Oriole at The Hoxton | Legendary Cocktail Bar Returns
Like a phoenix rising from the ashes of some extremely creative burnt cocktail garnish, Oriole is back.
For anyone out of the loop, allow us to take you on a brief rollercoaster ride through its life: Oriole opened in Smithfield back in 2017 and immediately came barreling into the World’s 50 Best Cocktail Bars list at no.17, as well as snatching up the coveted Best New Bar at New Orleans’s Tales of the Cocktail festival. Things seemed to be going well. Then fate came along and rammed a stick into the ol’ bicycle spokes when Smithfield Market started redevelopment, forcing the bar to close at the end of last year.
And now – as you might have guessed from the spoiler in the first line – it’s triumphantly returning, in the form of a three month pop up at The Hoxton Southwark. The idea is to recreate the same atmosphere of live jazz, interesting drinks, and fascinatingly exotic paraphernalia from around the globe, all road testing a couple of original boozy concoctions in anticipation of their new permanent home.
They’ve settled into Albie, the mezzanine level bar & restaurant at the Hoxton. And as canvases go, it’s already quite pretty, but the team at Oriole have taken the liberty of lining the walls with their signature collection of peculiar artefacts, all colluding to evoke the glamour of the bygone era of exploration. And quite importantly they’ve also added space for a live band too, which will be put to use every single night with a mix of blues, swing, and jazz outfits.
The drinks still continue Oriole’s proud tradition of both being completely delicious and taking you on a menu-based tour of the planet, starting out with numbers like the Cape Verde (gin, buchu leaf port, Fino sherry, amaro santoni, and pink grapefruit) and moving across the map to the Svart Strand (Icelandic moss wine, vodka, orange blossom mead, and clarified heritage tomato) and heading to the Chachani, which blends together tequila, pisco, passionfruit kombucha, and hibiscus agua fresca.
They’re making use of Albie’s kitchen too, with a short menu of small plates that span glazed pork belly buns with tamarind & kimchi; shrimp tostadas with avocado & smoked chipotle; and scorched Padron peppers with miso & sesame seeds.
Looks like they know how to jazz up more than just the soundtrack.
PLEASE NOTE: This pop-up has ended.
The Hoxton Southwark | 40 Blackfriars Rd, SE1 8NY
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