Disrepute: Menu reads like it's been put through Google Translate, but the drinks are first rate

This elegantly fun Soho bar has much to love, says David Ellis, but who the hell wrote the drinks list?
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The Barrio boys have decided naming ingredients isn’t very in.

The drinks list at their new bar Disrepute isn’t a menu, it’s a short story collection. Quite a fun conceit, really: instead of telling you what’s in a cocktail, they’ve got someone to sum up its essence in a bon mot. The aim, I think, is that customers choose by emotional instincts and try something new. Lovely.

Except, er... Well, here’s an example: “He walked down the staircase with the swagger of someone who had done it hundreds of times before.”

God, I love a man who knows how to climb stairs.

Later on (rogue emphasis theirs) : “The Hair both floated and spilled symmetrically from her crown, engulfing the back of her stool. She sat, poised, coiled as a ballet dancer before a performance, and glanced, nonchalantly yet knowingly at the figures that lined the walls and created the debauchery around her.”

My French teacher made us decipher Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du mal once. I used Google Translate and recognise the style.

Finely mixed: the bar's beautifully presented drinks look classic, but are largely inventive and a little playful

It’s a shame they've used a non-native speaker whose literary experience seems to be fifteen minutes scanning Tumblr #FanFic, because actually, the rest of the bar is rather good. The idea is enjoyable enough, and the unintentionally hilarious execution added a certain something to our evening. I’m not sure that something was what they’d planned, but hey, we had a good time.

Stories do make sense here: DRP is full of them, as it sits where the Pinstripe/Kingly Club once was, a place that (notorious drunk) Oliver Reed, (notorious drunk) Richard Harris and (notorious drunk) Peter O’Toole used to come to get, well, notoriously drunk. Quite an achievement, as there’s a steep old staircase to tackle when you’re leaving, but the club also used to draw the likes of Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe and Cary Grant. Maybe that explains it. Things happened: hey, the Profumo Affair started here.

Sixties glam: the bar harks back to its past as a celebrity favourite with the likes of Peter O'Toole
Dennis Oulds/Getty Images

They’ve kept the upmarket 60s vibe with rather gorgeous decor, narrow and slightly nautical with porthole glasses and mirrors, which all fortunately comes off as luxury liner rather than cruise ship chic. There’s walnut wood panelling, details in brushed gold, smart corrugated glass. It’s low lit, romantic, smart, sexy, and – bravo – they’ve even pulled off velvet footstools without a whiff of anything shagadelic, baby. Phew.

So these drinks, then: order off that obliviously pretentious front menu and what turns up is a surprise. I liked this, but if you’ve asked for something basically unknown and can't stand the results, you might not. The prices aren’t there with the stories either, so the bill could be a shock. Fortunately, there’s a plain jane listing at the back – worth checking if you don’t fancy taking a gamble on a £27 round for two (though, in fairness, most drink are £10).

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I’d say risk it: the bar is good enough you can trust them. The bartenders might have a little bit of a sweet tooth, but obviously know what they’re doing, and drinks match the surroundings, being upmarket, elegant and refined, and made with a playful sense of fun. The bright English Rose (sixties favourite Mateus Rosé mixed into a reduction, served with vodka, soda, lemon) is sure to be a summertime hit.

'Drinks match the surroundings, being upmarket, elegant and refined, and made with a playful sense of fun'

The smoothly smokey Welder’s Apprentice (Speyside and Islay single malts blended with bitters, maple syrup, Antica formula) and the peppery Colonial Cup (bourbon, Amaro di Angostura liqueur, spices, soda) are all more straightforward, likely to please anyone into their dark spirits. DRP must be the only bar in London bringing Babycham back, with the Juvenescent (pisco, Babycham reduction, English sparkling wine) but hey, why not? I heard someone talking about it over in Bourne & Hollingsworth buildings, so it’s certainly a conversation starter.

Wine here starts at a very decent £21 a bottle, which is a steal for somewhere so central where you can sit in such lovely surroundings. In fact, I'd probably come back for one round of drinks and then split a bottle of wine or two to see off the night.

DRP is billing itself as a private members club, but is open to the public until 11pm every night anyway, provided there's room inside. Membership is £150-a-year. Worth it? Maybe: open till 3am, its good for anyone regularly in need of somewhere central for a late-night “one last drink”.

For everyone else, come earlier: it’s a cracking date spot up there with the best in London. Plus you can bond over the menu. Laughter is everything in love.

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