In these cynical times of credit crunches and recessions, sometimes it’s nice to close your eyes and remember the charming tales from your childhood, be it The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Alice in Wonderland or The Secret Garden. Callooh Callay fills the void and brings some romance back to drinking in Shoreditch.

The Venue
Callooh Callay is tucked out of the way on Rivington Street – a dark, lonely little street at the top of Shoreditch High Street. You’ll have to keep an eye out as the Chanel-esque symbol of two neon-red Cs crisscrossing each other is all that belies its location.

Upon entering, you’re immediately thrust into the crazy, unique little world of Callooh Callay. A small space on first appearances, a bar runs the length of the right wall, nestled neatly into the space with glimmering bottles of interesting spirits glistening in the low lights behind. Mismatched chairs fill the area with a large purple sofa sitting in the window space. A smattering of heavy stone hexagonal tables are an interesting twist on the usual bar furnishings and a large chandelier-like arty lampshade hangs low on the black ceiling. The tripped out living room style continues with a mirrored wall creating an illusion of space and arty poppy wallpaper (which, it turns out, is actually 1970s wrapping paper that is regularly ripped down and replaced with the latest pattern – all equally cool, of course). At the back of the room is a bizarrely placed heavy wooden wardrobe, reminiscent of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. It’s only when you happen to spy people wandering in and out that you cotton onto the real selling point of the layout of this bar.

The wardrobe is actually a doorway through which you can access the rest of the venue. Incredibly inventive and enormously fun, stepping through here can’t fail to evoke childhood fantasies of stepping through your wardrobe into an undiscovered land. Through here you’ll find the toilets and, to the right is a tiny, hidden away garden space for smokers, complete with a couple of diminutive statuettes. To the left is a second bar space with more kooky design features. Another chandelier style light can be seen, hanging from a small crane. An old New York style telephone adourns the wall and sofas are created from cut in half bath units. It’s sensory overload – in a good way. Every time you come back you’re sure to notice something different. And it doesn’t stop there. Upstairs, you’ll find the final space, covered in flock wallpaper – the walls, the ceilings the floor. A one man bar caters for the drinkers and it’s the icing on a very exciting cake.

The Atmosphere
Callooh Callay inspires thanks to its decor, but the staff aren’t lazy when it comes to attending to customers. Upon entering, you’ll be greeted with a warm hello from the bar staff and table service comes with a smile and knowledge of the menu. The drink menus are covered in comic book style imagery on fabric casings, mirrored in the aprons of the staff, standing them apart from the trendies who frequent the area. In the know locals and the skinny jean brigade come here, but it stays just on the right side of pretentious. Even if people pretend to be ‘cool’ the demeanour soon slips when you see them excitedly checking out the mysterious wardrobe.

The background music adds the final essence of cool to the bar. Easy listening tunes are given a twist by covering such classics as White Lines and Frontin’ – a great selection of chilled out music to get the toe tapping whilst relaxing you into this crazy world.

The Drink
The drink menu at Callooh Callay focuses firmly on cocktails – and it’s an impressive selection. Prices range from £7-£8.50 and cover a huge range of original concoctions encompassing ingredients as unusual as avocado. They tout themselves as a ‘classic cocktail bar – twisted’. Even the traditional Vesper martini is given a twist in the form of 42 Below, Whitley Neill gin and a dash of Kina Lillet with lemon zest.

If you really want to indulge, however, then try the Lickity Split (almond and peach kernel, grappa, ginger liqueur, hibiscus syrup, egg yolk and rhubarb bitters shaken and stirred with nutmeg), which comes perfectly blended and beautifully presented and tastes almost like bubblegum. Slightly sickly and a little insipid, if you like sweet cocktails with an alcoholic twist then it’s definitely worth a try. Alternatively, the charmingly named Hibiscusauras (hibiscus syrup, lime, Casa Vjejo tequila, martini, garnished with Granny Smith apple slices) is stunningly presented – bright pink in a martini glass with intricately sliced pieces of apple. The cocktail itself is double strained and utilises fresh ingredients and fruit pieces but is a little heavy on the lime. Again delicately sweet but with a flavour of the alcohol giving a gentle kick, it’s a well rounded cocktail.

If you prefer your drinks straight up then they also offer eight bottles of Champagne, including a £45 bottle of Ayala Brut Majeur or a £175 bottle of Taittinger Blanc de Blanc. There are also a handful of bottles of wine encompassing six reds and six whites for £16-£35. Alternatively, you can indulge in their decent bottled beer selection, with a choice of Modelo Especial, Viru, Meantime Pilsner, Meantime Union or Westons Organic Cider for £3.25-£4.25.

The Last Word
Callooh Callay is an incredibly well put together space that offers more than first meets the eye, although as a cocktail bar it still has some way to go. If you’re fed up of the depressing headlines splashed across the papers every day then escape your worries for a few hours and enter this fairytale world of childhood fantasies.

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