After last week’s unexpected trip to a pop-up speakeasy while we vicariously avoided sitting through the Tony awards and hit the bar, it may be time to lay low and avoid NYC, at least for a little while. Thankfully, we’re back on home soil and after that rough and ready — certainly not mob-controlled — speakeasy, I think it’s time for something a touch more highbrow.
And wouldn’t you believe it, we have found ourselves in a nice part of town, London’s Mayfair to be specific. Making a left out of Green Park station, we stomp down Piccadilly, heading past The Ritz and The Wolseley (Big windows) on the right, before turning left onto Albemarle St. Hit the Burlington Arcade and you’ve gone too far.  We pass Gymkhana (best curry in London) and arrive at our destination for the evening, Brown’s Hotel, and its seminal cocktail establishment the Donovan Bar. A nice gentleman in a top hat and tails opens the door and points us in the right direction.
As one of Mayfair’s celebrated drinking dens, a visit to the Donovan Bar is always going to be an enjoyable experience. This evening will be no exception as under the guidance of director of mixology, Federico Pavan, an all-new cocktail menu has just been introduced. This new set of serves, called ‘Our Way,’ does what all the best cocktail lists do: it takes the classics and gives them a little twist.
Everyone has their go-to on a cocktail list, and while I enjoy trying new cocktails, not every drink needs to be a great leap into the unknown. ‘Our Way’ is guided by tradition, but still features plenty of innovation, think espresso martinis with a rum and amaretto base, or a Negroni from the tropics with tequila and coconut.
I’ll go for the Bellini Colada, Donovan’s take on the Venetian classic featuring peach, vodka, Prosecco and frozen cucumber.
While the cocktails are being made, this new drinks list isn’t the only thing happening at The Donovan Bar this summer. A new residency is about to kick off in the kitchens.
Farther and Son duo, Mitch and Ben Tonks are doing a three-month residency at the Donovan Bar from June 16 to September 14. Visiting from their beloved Dartmouth restaurant The Seahorse, Mitch and Ben are heralded for championing seasonality and short supply chains.So, in addition to the new cocktails, the food is set to be up to scratch as well.
Combining food and drink, particularly seafood and cocktails, can sometimes be a challenge. Thankfully, Mitch and Ben, alongside Federico Pavan and the Donovan Bar’s maestro, Salvatore Calabrese, have got their heads together and done the hard yards for us and paired dishes with cocktails.
It looks like the Bellini Coladas are arriving, so let’s grab the food pairing as well, line-caught sea bass crudo, sliced thinly and dressed with pink pepper, ginger, calamanzi and olive oil.
There’s also baked scallop with White Port & Garlic, scampi con soar and a spider crab dish as well. We should probably order the cocktails that pair with those: the Marimo Martini, Dolce Negroni and the Highball 24 purely for research purposes. It would be silly not to.
