From the moment you enter the Waeska cocktail bar at The Mandrake, one of London’s newest boutique hotels, the decor promises something out of the ordinary.
A surrealistic half-gazelle, half-peacock figure hangs behind the marble-topped bar, surrounded by tribal-style art and wooden masks.
Opposite the bar, a glass wall offers a more sedate view onto the hotel’s courtyard, artfully strewn with bowers of jasmine.
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Overseeing proceedings is Walter Pintus, former head bartender at The Ritz and The Connaught and one of the capital’s undisputed masters of mixology.
His ambitious cocktail menu takes its inspiration from the hotel’s namesake, the mandrake root, traditionally said to have mystical properties.
As such, the ten-strong cocktail list functions as a kind of reimagining of folk medicine and magic, combining foraged plants, rare botanicals and homemade syrups and tinctures.
The Geisha gives some idea of the level of detail behind each recipe - Cocchi Rosa vermouth is cooked sous-vide with pickled cherry blossom, before being combined with champagne, Peychaud bitters and Umeshu plum - yet the result tastes deceptively simple and elegant.
We began with a Satyr - a pert, zingy concoction combining gin, sherry, saffron syrup, citrus and a hint of absinthe - soaking up the spirits with delicious cubes of tapioca and parmesan.
Every member of staff we encountered was charming, knowledgeable, and - best of all - genuinely enthusiastic about the menu. On the advice of our waitress, we sampled the Hedonist, a mellow tropical treat made with coconut-washed rum, orange curacao and a home-made coffee and passion-fruit sherbet.
A more daring offering is the White Witch, a twist on the classic Italian Negroni which is made with truffle-washed vodka and served over a huge sphere of ice.
Pintus explains that the spirit is mixed with truffle oil and then frozen, meaning that the layer of separated oil can be easily removed. The result is vodka with the strong earthy tang of truffle, but not a hint of oily aftertaste.
The pungent smack of truffle is not for the faint-hearted, but, like each of the ten cocktails on the menu, it offers a truly novel experience in London’s crowded cocktail scene.
Waeska cocktail bar at The Mandrake hotel, London W1T 1PG themandrake.com