What a view. If you can, try and get a table by the window to enjoy the amazing riverside views across to St Paul's.
In a nutshell
It's been five years since top mixologist Ryan Chetnewardena opened Lyaness Bar on the south bank of the river at Blackfriars. And two years have passed since the bar was named World's Best Bar in the prestigious Spirited Awards in New Orleans. This spring, the team unveiled the bar's latest cocktail menu so we thought it high time to get back down there to try it out.
The 3.0 Cookbook
The thrust of the new cocktail menu is down to the creative bods here having "sought out human stories of people, place and moments in time." They've been trying to get to those flavours and "create a pantry of ingredients that channel these stories, but also bring the complexity into the cocktails".
That all sounds very complicated, so it's probably best if you get your bartender to explain things as you go along. Ours was a veritable storyteller, bringing the tale behind each of our drinks to life.
Left to right: Faux Fruit Sour and Golden Guide (both £16.50). The first features The Lakes Whisky along with a peated parsnip amazake, pineapple and sloe. The second is made with Roku gin, heartwood bitters, goose fig and Cocchi di Torino.
What are the bar snacks like?
We're glad you asked. They are every bit as impressive as the drinks here.
We can particularly recommend the pairing of the Exmoor caviar with crisps and sour cream with one of two potato-led drinks on the menu, the Unfiltered Martini, This uses Boatyard's potato vodka from Fermanagh in Northern Ireland along with a fermented potato mixture then ends up with a drink that's almost vanilla in taste. Odd, but very good.
ALL the potato - both in the martini and the bar snacks.
We could have happily worked our way through pretty much all of the short but sweet snack list here (we're sad we didn't get as far as the tea doughnuts with ginger custard). Everything's been carefully considered with everything we tried a cut above the average bar food offering.
More bar snacks: ceviche seabass tacos at the front, fish finger brioche hotdogs at the rear.
What about those swerving alcohol?
If you're not on the sauce for whatever reason, then this is the bar for you with many of the new cocktails coming in no-alcohol versions too, so you won't miss out on any of the fun.
Overall thoughts:
Lyaness is one of those rare bars that's just as much of a lure for tourists (because of that view) as it is for Londoners. The team here have an energy that matches the creativity that's gone into that new cocktail list. Highly recommended.
More about Lyaness
Where is it? 20 Upper Ground, London SE1 9PD
How to book: Details
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @lyanessbar
Hot Dinners were guests of Lyaness. Prices correct at time of publication.
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