Rudys Revenge is a middle-of-the-road cocktail bar that isn’t for connoisseur cocktail drinkers, being more of a decent post-work drinks venue. It especially shines in the summer months when a nice outdoor section and large windows flooding the bar with light take centre stage.

The Venue
The location of Rudys Revenge on High Holborn is a tricky one. It helps with pulling in a large contingent of office workers in the evenings – especially in the summer when the sun is shining and people can make the most of a decent outdoor area and languish by the large windows letting in plenty of light. However, it’s never bursting at the seams thanks to the hugely popular Freud being found almost next door.

Inside, it’s all very simple – nothing you haven’t seen before in a hundred other bars but then it won’t offend and provides a nice hideaway for when you want to kick back after a busy day in the office. Expect a neutral colour scheme, high black leather stools with a few black leather booths thrown in for good measure. The large central bar takes up most of the space and is attractive enough. The place is brightened up with paintings of jazz artists and the small space is well utilised. There’s a downstairs also, with more of the same decor and leather seating, but without the bonus of the window.

The Atmosphere
The atmosphere at Rudys Revenge is probably best experienced on a nice day after work, when the local office workers arrive to melt away a long day in a sea of drinks. Although it doesn’t tend to get too busy, an attractive selection of young professionals descends in the evenings to either make the most of the nice outdoor area or to kick-start a night in Central London with a quick cocktail before heading on. Unfortunately, at weekends it suffers from its lack of party going people traffic and the main bulk of the clientele - even on a Saturday night - tends to be casual passers by who happen across the bar and don’t know where else to go, with a swing towards tourists.

The staff are friendly although the service can be a little hit and miss. They do, however, tend to have a sufficient number of staff to cope with demand and you won’t be left waiting for too long.

The Drink
There’s an impressively long cocktail menu at Rudys Revenge, reasonably priced at £6-£7.50, with a Champagne cocktail rising into the overpriced £10.50 range. Covering all the classics, there’s nothing groundbreaking, but you’ll be sure to find a favourite, be it a mojito, Bloody Mary, caipirinha, cosmopolitan or a martini. The quality is fine if you’re heading out for an after work drink, although cocktail connoisseurs may be a little disappointed. White sugar in the mojitos and caipirinhas, for example, aren’t what you’d necessarily expect from a cocktail bar. The Dark and Stormy (dark rum and ginger beer over ice) won’t be the best you’ll have ever tasted but will do the job and isn’t unpleasant. The Polish Martini (Zubrowka vodka, krupnik honey vodka and apple juice) appears in a small martini glass and tastes a little watery with the big faux pas of ice shards being present when they should be strained, but again isn’t bad if you’re popping in at the start of the night. The Nutty Russian (wyborowa vodka, fringelike, dark cocoa and cream), however, tastes more like a glass of milk than a decent creamy cocktail; watery and a little bland. Overall, if you choose well then you won’t be too disappointed by what appears on the bar.

There’s a small wine list if you don’t want a cocktail, with five reds and five whites on offer. Ranging from £13-£36 a bottle, they’re not described on the menu so you have to either go with your own judgement or ask a member of staff for advice.

The Last Word
With a funky name and decent premise, Rudys Revenge has potential, which it’s starting to realise with a great after-work crowd - especially on a Friday evening - and a decent outdoor area, great for chilling out in the summer months. With more attention paid to customer service and an improvement in the quality of the cocktails, it could be a real contender on the London cocktail bars scene.

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