The Hutch Club at Quaglino’s

What a great bar!
We came here after having a boozy brunch nearby. It was close, so we thought we’d give it a go. The atmosphere is pretty awesome. Lots of space. And at three in the afternoon, we had the place practically to ourselves.
There are a lot of interesting drinks on the menu, split into three categories: Past, Present and Future. I spent a lot of time on the «future» menu, as I do like interesting new drinks and flavor combinations. I don’t think I was disappointed in any of the drinks. They also have a selection of higher priced cocktails that looked really interesting, but since I was already fairly drunk, I didn’t want to waste the money by ordering one of them. The service was a bit slow considering we were the only people there for awhile, but maybe they were just trying to pace a bunch of drunk people on a Saturday afternoon.
If I’m in the area, this is definitely a place that I would want to return to. A great drink selection and a really cool atmosphere.

I must thank Grant T. for guiding a few of us to this absolutely gorgeous fabulous venue. Shiny glamour, a great cocktail list, and some fun people… what a fantastic way to spend a Saturday afternoon!
The interior is reminiscent to me of what I’d call 80s Oriental: Think something out of Brett Easton Ellis’ American Psycho or Less Than Zero.
Staff are appropriately polite, although the service isn’t particularly fast. That was ok though, we weren’t in any rush, and they were totally happy on us lazing away enjoying our drinks for a few hours during a lull in their service.
So, the cocktail menu, while it can be pricey, is innovative and ultimately.tasty.
Examples:
–Dill and Tonic: Fantastic twist on an old gin and tonic favourite. Lots of dill involved and Tanqueray gin. Looked pretty cool (see my photo). The fresh taste slid down my throat, tempting a hint of summer on what was a very cold winter day.
Nevermind, onto the next one:
–Oriental Sur: Oh yes. Tanqueray gin, Absinthe sugar syrup and tonic. A dainty glass of evil smooth surliness. Whispering for you to do bad things. Was it the absinthe? Maybe. But I liked it.
The cocktail menu is interesting enough for me to go back and try others. Cost is definitely worth it for the ambiance. I’m ready for my close up now, thank you.

Before we devoured our meal at Quaglino’s we made a stop upstairs at The Hutch Club.
They are lucky enough to boast London’s first alcoholic Popcorn Bar curated by gourmet popcorn connoisseurs Joe & Seph’s, yes, Ihave mentioned these guys a lot, who have designed an exclusive Nº3 Gin & Tonic flavour, caramel macchiato & whisky flavour, brandy butter flavour and olive oil & sea salt flavour. We paired ours with chocolate old fashioned which is chocolate bitters, a teaspoon of sugar & a dash of mozart black & a measure of the macallan amber single malt whisky, all garnished with a maraschino cherry and a bronx made with Nº3 london dry gin, sweet vermouth & a dash of dry vermouth, shaken with fresh orange juice, all served in a coupe glass. We were living the dream!
After this we were brought some bar snacks that consisted of salmon tartar, with elit by stolichnaya vodka jelly, and herring roe, oyster & Nº3 london dry gin soup made with coriander, duck breast with courvoisier exclusif VSOP cognac, with cherry & chilli and lastly, my favourite, smoked chocolate ice cream, with the macallan amber single malt whisky cream, and mandarian popcorn.
This was incredible! I will be returning for more cocktails and popcorn as soon as possible!