THE SCENE It has an original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game in arcade mode! