5 Kingly Street,
Soho,
London,
W1B 5PE
(020) 7434 3417
The ViewLondon Review
Red indeed, a creamy screen siren scarlet clinging to the walls and splashed all over the soft sofas, just inviting you to recline and bat your geisha lashes at the large white lilies and the oriental screen print patterns.
The updating of the interior has something of a boudoir mood with the red and intense fuschia shades, but it is not at all fussy. The eastern touches keep a hint of cool spaciousness in the ground floor and basement bars.
Along with the French Vietnamese menu that has been introduced and a new cocktail menu, the relaunched Red is something to savour in relaxed comfort. The emphasis on beer has been pruned to allow an extended wine list and more cocktails.
There is a substantial regular customer base, which the genial management goes to great lengths to please. Free membership is offered, and all members are invited to weekly promotions where different spirits and drinks are showcased in innovative ways, and accompanied by (free) food designed by chef Anthony Cumberbatch to compliment the drinks.
The new cocktail menu is a joy: a thoroughly inventive approach has been deployed from the ingredients to the tongue in cheek way the menu is written. There are lots of original drinks like the Cadmus and the Hemisphere, named after bars the bar manager ran in Australia.
Rather than presenting a dry list, each heading contains a general description of the kind of drink, and then you discuss your exact requirements with the bar staff, who are all extremely knowledgeable and friendly.
In addition to the promotion evenings (Woodford, Bombay Sapphire, Finlandia cranberry vodka and Appleton’s are already planned) some drinks are only available from Monday to Wednesday, because they have to be stirred for six minutes! This approach to detail and variety on offer contributes greatly to the appeal of Red which keeps regulars coming back for more.
This is definitely a great destination to drink some tempting cocktails in a pampered atmosphere where you won’t get pestered or deafened, or treated like a cash cow in an EU wine lake.
Red has been reviewed by 17 users