68 and Boston: A tale of two halves

68 and Boston offers Soho both a wine bar and a cocktail joint, with varying success, finds David Ellis
Glamour: Boston, the cocktail bar above 68, is an attractive spot to be seen at
David Ellis @dvh_ellis4 December 2017

What they say

68 and Boston comes courtesy of Eric Yu (Opium/The Social), Martin Malley (co-owner of Planet of the Grapes) and Luca Cordiglieri (former bar manager at China Tang at The Dorchester). It combines an all-day-to-night wine bar and cocktail lounge.

What we say

68 and Boston function as two distinct places: past the shared entrance hall is wine bar 68 and to the right, upstairs, cocktail hub Boston. They share a roof and little else.

68 This terrific wine bar, pleasantly French-Italian in feel, has a concept so brilliant it seems absurd no-one else is doing in London. Every bottle on the list is £20, meaning you can choose what you like, not what you can afford. Better yet, if you don't fancy a bottle, they're served by the carafe (£14) or glass (£5.50). Fairly reasonable cocktails are available for a fairly reasonable £8.

Boston Although not small, Boston’s low-lighting means it has an intimate feel, and the bar room itself is reminiscent of glamorous train carriage from the golden age of cocktails. It's going for an altogether more expensive feel than downstairs, which is reflected in the prices. House twists sit alongside classics. Wine is available up here too, but it’s a short, expensive list, and doesn't follow what's happening in 68.

Relaxed drinking: 68, the downstairs wine bar, brings a European vibe to Soho

Good for

68 Ideally, come down with a few friends and get through a couple of bottles of prosecco before wandering through Soho, and then come back later too, as it serves until 2am and stays open until half past. It would work for a relaxed date-night, or for a few glasses with some charcuterie and cheese, with friends. To be honest, one could quite easily come down expecting to head elsewhere after one or two, but end up staying until the wee small hours.

Boston It's conveniently close to 68.

Latest bar reviews

1/80

Order

68 This is where the list comes into its own: choose by preference over budget. Our highlights included the Torricella Orvieto Classico, a dry Italian white, light on the nose but with the kind of springy flavour that runs across the taste buds and wakes you up, and the Zinfandel, which did the Californian thing without being too over the top – plenty of red fruit but surprisingly easy on the alcohol. The Vetriano Prosecco is a lovely suprise: we expected disco fizz, all sugar and acid, but this is light, bright and with beautiful, fine bubbles. Nice to see them pushing Romanian wine, too.

Boston The Squid Ink Martini (gin, dry white sherry, squid ink) looks as morbidly impressive and is harmless, but the sherry is sadly overpowered. Adam’s House Highball (scotch, averna, absinthe, angostura bitters, ginger ale) might have five ingredients, but tasted of one (the ginger ale). Nice decor, but we’d enjoy it better with straight spirits.

By the way

68 Denise Medrano, who looks after 68, certainly knows her stuff and has compiled the list cleverly. She's keeping a close eye on it, so pop back in regularly and you might find something new – we had a preview of a new Cava on a return visit and enjoyed it very much.

Boston By far the cosiest spot is in the actual bar area itself, so pop in early to grab yourself a table there.

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