London Cocktail Bar Bourne & Hollingsworth Rocks A New Look

Bourne & Hollingsworth, the shot-glass-sized, underground bar at the end of Charlotte Street in Fitzrovia, has ditched the chintz and cocktails in teacups. A design revamp has given it a flamboyant and sophisticated new look, even if the party vibe remains the same.

We sallied along to check out the launch party and check out the barely dry fresh paint. It's an interesting merging of cozy coral banquettes, chairs upholstered in exotic prints, and what we're calling "slasher chic" (fabric cream walls daubed in slashes of blood-red paint). It's an out-there look for such an intimate living room space but sets the scene for late-night antics — though hopefully not the murderous kind.

The cocktail menu is new, too, featuring classics-with-a-twist such as a pink mojito, which is heavy on the tequila and light on the mint. The Fitzgerald has a rose-tinted, almost soapy (but in a good way) taste that leaves you feeling that cocktails must do you good. Bar ingredients range from moss and pine "Highland" spray to CO2-charged aged rum.

The team of mixologists was kept busy at the launch, and once the manbunned-and-bearded DJ managed to squeeze his decks into a corner, this cozy basement started to rock, proving that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

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