Don’t just stroll in to Peg + Patriot and think you can order a drink. You’ll have to put some thought into your choice, for there are rows and rows of bottles with every weird and wacky kind of spirit imaginable here, and some you couldn’t imagine. Drinks innovator Matt Whiley is the creative brains behind the bar – part of the Town Hall Hotel on Patriot Square, London – and Matt knows a thing or two about unusual flavour combinations. Many of the top shelf delights are products of Whiley’s imagination and house booze-making skills, and include Marmite vodka and a “pho spirit” channelling the popular Vietnamese noodle soup.
A lesser establishment couldn’t tempt me anywhere near such things, but Matt has an impressive track record in the cocktail department and has three award-winning London bars (Purl, Whistling Stop and Dach & Sons) under his belt, so we think he can be trusted. Interior designers Ariana Rees Roberts and Lucinda Johnson kept things simple yet elegant in keeping with the Town Hall building; glazed tiling, a lovely bit of parquet flooring, and some nifty a-frame stools with a touch of the pommel horse about them stand out.
