Cuban style bars.
They serve rum…
…equally distributing its deliciousness among the tastebuds.
And Marylebone cocktail joint Burlock is no exception. In fact it serves over 200 varieties of the stuff, giving it one of the largest collections in the country.
It comes to us courtesy of the people behind The Breakfast Group (their greatest hits include Opium and 68 & Boston), and it’s styled with a nod to the Golden Age of Havana with tropical, colonial décor including an indoor grand house veranda, and a tasting room decked out like a Havana barber shop. Because the long-lived divorce between rum and barber shops needed to be remedied.
Now, the drinks:
RUM
Obviously there’s a lot going on here. You’ll find the cherry & pineapple Mary’s Pickled. The Agricole based A-give-u-a-cole makes up for the awkward name with zingy ginger and lemon flavours. And the Rum-Ember The Maine even has IPA syrup, Cornish Pastis (not a typo – it’s a French-style anise spirit), and hot, still-glowing “embers”.
NOT RUM
If you’re the kind of person that would go to a rum bar just to avoid the stuff, well, they have you covered too. You can grab a Vodka Fruit Thing (made with “interesting fruit”), an It’s Nacho Ternes with tequila and “dice cubes”, and even a Baton Rouge Ballon Race with cognac and orange bitters helium in an actual balloon.
There are bar snacks too, naturally, with everything from Brazilian cheese buns and curried lamb empanadas, to seabass ceviche and molasses-glazed pork ribs…
…but if you really feel like pushing the boat out? You can take the “grasshopper challenge”, and down an edible grasshopper with a shot of rum. If you make it, you can ring the bar’s bell, and receive the undying admiration of the staff & fellow patrons.
So… hop to it.
NOTE: Burlock is open Monday – Saturday from 5pm. It closes at 12.00am Monday – Wednesday, 2am Thursday, and 3am Friday – Saturday. You can visit their website right HERE.
Burlock | 31 Duke Street, W1U 1LG
Like Theatre? Check out our guide to The Best London Theatre Shows right now.