If I had a Mac museum with exhibits dating back to 1976, I’d think twice about letting people sit among them drinking strong liquor, but Paul Davis is obviously a more trusting sort than I. Davis is the man behind MacSmiths — a museum and repair shop for Macs — and he’s recently joined forces with James Manero and Amechi Ihenacho (Manero’s Private Members’ Club) to create a new drinking den on Hackney Road, London.
The Natural Philosopher combines the two enterprises, beginning with an intriguing Victorian-era office housing the Mac exhibits and a collection of curiosities, paintings, period furniture, taxidermy and some unsettling ventriloquist’s dummies — if anything is going to make someone spill a drink in surprise, it’s those little horrors. Venture further back into the premises through a mysterious curtain and visitors find themselves in a table-service 25-seat parlour with the emphasis on obscure elixir-like cocktails. An example of the concoctions on offer is one made with Cognac and Yellow Chartreuse — a liqueur made by monks to a secret recipe including 130 herbs, plants and flowers.
