London – The Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai

August 9, 2026August 9, 2026

Cahoots 1940s Themed Bars in London

We had such a fun time at the Mr. Fogg’s bars last trip we sought out something similar and discovered Cahoots‘ three locations of 1940s-themed bars. These are actually from the same Inception Group that are behind Mr. Fogg’s, so now all of it makes sense. All locations feature late 1940s post-war decor and period music, plus a variety of drinks including some that are unique to each location.

Cahoots has three locations in London:

Underground (Soho) – the original location themed as a tube station
Ticket Hall (Soho) – adjacent to Underground, a street level pub that includes a patio space
Postal Office (Borough) – underneath rail lines and featuring a speakeasy style entrance

All three locations feature Cahooch, a delicious blend of Mount Gay Black Barrel rum, Bulleit Bourbon, Cointreau Noir, and Martini Riserva Speciale Rubino Vermouth that’s served as is or blended into other classic cocktails. We also enjoyed Ticket Hall‘s tequila-forward Giggle Water and the fruity Just Mai-Type, both excellent cocktails, and we enjoyed our lunch here as well.

The Postal Office offers several cocktails delivered Air Mail style via pneumatic tube, a fun way to get your drink to the table. I thought This Way Up was a great blend of tequila, cachaca, and blue curaçao, though it needed to be chilled via stirring before being perfect. Mrs. Mai Tai’s clarified Pen Pal tasted rich and was provided with a postcard with advice from a previous guest, and the opportunity to leave her own. There was even a show in the “Throne Room” toilet worth checking out.

Underground is perhaps the most elaborately themed location, including train car seating. The best cocktails here were the V12 Daiquiri and the lovely Keep Marm and Carry On served in a tea cup with a biscuit. All Cahoots menus are in the form of a newspaper, reinforcing the theme.

We were impressed by Cahoots theming and attentive service, and cocktails that are a step up from Mr. Fogg’s as well, featuring a relaxing escape that’s highly recommended.

Cahoots Ticket Office featuring Giggle Water and Just Mai-Type

Cahoots Postal Office featuring This Way Up and Cahooh

Cahoots Underground featuring Julep Platform no. 46

August 6, 2026August 9, 2026

Rhum Tavern: London’s Best Rum Selection

Staying in Soho, we got to try a bunch of new cocktail bars that we hadn’t visited before in London. One of these was Rhum Tavern, located just off Oxford and Regent Streets. Rum/Rhum/Ron is a focus with many rare and interesting bottles on display throughout the venue (do not steal!) and the decor decidedly nautical with pirate touches.

The cocktail menu is varied and does include non-rum cocktails including a few classics such as a Paloma and Espresso Martini. Seeing that this is a rum bar, I asked the server if they could make the world’s best rum cocktail, but they told me that they don’t have orgeat and the owner specifically doesn’t want to do tiki drinks.

So, I ended up doing the rum old fashioned with Worthy Park Estate rum from Jamaica, super tasty. I also killed the last little bit of a bottle of Port Mourant 10 year from Guyana, and had we not been drinking already that day I likely would have explored more of the variety of rums that Rhum Tavern offers. Mrs Mai Tai’s Black Pearl came in a little glass held by an octopus. There are limited food options here, but we had a pretty good charcuterie and cheese tray.

I understand the desire for some venues to not be associated with “tiki”, though a pirate bar doesn’t seem like a substantially more sophisticated genre if you’re asking me. Nonetheless, we did enjoy our visit and the ambiance of Rhum Tavern and would return again for the good cocktails and great rum selection of over 300 rums.

June 10, 2024June 15, 2024

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.

June 9, 2024June 9, 2024

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.

June 7, 2024June 9, 2024

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.

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.

June 5, 2024June 5, 2024

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.

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.

June 28, 2023June 28, 2023

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.