Any bar that has ‘and’ in the middle of its name is always going to have connotations of a big traditional boozer, or one of its modern, trendier incarnations. Rose and Crown, Slug and Lettuce… you get my drift.

So, it was a surprise to find the Shrub and Shutter is none of those things. In fact it was a surprise to find it at all, because it’s all too easy to walk or drive past a couple of times before you realize you’ve arrived at this gem of a bar in the heart of buzzing, bustling Brixton.

Now, I am fast coming to the conclusion that there are two kinds of ‘best’ bars – the glitzy grand hotel bar and the small, personal variety, run with love, attention and humour by owners and fellow bar lovers.

And that’s the Shrub and Shutter for you… small, but perfectly formed with delicious food and drink served by well-informed, friendly staff under the expert ownership of Dave Tregenza and Chris Edwards. All of whom are only too happy to talk you through the varied and creative cocktail menu featuring funny, fresh and frankly quite bizarre ingredients including gunpowder.

At the time we visited a new series of Game of Thrones was about to kick off and the Shrub and Shutter had created some specially themed cocktails to celebrate the occasion. So, more a case of GoT than G&T. Fortunately for me that meant a proper pewter tankard foaming at the top with majestically medieval ingredients.

We also tried a literally smoking, Milk of the Poppy with a Dragon’s Egg. All of this was complemented with plates of delicious bar food prepared in the impossibly tiny, but obviously very competent kitchen.

The bar quickly filled up as the evening wore on, so we were thankful we had arrived early and were warming up to stay late until we realized bedtimes beckoned. We will certainly return to Coldharbour Lane, because despite the address, the warmest of welcomes will be waiting.

336 Coldharbour Lane
Brixton
London
SW9 8QH

www.theshrubandshutter.com

The post Shrub and Shutter appeared first on Best Bars London.

You can see Christmas is greeting into full swing in the bars, restaurants and pubs of London. Eye wateringly expensive Christmas menus are appearing. Seasonal cocktails of varying degrees of expertise and allure are appearing. Mulled wine has been spotted. Tinsel and trees are taking over.

More to the point the occasional imbiber is making an appearance. We like this. It’s good to see people enjoying a drink or two. The festive vibe is, well, vibrant. Bars like it too… after all the takings go up and if you can sell some turkey, sausages and bacon for 25 quid a plate, who’s going to complain?

But, an evening of festive drinks – whether it’s the office party or a cheeky sneaky that turns into a full blown bash – can end badly. We’re talking the unwelcome reappearance of recently drunk drinks. Fisticuffs. Telling your boss what you really think. Dangerous liaisons.

You know the score… and while these things become the stuff of legend, you really don’t want to be the butt of the joke. Really, you don’t. Especially in the age of social media.

Trust us, we know. We’re only just living down an incident that occurred way back in the last century involving some reindeer horns, christmas baubles, a litre of absinthe and a gospel choir. Although, to be honest, it might never have happened. After all, we simply can’t remember.

So here are our cardinal rules for Christmas drinking.

It’s obvious, but boy is it true. Drinking on an empty stomach is just a recipe for disaster. All that ‘eating is cheating’ stuff is nonsense. After all, ‘retching is not fetching’.

Rule one – Water. No, not all night. But regularly, in between the shots and the champagne. It helps keep you hydrated. It slows things down. It’s actually quite refreshing.

Rule two – It’s not a race. Unless it’s a drinking game. In which case it probably is. But the point is you don’t have to down everything in site in the first few minutes – even if it is free. I know it’s tempting. I know it gets you into the swing of things. But really, you can’t undo the damage those early drinks do to your stamina.

Rule three – Book a cab before you go out. It means you leave before things get ugly. It means you get at least a few hours sleep to recover. It means you don’t end up walking home, bumping into lampposts or watering unsuspecting plants. Worse still you could end up sleeping on a mate’s floor and going to work next day in the same clothes. That just means unpleasant rumours – and odours.

Rule four – Talking of which, always, always make it to work next day. Calling in sick is cowardly, wimpy and inconsiderate. Plus you won’t have the opportunity to deny scurrilous gossip.

And there we have it. A few simple rules that mean you’ll still have a night to remember. That you actually remember.

The post How to survive Christmas drinks appeared first on Best Bars London.