Soho’s Coupette: Experimental Cocktails at Great Prices
Size matters, or so they say. Well, listen up my friends, I am here to tell you that size isn’t everything…when it comes to cocktails.
An achingly hip new bar has just opened slap bang in the middle of Soho specialising in small portions, and, astonishingly for that part of town, the prices frequently stray into single digits – meaning the arrival of Coupette is great news for those of us feeling the pinch right now.
The French name means Cheeky One and the idea is that you romp around a kind of experimental drinks playground trying a bit of this, a bit of that, sort of like a boozy guinea pig.
The idea behind the ‘atelier’ is that the bar staff treat the place as a workshop, shaking all kinds of weird and wonderful inventions as the mood takes them. And the result of this mixology witchcraft is things like a Smoked Artichoke Manhattan or a Truffle Negroni made with their own home-brewed pickle truffle vermouth. They even have Fizzy Carrot Wine on tap, which actually is far more delicious than it sounds.
We read the menu several times and frankly, we didn’t know where to start, so left it to the barman to surprise us while we admired the decanter-lined backdrop from our coffee-coloured stools.
When the drinks arrived, they were a little smaller than usual, but they were also way more reasonably priced than usual, between £7-£9 a pop. And given that I was recently charged a breath-taking £24 for a Singapore Sling five minutes down the road, this is nothing short of a steal.
Then there was a slushy concoction which blew my tiny mind called Cookies Tho, a frozen blend of hazelnut cookie milk, vanilla and salted chocolate chips blended with Highland Park bourbon and Belvedere vodka. But there is little point in telling you about it because the line-up is constantly changing, so by the time you read this the constantly evolving menu will have already been revised and changed, based on development sessions at their sister bar in Bethnal Green.
It’s a great way to be brave and try bold new flavour combos you might steer clear of if the prices were not so good. We also tried a few of the Nouvelle Cuisine inspired small plates.
Including a delicate slice of halibut with white wine sauce & lobster oil; a bowl of intensely flavoured mushrooms with prune gel, miso, and consommé; and a panko-crusted drumstick of poussin with truffle jus & grilled courgette.
- Coupette: 9 Moor St, London W1D 5ND, open Mon-Thurs: 12pm-12am, Fri-Sat: 12pm-1am and Sun:12pm-10:30pm.
