Mr. Fogg’s Themed Bars

Mr. Fogg’s is a chain of Victorian-era themed bars and tavern pubs mostly in central London. Each location has a variant on the theme with unique cocktails. We visited the Society of Exploration and also the Apothecary.

Both were a good time, with attentive service and some quality cocktails with a great presentation. The Mechanical Mixologist at the Society location makes a Negroni and is kind of neat if that cocktail is your thing. We stuck to rum drinks and felt they were really good.

There are some small bites available in the bar locations, and we had the cheddar cheese plate that also comes with breadsticks, and found the cheese to be really rich with flavor. A full menu is available at the tavern locations.

The Apothecary location had some interesting cocktail names (Soaked in Ether / Emerald Euphoria) and isn’t quite as well themed but they do offer cocktails made with vintage spirits. I took an interest in the 1970s Bacardi that’s used in the Hemingway Daiquiri and asked if the rum was available on its own. The manger came over and offered a little pour on the house just because I think they rarely have anyone express an interest in the spirits themselves. This Bacardi was delightful,  very crisp but also with deeper fruity flavors than you see in today’s expression.

Mr. Fogg’s was a lot of fun in both locations. Some good people watching and great relaxing mood music.

Ma Petite Jamaica Rum Bar in Camden

We traveled up to Camden in mid-afternoon to visit the famed Camden Market, and somehow Mrs. Mai Tai spotted the Rum Bar sign down a side street, so we had a snack and some drinks inside the restaurant Ma Petite Jamaica. Indeed there are a good number of rums here, including some of Appleton’s Kingston 62 which I hadn’t tried yet and enjoyed on the rocks. We had some delicious Pumpkin Sweet Potato fritters, too.

I love a good on-the-wall cocktail menu and Ma Petite has a nice one next to the bar. The Mai Tai used Appleton rum and I believe a float of Goslings and was pretty good and so very easy to drink. Mrs. Mai Tai’s Rum Punch was a fruity flavor bomb thanks to the use of Wray & Nephew Overproof along with the fruit juices and grenadine.

Ma Petite is well worth checking out the next time you’re in Camden.

Return to Trailer Happiness

We returned to Notting Hill’s Trailer Happiness after a great visit last year. Our midweek early evening visit meant the venue was in mellow mode, but we had a great time at the bar with our cocktails.

The Mai Tai is pretty good here. They’ve updated the rum blend since our last visit, now using Chairman’s Reserve Legacy and Appleton 12. This didn’t strike me as being as flavorful as I would have expected for some reason and I really hate snow cone ice mounts, as I think a little more dilution would have helped.

Flaming Zombie

The Zombie is served flaming and Alex did a great job setting it ablaze and surviving! This Zombie has many classic ingredients including falernum and cinnamon but also Passionfruit, which yielded a cocktail with a distinct spicy peach flavor somehow. Plenty boozy.

No unusual flavors with Mrs Mai Tai’s Espresso Martiki nor the fruity and rummy Cotton Mouth Killer. The layered cocktail was floated with Blue Curaçao and tasted just as great as it looked.

We finished with the Polynesian Princess, a light vodka and Chambord cocktail topped with Champagne. Subtle watermelon flavors were present and this has a very nice finish.

There are so many quality rums here, and we even spotted a contraband bottle of Hamilton Beachbum Berry Zombie blend. Definitely a great place to try rum.

The Beachcomber is a Fab Tiki Bar in London

Mrs. Mai Tai and I landed in London after a red eye from California and walked like zombies over to Queensway to The Beachcomber for dinner. We did the same thing on our visit last year, with similar results. Totally chill vibe early in the evening, with some great Thai food and better cocktails.

The food here comes from Horapha which is a Thai restaurant on the street level next door. We really liked our dinner and it’s even better in a basement tiki bar. The decor inside Beachcomber isn’t totally high tiki but for London is not bad at all and the escapist nature of the venue is really nice.

Cocktails are pretty good here. I was really impressed by the off-menu Mai Tai that has rich flavors of Rhum Agricole, the specialty of the Beachcomber, but is fantastically done and has balanced sweetness. My only gripe was that it seems a little small! Meanwhile, Mrs. Mai Tai’s Nocholada has coconut, chocolate, and hazelnut flavors that’s a really amazing desert cocktail.

The Refresher cocktail includes peach liqueur, Yellow Chartreuse, elderflower cordial, and other flavors. As the customer you can choose the spirit to use, including gin, vodka, or agave spirits. I chose Copalli white rum for Mrs. Mai Tai while I had the Clement Blanc Rhum Agricole for mine. You definitely can taste the different, though we both felt the peach was a little too forward in the balance. Nonetheless, the name is certainly that – very refreshing.

