If, for arguments sake, you desperately needed to convince someone that you were somewhere in France right now, and the only form of proof they’d accept was in selfies…
…Tabac Bar is where you’d go.
You’ll find it in just north of Kentish Town station, a hop and a skip from both Knowhere Special & The Parakeet. You’ll recognise it pretty easily, because it’s the place that looks exaclty like an old fashioned French tobacconists shop from the outside, mainly because it used to be an old fashioned French tobacconists shop.
Wander inside, and you’ll be immediately wrapped up in a warm, nostalgic feeling brought out by the soft glow of vintage lighting, the old wooden bar, and beautiful antique mirrors dressed in ancient French advertising. They’ve really nailed the atmosphere by leaving the right bits alone, and tweaking the rest.
Pull up a barstool, and you can get yourself a glass of house wine – filled right up to the brim – for just a fiver. The cocktails are a real treat too, with all manner of classics joined by house originals like the Smokers Delight, with its peaty Laphroaig whisky & chocolate liqueur, or the 증거 없음 (apparently it means ‘no evidence’) which blends rum with peach soju, lemon, and hibiscus. There’s food to go with all this too, although it’s very much bar snack territory: charcuterie, olives, cheese, cornichons, and the like.
Oh, and as a finishing touch? You can get French cigarettes, too.
So, in that sense, it still is an old fashioned French tobacconists shop.
NOTE: Tabac Bar is open now, Tuesday to Sunday. You can find out more at their website right here.
Tabac Bar | 16 Fortess Rd, NW5 2EU
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