It was Claudius who first created a crossing at London Bridge. In AD43 he marched his Roman army across a makeshift pontoon to the north bank of the Thames and a settlement that would be known as Londinium.
1,200 years on and London Bridge’s medieval incarnation housed a whole street of multi-story houses and shops – decorated, as was the style at the time, with severed heads.
The bridge’s 17th-century chaos of weaving carts and carriages inspired the custom of driving on the left-hand side and by 1831 the bridge was replaced altogether by a granite structure which by 1968 was sinking under its own weight. What else to do but sell it to the Americans?
What history, what a sense of place. And even as we glance down on London Bridge, it’s a hive of buses, commuters and trains – a gif of 21st-century London. The view is brought to us by new cocktail bar Nancy’s at Colechurch House, named – historians among you will know – after the creator of London Bridge in 1209.
Colechurch House reveals another side of London, where mid-century Brutalist design rises from the greyfield gaps of an otherwise historic city. From platform to door, the early ’70s edifice feels a concrete continuation of London Bridge Station. It’s all blocky functionality, its waffle-like indentations allowing for wonderfully wide windows that bring a lesser-seen cityscape to the length and width of Nancy’s large corner space.
That utilitarian feel is juxtaposed inside by ’70s glam interiors, where neon lights the bar, and brash tiger print sofas prowl the floor. You can see the thinking behind the industrial, kitsch-lux decor, but when you tighten the focus, it also feels a little incomplete. Like they’ve dressed a set rather than furnished a bar.
Though at our poser table, with the gleaming bar to one side and those metal-framed, train carriage-like windows to the other, Nancy’s is undeniably a distinctive spot. Nowhere feels quite like this.
Market inspiration
The menu takes its cues from the locale. There’s been a tradition of food markets in the area from before the Norman conquest. The youthful Borough Market (1756) is its modern incarnation and is where Nancy’s drinks start life – ingredients and inspiration are drawn from the market and the area’s surrounding makers. Mercifully, a bar theme grounded in place.
The bar’s leaders too have London pedigree. GM Max Wolff is an alum of Swift, as is Martha May Markham, head bartender and responsible for the drinks that now lie tableside. First up is a Martini (£16) with Belvedere and oloroso in lieu of vermouth and Borough olives – glacially cold, sharp and lean. It doesn’t hit, it pierces.
Ever the contrarian, my review partner Brenda, opts for the Miloco (Absolute vodka, coconut caramel, mango, passion fruit, coconut, British sake/£16) for no other reason than it sounds like a drink she wouldn’t order: the Pornstar Martini. It’s a triumph of drinks making – and corkscrew thinking.
Soon upon us is the Superpak (£16), an embellished Old Fashioned with Michter’s rye, ginger nut and speciality raw buckwheat honey. Borrowing a little from the Penicillin’s palette, it is rich, luscious and would send a cold packing. Its dance partner is a curvy number, the Roundhouse (Hennessy VS, Vietnamese coffee, demerara, salted orange cream/£15), which draws on the influence of Vietnamese food in London and makes you wonder why sweet drinks were so long out of fashion.
We’re not finished: the Marcona (Barsol, osmanthus tea, apricot eau-de-vie, almond, lime/£14/ pictured right) is a blue Pisco Sour with suspended lime flakes, which celebrates a tea merchant, and is sweet, tart and wonderfully viscous.
Queen’s Walk (Jameson Black Barrel, blueberry, double malt, cinnamon, custard soft serve/£16/ pictured left) is a homage to the first crumble bakery and could probably be served as an accompaniment. A spiked malt drink housed in a baby pink cup mounted by a swirling creamy peak, it’s no slur to say it looks better than it tastes – it’s an absolute beauty.
The service at Nancy’s is pleasant and well-meaning but consistently sloppy, with floor staff seemingly always occupied even when they outnumber the guests.
But there’s an awful lot to like here. Makers new and old, Nancy’s of London Bridge does them proud.
★★★★☆
Colechurch House, London SE1 2SX