In search of the perfect bloody mary - Lab

12 Old Compton Street, W1D 4TQ
www.lab-townhouse.com.
020 7437 7820

Thank Heaven for Lab. It is a cocktail connoisseur's safe haven. Their cocktail list is a book, and all of them are made with care and attention to detail. L.A.B stands for London Academy of Barmen and so a certain amount of professionalism and originality is an unspoken  standard. The bar itself is on two floors decorated in a sort of 70's retro style. There isn't any food on their menu but a visit to their website informs me that they do actually serve thai snacks and platters from the restaurant next door. On the down side it might be a bit too loud for the truly hungover and it doesn't open til 4pm. The service is fairly slow but that is because everyone is making cocktails, they do operate a table service but this will be added on to your bill and it's probably quicker to go to the bar.
Their Bloody Mary is £6.80, and when i order it i am asked how i would like it, the bar tender tastes it as he is making it (Hurray!!) and when i am served the drink, he asks me to taste it and see if it is ok. Everyone else take note - that is how you serve someone a bloody mary.
The drink itself is very good. The glass (which we felt should have been a bit bigger and sturdier by the way) had coursely ground salt, pepper and chilli flakes around the rim, however despite the barman shaking the drink (with ice one assumes) there was definitely an overload of ice in the (small) glass. There didn't seem to be any horseradish but the flavours were done so well that it didn't seem to matter, and at last i had found a place that didnt automatically stick a wedge of lemon in your bloody mary. It did have a splash of sours (fresh lemon and lime juice) but this was balanced out with  the general well rounded taste of the drink. It tasted smooth, not acidic, and very drinkable. 8.5/10