Twenty Two Below Bar

Despite having worked in the Soho area of London for a good year, this bar completely alluded me until a close friend showed me its delights. Literally a doorway beside a chain restaurant, the 22 below bar is located opposite Carnaby Street and once through the door reveals itself to be a basement bar down a steep staircase (watch out ladies in heels). At the bottom, the venue opens out as a quaint room filled with a few tables and chairs and a bar along the back wall. The venue serves up a delight of oddly named cocktails and there is also table service available. During the week the venue does not seem to overfill which certainly improved its rating. The unique selling point of this bar was its relationship with the european wide allusive and potent spirit - Absinthe. Order from the absinthe menu and receive a treat of a strange fountain like contraption bought to your table where drips from it dissolve a sugar cube gently into the wild green beverage before one is expected to consume it.

The bar staff are very friendly and I watch as the bar manager informs a couple partaking of the absinthe ritual about a lesser known absinthe evening which happens with some frequency but remains something of a secret (head to the bar to find out more). Great for an after work cocktail, not so awesome for a crowd -overall 7/10