate. I like James Brown as much as the next man, but the Motown soundtrack was completely out of character with Duck & Waffle’s somewhat confused ambience.

One gripe was that our small group was completely blanked by all the Duck & Waffle staff as we attempted to say thank you and goodbye to them. A group walking out in anonymity is quite a challenge in such a small space, and being totally ignored twice made me doubt the genuineness of the servers initial hospitality.

Duck & Waffle is still worth a visit: it makes a fabulous refreshment break for tourists, and the lift ride alone is a giddy experience. The views are memorable – arguably the best in the UK. If you are looking for unusual ingredients in your libations, it really set the bar high. While any drinking establishment that is open twenty-four hours a day should be revered as a potential guilty pleasure. Personally, I prefer boozers a bit more down to earth – in more ways than one.

DUCK & WAFFLE REVIEW SUMMARY

Atmosphere 9  Cost 3  Quality 8  Service 7

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Bourbon Old Fashioned (Minus Orange Peel But With Hay)
Duck & Waffle Review
£14 (+ service charge) drinks, but basic quality ingredients
Duck & Waffle Restaurant Review
Unbeatable views

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IN HERON TOWER