Award-winning cocktail bar and music venue Oriole will make its return this March, with a three-month pop-up to launch in Covent Garden ahead of a full reopening.
The ex-World's 50 Best Bars member closed on January 1st 2023 after its owners, Rosie Stimpson and Edmund Weil of Speakeasy Entertainment were bought out of their Smithfield Market site lease by landlord Corporation of London.
The three-month pop-up - Prelude by Oriole – launches on March 13th and will pave the way for the second iteration of the famed speakeasy, which will reopen in a permanent location in The Yards, Covent Garden later this summer.
Prelude by Oriole is in partnership with Edrington UK, whose brands include The Macallan, Highland Park, Brugal, and The Glenrothes.
Argentinian head chef Gustavo Giallionardo has created the food menu which explores “the ways that Latin American ingredients and cooking styles intersect with those from the rest of the globe”.
While bar manager Samet Ali has developed a creative list of cocktails to pair with the food menu to create a “rounded culinary experience”.
These will include the Mizuwari (pictured left), combining 12-year-old Highland Park whisky washed with chocolate miso, asparagus distillate, amontillado sherry, green walnut vermouth and cold brewed Hojoicha tea, which will partner with a dish of huitlacoche, mushrooms, egg yolk.
Another pairing combination is the dessert of apple tart, miso, dulce de leche ice cream, which will be paired with the Aomori (pictured right), featuring Brugal 1888 rum, oak-aged quince rakia, meadow vermouth, Fuji apple juice and cherry blossom vinegar.
Many of the drinks and dishes will appear on the menu at Oriole’s new permanent home in Covent Garden later this year, with the pop-up serving as a research and development space for both food and drink.
Selected favourites from Oriole 1.0 will also appear on the menu, such as the Acadia, a take on a Whisky Sour, inspired by the peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Located on Slingsby Place within The Yards, Covent Garden, the 34-cover restaurant and bar will be designed to “evoke the natural world through a rich colour palette of warm browns and deep greens”.
The décor will see “plush banquette seating and brass touches will combine with low lighting to finish the sleek and sultry space”.
As with the original Oriole, there will be live jazz music.
Edmund Weil, director of Speakeasy Entertainment, said: “After leaving Smithfield in 2023, we always planned to revive Oriole with our top employees as operating partners. Finding a new home has proved a long journey, but we are delighted to have settled in within The Yards at the heart of Covent Garden and one of the most happening locations in London.”
On behalf of The Yards, Jamie Thipthorpe, director at CBRE, said: “Oriole is an exciting step forward in our long-term strategy to cement The Yards as a unique mixed-use day-to-night destination in the heart of Covent Garden.
“This pop-up will be a great addition to The Yards ahead of its permanent site later this year and is a testament to the area and the opportunities it provides for new concepts to thrive. We will continue to work closely with the council, residents, and key stakeholders alike to deliver Oriole’s vision, which we look forward to welcoming to our community.”