An eccentric wonderland of a bar, the Zetter Townhouse Cocktail Lounge is yet another venue confirming Clerkenwell’s status as one of the coolest, most interesting areas in the capital.

The Venue
The Zetter Hotel and its revered chef-in-residence Bruno Loubet have become very well established in this upwardly mobile part of town. Recently, along came The ZTH Townhouse, taking up residence in a picture-perfect Georgian building off Clerkenwell Road, yards away from its sibling hotel and next to Anna Hansen’s Modern Pantry. Boasting boutique rooms upstairs, the ground floor cocktail bar, which is open to non-residents too, is headed up by esteemed mixologists 69 Colebrooke Row and has interiors by Russell Sage. There’s a lot of expectation – and thankfully this place delivers in spades.

Walk inside its discreetly marked front door and you’re immediately immersed in a riot of oddities and collectables including paintings of random things like prize fish, porcelain ornaments of cats in vintage garb, antique furnishings and plush luxe armchairs and couches. There’s a quintessentially British element, something akin to what you’d expect to find in an eccentric, dotty old relative's country pile and there’s an outlandish, almost surreal feel created by additions like the bronze-dusted Roman columns which don’t seem to actually support anything and are just there for effect. Venture downstairs and you'll find another lavishly decorated room with a table tennis table and a rotary phone presumably in place for wiring orders directly to the bar upstairs.

The Atmosphere
The bar has so much going on aesthetically that it’s intoxicating. A great soundtrack has been compiled to enhance the trippyness of it all; this includes a collection of brassy big band tunes, rowdy old French singalongs and exotic rhythms. Think Edith Piath backed by a tabla player. Other customers are well-to-do, on the mature side and in-the-know. Service is faultless.

The Food
Breakfast, lunch and dinner is served and, considering the surroundings, it’s all set at incredibly reasonable price points. Supper, for example, offers delightfully decorative small china bowls of beef daube on mash potatoes (essentially beef stew and mashed spuds), and a zingy Vietnamese squid salad, a cold, glass-noodle based dish with shredded carrot, sprigs of coriander and lip-smacking flavours enhanced by smoky squid, lime and chilli. The cost of this goodness? £5.50-£6. Granted the portion size is small, to say the least, but in these days of excessive portions at pumped up prices, this is somewhat of a revelation in a place like this.

Sharing charcuterie selections and pickles are further complemented by a list of nibbles which includes an absolutely fantastic plate of grilled halloumi (£5) which arrives with a pungent mix of diced garlic, lemon and chilli spread on top - delicious.

Desserts cost as much as the other dishes - £5.50-£6 – but a plate of cheese, signalling an ongoing theme at the Zettter (its food and drink menus both display huge French influences), costs £11.50 for four varieties with grapes and toasted, brittle bread. This is more than enough for two to share.

The Drink
From the mini-martini coupes and small glass tumblers to the dimpled half-pint beer glasses, the presentation for the drinks is very much small and perfectly formed. One goblet that bucks the trend is the Le Fleurs Du Mal, a drink that translates as The Flower of Death. This frothy-topped cocktail has a strong thwack of aniseed flavour from the inclusion of absinthe and it is very much one of the highlights. Others include The Flintlock, a potent little brew served in a tumbler. One of several gin-based creations, it is stirred with dandelion and burdock bitters, sugar and Fernet Branca before being served with a little fuse, in the form of a scented bit of cotton wool on the side, to give the effect of a gunpowder keg. It’s all very inventive. Cocktails cost around £8.50 each.

The Last Word
With its surreal design and exquisite food and drink, this bar is a genuine one-off. Worth booking a room just to experience it, but for local residents or workers, this is definitely a place to return to for drinks, meetings or romantic soirees any day of the week.

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