callooh callay

on a wednesday night out this place was still buzzing. we were lucky enough to get a table in the "secret" lounge and it was worth it just for the fun of walking through the wardrobe door having my friends think i was going crazy. their cocktails are very nice but it took me some time going through their "hipster" names and descriptions to find out what was actually going to be in them!
they also have some food to offer and their mac and cheese was really good which was a surprise! overall highly recommended and if you go do try and reserve the lounge it's worth it!

my absolute go-to bar in shoreditch. lovely bartenders, delicious cocktails. i definitely prefer upstairs, it's more cosy and the menu changes every month (at least they did change last year!) since menus are changing from time to time (thanks to the creativity of the bartenders, i suppose), my recommendations might not exist anymore. but if they do exist my fav cocktail was little apple and definitely try hushpuppies (omg it was so good!)

great cocktails, ok food and very knowledgeable bartender.. cool place overall.. try the mama something cocktail !
tuna ceviche is more of a apple ceviche, very little tuna..
i definitely recommend this place but quite pricey for heavy drinking..
cheers

cocktails were okay, didn't compare to artesian though. the menus in the oyster cards were very original and pretty cool. the venue however was pretty basic and felt like a waiting room. there was a lovely irish waitress who was very friendly and was the high point of the visit...very friendly, made us feel at home and gave good advice about the choice of cocktails

it has been almost 3 years since i last visited callooh callay, lots of changes including a new design inside the "secret" bar behind the infamous wardrobe. the cocktails here are now less funky with a more traditional presentation similar to happiness forget just down the road. most are classics with a small modern touch.

went to the private bar upstairs, which you have to ask for the daily special code in order to have access to it. the bar was fun, service was good, and the drink presentation was fancy (they were doing a series of planets including mars etc when i went), but honestly, all of them tasted terrible. still it was quite an experience to try out, i would probably give it another chance soon.

the barman nathan was an absolute champion. really delicious drinks and then told us other cocktail bars we should try around the area. so we went and tried one. it was good. but not as good. so we went back. great guy or clever company man? don't know. don't care.

small cosy venue on rivington street in shoreditch with a wide selection of cocktails. the downstairs part is open to the public but if you email in advance you can get a reservation in the bar that is through the wardrobe at the back of the bar and there is also a further bar upstairs which has themed nights a few months at a time. 12.5% service charge added when booked.

to date, callooh callay is the top of my list of london bars to visit! you're never going to be let down. experiment with their cocktails for a memorable experience!

it was 9:05. we had a reservation at callooh callay for nine so, even though we were only round the corner at the whistling shop, we hopped in a cab. the driver hadn’t heard of callooh callay but he did know the street. two minutes later, he pulled over, stopped the clock and confessed he couldn’t remember how to get there. 30 seconds later and he’d dredged his memory and we were on our way again.

 
we made it at about 9:15. we weren’t too drunk by this point and had been sensible enough to call when we knew we were going to be late and tell them we were lost but on our way. got to the door and presented ourselves to the doorman. our names weren’t on the list. i think you’ll agree that it was all going really well by this point. however, i wasn’t too worried. i had email confirmation of our reservations and they had called me the day before to confirm (always a nice touch and something that should happen more often in this country) and i’d spoken to someone who seemed to be expecting us just 10 minutes earlier on the phone. soon enough, the manager came out and let us in. he also complimented me on my outfit, so it more than made up for the few minutes’ wait at the door. we were then led through the throng and indeed through the looking glass (or rather, fake wardrobe) to the jub jub bar at the back, only available for those with reservations. we had many, many cocktails, and i really can’t remember what on earth they were. the menu also changes regularly so i can’t even look it up to remind myself. it had lots of nice, quirky touches, like the cocktail list being on a comic strip, and having reservations meant we were waited on at the table instead of going to the bar, which makes such a nice change when you’re out drinking. we had pre-ordered food, which arrived about 15 minutes after we did. we ate mini brie quiches, goat’s cheese bruschetta, lime, chilli and ginger crab spoons and some tarragon salted, buttery popcorn. all absolutely delicious, if a little underfilling. we thought about ordering some more food but in the end ordered more cocktails to fill us up instead. as we were sitting there, a waiter went by with a massive bowl flanked by what looked like four little gnomes. this, i think was the £55 cocktail you could order to share between 6 of you, which i think we also did see a group of maybe 5 boys finishing off when we arrived.

the original plan was to move on to yet another cocktail bar (ninety eight bar and lounge), but we were so comfortable there, the drinks were coming at a pleasing rate and were doing their job on our sobriety so we just stayed there instead until about 12:00.

did not really like the experimental cocktails, but absolutely loved the style of menu and character. i comes in a tfl oyster sleeve and its says cocktails instead of oyster in the same font, and the menu is an oyster card folded away in the sleeve. 

really cool keepsake, but other than character, i'm not going there fro drinks.

savory cocktails. talented bartenders produce creative cocktails with an original combination of spirits, syrup, bitters, herbs and citrus. every drink is a totally different formula. funky decor and mixed crowd. the bathroom walls are worth a glance.

i was not impressed by callooh callay. it has a lot to do with expectations, because mine were sky high. what bugged me the most was that it was very tiny and not exciting at all behind the wardrobe (i did love the wardrobe door, though, nice touch). there was not enough light to read the menu, and the menu was too large so we had to fold it out over our tiny table and sit and squint at it. a big plus was that the staff was very nice, and they even managed to give us a table despite us being late for our booking. the drinks were not impressive. my friend ordered a drinks which said it hade sage and apricot in it (among other things, of course). this was the garnish on top, so the drink tasted nothing but lemon juice. my drink sounded very exciting with fernet and lime, it didn't taste too much of anything. i will give it another chance, maybe, as i imagine it has received a 3.7 for a reason. it will not be right away, though, first impressions last.

one of my favorite places in london. love the interiour and, of course, the drinks! highly recommended! their menue is always changing, so chances are high that the drink i will recommend to you now won't be on there anymore in a few months time. but if you can, go there now and try their salt 'n vinegar martini!

...the salt and vinegar martini; a dirty/gibson mash up with belvedere vodka and sherry vinegar syrup, finished with a sea salt spray that is spritzed tableside. not as bracing as it sounded, this had a pleasingly sweet backnote and was dangerously quaffable. bonus points for both pickled onions and olives as a garnish.