If like many, one of your 2015 resolutions was to get healthier, but you don’t want to give up all your vices including a yummy cocktail, then look no further than the newly opened Simmons Fitzrovia
Set in the fashionable Fitzrovia location, this swanky bar promises to bring you endless fun with a luxury twist in a retro-meets-modern setting, with cocktails that won’t expand your waistline or put too much of a dent in your pocket. I went along to experience this new bar to see what it had to offer.
This small but intimate hangout attracts discerning professionals looking for a chat and drink after work. The moody lighting gives the place an air of mystery while the nostalgic art deco with a modern twist places you in an era of days gone by. But the modern shiny fittings and up to date drinks menu is a reminder you are indeed in the 21st century.
Staff are friendly and only more than happy to help you decide on a fitting cocktail to suit your needs. Not on the menu? Bar staff will fix a drink to your liking on demand. And that’s exactly what head bartender Richard did when I asked him for a cocktail minus the sugary syrup I’m normally confronted with.
Kick-starting the evening with a glass of chilled Proseco, I took my place at the bar as Richard persuaded me to allow him to make a healthy cocktail – Mirrorball. This mixture of gin, lemon juice, organic agave syrup – a natural sweetener – topped with soda water was not only full of fresh ingredients but super tasty as well. I felt quite virtuous drinking it.
Next came a cocktail Richard made on the spot with some of my favourite ingredients – crushed raspberries, vanilla vodka, diet cranberry juice and some of that healthy agave syrup. The ingredients were thrown artfully together into a cocktail shaker half-full of ice and shaken before being poured into a Martini glass. The result? A mouthful of absolute bliss.
Richard said he likes to give customers exactly what they want and spends a lot of time experimenting with different flavours so he knows exactly what will work. More often than not, cocktail experts don’t like deviating from the conventional recipes but Richard was happy to make a cocktail as unique to me as possible. It’s what the bar prizes itself on – to meet the customer’s needs. To top it, Richard earned some brownie points – he cleverly made me a rose from a napkin and even took me through a mini master class to show how it’s done. I know what my party trick will be in the future!
With a relaxed atmosphere and lots of drinks to choose from, it’s just as well that happy hour lasts for no less than five hours and you can take advantage of bottles of Proseco or posh cocktail teapots for just £15. Unfortunately the bar doesn’t currently serve food but it’s something they will be looking into in the future. However, if you want to keep tabs on calories consumed with the amount of calories burned, perhaps you want to don your dancing shoes to burn off some extra calories on the dance floor.
For more information, visit www.simmonsbar.co.uk/fitzrovia
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