For Window Wednesday this week I am featuring this little gem: Mr Fogg’s Gin Parlour.
Mr Fogg’s is an old fashioned gin parlour that feels like an 18th century front room, right in the heart of London, tucked away between Leicester Square and Covent Garden tube stations, with a bar serving gin and afternoon tea.
I had been meaning to meet up with a friend when I was next in London and with a free afternoon I emailed her two days before and said “gin and cake on Thursday at 4pm?”. Well nobody needs to be asked that question twice, do they? Downstairs is a bar, but its small and intimate and the gin is a fiver a shot, which I think is a bit of a bargain for London. Upstairs though (through a separate entrance around the corner) and you are transported into another world.
A bar that looks like one of those chests of drawers they had on Are You Being Served, you know the one I mean? Each one with a different variety of undergarment tucked inside. I suspect Mr Fogg’s drawers though are filled with gin.
With a ornate lamps, chintzy wall paper, chaise longue, a fireplace displaying gin bottles and a window looking out on to the world beyond, it really is the perfect backdrop for our “cream cakes and cocktails” afternoon stop . The only downside to choosing that menu when I booked was that it meant we then couldn’t go for the “G and Tea” menu and indulge in one (or more) of the 300 gins they have on offer. If I had started on that I probably wouldn’t have left!
As you arrive at the door downstairs security announce your arrival to “Mr Fogg” upstairs and you are presented with a telegram that confirms your reservation. Service was swift and the cakes were lovely, they even catered for my “I don’t suppose you can do a gluten free selection, can you?” request (though they do request 48 hours notice for this which I just about made having only booked two days before but were more than happy to accommodate).
If you are looking for a little something different for a drink and a cake, this one is great fun and really wont break the bank at twenty quid.
Mr Fogg’s is open from 4pm until around midnight every day, except Friday when it opens at 1pm. For more info check out Mr Fogg’s Gin Parlour
Cocktails and cake is £20 a head
G and Tea is £40 a head