The Refresher(s)

Our service was prompt and friendly, and there’s a nice selection of spirts of the back bar that aren’t on the menu, so if you’re a Rhum fan definitely check out the selection before ordering. Music on our visit was 1970s including multiple Fleetwood Mac and Jim Croce songs. Maybe not the best music for a tiki bar, but I know that traditional exotica is tough in this market. At least it was vintage and mellow leaning, which added to the relaxing feelings inside.

The Beachcomber can be clubby later in the evening and on the weekends (like all of London’s tiki/tropical bars) but we really enjoyed the vibe in the early evening.

Laki Kane: London’s Most Cohesive Tiki Bar

Everyone said to be sure to check out Islington’s Laki Kane, so we made sure to make a reservation and brave rush hour on the Underground to get there. We arrived a few minutes early and staff saw we were dressed up in tiki attire so they let us in a couple minutes early.

Laki Kane is a tiki-leaning tropical cocktail bar that also has a good Thai food menu. There are a few tikis inside, with the music being mellow Afro beats. Staff can be summoned via the button on the table, though our sever was right on top of everything so we never had to use it. We were given welcome drinks that were absolutely fantastic and then we were off to the races.

My Mai Tai was quite assertive, using Appleton 12 and Plantation OFTD rums. I’d have liked this to be a little richer/sweeter, but it was by no means bad. I had a Purple Haze for a second round, featuring three rums including La Hechicera Columbian rum, Clément Canne Bleue, and Equiano Light rums, plus kiwi, dragon fruit, grapefruit liqueur, and orange juice. The small flowers used as a garnish were lit on fire to smoke a bit, adding to the texture. This was a really good drink.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Mai Tai had the Pinup Zombie, a formidable riff that includes Bacardi Cuatro, Plantation Isle of Fiji, Pusser’s Gunpowder proof, cherry and mountain pine liqueurs,  exotic syrups, falernum liqueur, and citrus. Served flaming in a very cool pinup mug. This was a truly outstanding tropical cocktail. Her second drink was a clarified cocktail from a special menu that also was rich, complex, and delicious.

Our Thai food was outstanding. I loved the pork dumplings and we both had the Sweet and Sour plate (mine: chicken, hers: tofu). Really great combination.

Laki Kane does put many pieces together for fans seeking a tiki experience in London. Highly recommended.

Trailer Happiness, Notting Hill Cocktail Bar

We were close enough to walk over to Trailer Happiness after dinner and had a pretty good experience. We landed around 18:30 Thursday and there were a few people up at street level at some tables but we went downstairs into the lounge. Not yet busy, we could see from the decor and music this could be clubby later in the evening.

We’d heard mixed things but felt our cocktails and the friendly service were great. I like the modern tropical vibe in here. Mrs Mai Tai’s Espresso MarTiki was really great, using rum rather than vodka.

I was impressed by the Mai Tai, one of the best I’ve had in a long while. Appleton Estate Reserve 8 is the rum here, a really great choice, and Grand Marnier as the orange liqueur. The orgeat shines in this cocktail with a long finish and great mouthfeel. I was told a new Mai Tai rum blend is coming including Chairman’s Reserve Legacy that features a bit of cane juice distillate that likely will increase the complexity of flavors coming from the spirit.

Trailer Happiness has a good rep for a rum selection and indeed we saw several beauties on the back bar.

The Beachcomber, Queensway

We landed in Heathrow early in the morning after a red eye flight and we were zonked the entire day. An afternoon nap seemed to refresh us and we headed to The Beachcomber for dinner. They have a large selection of Rhum Agricole and serve Thai food via the Horapha restaurant two doors down.

We had the place for ourselves for a little while and got to take in the space. Not high tiki by any means, the Beachcomber is certainly doing a lot of things right. The basement level shuts out the outside world and we enjoyed the tropical elements and big screen showing island travel footage. Music was a blend of mellow Blues (Etta James, Alicia Keyes). Great back bar full of rum and rhum.

The off-menu Mai Tai is made with Agricole and is very well balanced and light and refreshing. You can do a happy hour special with Thai Curry. We also enjoyed the Salamander Sling for two that’s a Singapore Sling riff with Hibiscus syrup (we asked for it to lean heavy on the syrup). Our food was pretty good and the staff was super friendly and prompt.

If you’re looking for tiki in London, be sure to check out The Beachcomber.