Hamish Smith drops in on Soho's latest cocktail bar - Atelier Coupette
The long-promised Soho branch of Coupette has finally opened its doors, bringing the Bethnal Green bar’s elegant cocktails and signature blue aprons to the Moor Street Triangle.
A roll and a tumble from similarly minded bars in Swift and Bar Termini, Atelier Coupette feels a natural fit, pulling on Soho’s ever-thronging footfall.
At 6pm this somewhat minimally attired space is filling up – word about the drinks is clearly travelling. The menus here are designed to be moving feasts of experimental cocktails – Atelier referring to ‘workshop’ – and reading the one in front of me, the drinks feel very of the moment.
There are various ingredient-spun classics underpinned by adroit techniques and seed-to-peel thinking.
If your palate is sweet of centre (an increasing trend?), try the PBJ (with rum, Lillet Rosé, strawberry & banana peel liqueur and peanut milk) and the dessert-like Koji Flan (rum, barley amazake custard, salted coconut dulce de leche and cacao) – veritable flavour grenades.
The Strawberry Champagne, made with fl at fizz, also does that off-dry dance, but with added fruity quaffability. The menu may change, but the standard is set.
SCORE: 8/10
» Moor Street, London, W1D 5ND