There is no ‘i’ in partnershp.
A sentiment clearly shared by the two biggest power couples in the cocktailing world – Nightjar founders Edmund Weil and Rosie Stimpson, and Milk & Honey’s Mia Johansson and Bobby Hiddleston – as they put ego aside, and pool their formidable talents to create the ultimate Soho drinking den: Swift.
Squeezed into Old Compton Street opposite Bar Termini and La Bodega Negra, the two-storey bar is set up as follows:
UPSTAIRS
…features a standing bar, where you can nip in for a power shot of pure decadence. Expect champagne, oysters and cocktails, served up promptly so you can hurry on to dinner or the theatre. And you’ll be in good hands; Bobby Hiddleston not so long ago smashed a world record by knocking up no fewer than 9 (quite complicated) cocktails in under 90 seconds.
Yeah.
Of course, there’s a chance you’re so blown away by the drinks upstairs, that you cancel all other plans for the evening and before you know it, find yourself,
ON THE STAIRS,
– where you’ll be in the way, and very much missing the point. So don’t spend too much time here, and instead continue –
DOWNSTAIRS,
Addie Chinn
…which is fitted with the kind of simple 1930s elegance the team perfected at both Milk & Honey and Nightjar. Down here, there’s an altogether more laid-back vibe, with a library of whiskeys to choose from, yet more excellent cocktails with more time-intensive recipes, and a few small plates including steak tartare with crostini, and Guinness welsh rarebit. There’s even a live jazz duo on weekend evenings…
And considering how moreish the cocktails are, those piano strings probably won’t be the only things getting hammered.
NOTE: Swift is open daily. Upstairs is walk-in only, but you can book a table downstairs HERE.
Swift | 12 Old Compton St, W1D 4TQ
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