I
headed to the newly refurbished Oxo
Tower Bar with a friend, looking forward to
a chilled out evening with a few cocktails
and good food. The Oxo Tower is situated
along the Southbank, presiding over the
River Thames with spectacular views of
London and St Paul’s. Luckily it was a beautiful warm
evening (for once) so we made the most of it and sat
outside, enjoying the wondrous view.
Paul, the lovely and informative Assistant Manager
handed me the impressive cocktail menu - I didn’t know
where to star t as there were so many different cocktails
catching my eye! After pondering at the menu for a good
ten minutes and nattering away, I thought it would be best
to get a recommendation. Firstly I went for the ‘Pleasure
Boat’, a tropical concoction of pineapple, passion fruit and
almond syrup that takes two days to make (yes really) as
it’s made to perfection in-house. It was mouth-wateringly
delicious and almost invigorating! My friend opted for the
‘Creole Rum Shrub’, a rum based raisin infused cocktail
with fresh lime and orange that was also refreshing and
tasty.
Paul kindly bought us a selection of delicious food
from the bar menu which I was very excited about being
the food monster that I am!! We devoured a selection of
fried pancetta wrapped chicken wings, smoked paprika
spiced chips, salt and cumin fried squid that was so ten-
der with a chimichurri dipping sauce, padron peppers and
my favourite, the truffled honey chorizo that was so juicy
and succulent, it’s making my mouth water just thinking
about it! They were all so flavoursome and not too pricey
either.
Being a big gin fan, I decided to go for a gin based
cocktail with a strange name: ‘A Most Unusual Cucumber
Sour’; it consisted of Hendricks gin, fresh cucumber
muddled with celery bitters, lemon, egg white, gum syrup
& light anise. Unusual as it was, it’s such a refreshing drink
and the flavours worked together so well with a big tangy
kick to it! The other being ‘Press Gang’, with the
ingredients of rum, ginger liqueur, lime, fresh raspberry
lashed with Luscombe organic ginger beer & bitters; what
a perfect ‘Summer’ drink!
The final cocktails we enjoyed weren’t on the menu,
however Paul suggested making them especially for us
and I can say they were both delightful! I decided to go
for the ‘Gin Sour’ which consisted of lemon juice, cherry
reduction and a slice of orange and a cherry to finish it
off! I think this was probably my favourite, so if you love
gin as much as I do, you must ask for a ‘Gin Sour’.The last
being a ‘Rum Daiquiri’, an old fashioned lime based
concoction that was made so well you can cer tainly tell
that these cocktails are made to such high standards. I
could have easily stayed all night to try every cocktail on
the menu, but seeing as it was a school night, I thought I
would be sensible! There is an exciting variation of
delicious drinks on the menu, not forgetting the wine,
beer and spirits too. Have a peek at their website for a
look at the full food and drink menu.
NATASHAYEXLEY PAYS AVISITTOTHE RECENTLY LAUNCHED OXO
TOWER BAR AND CHILLS OUT WITH A FEW RECOMMENDED
COCKTAILS AND SOME GREAT FOOD.
ROOMWITH A VIEWAT THE
Oxo
TOWER
BITE
REVIEW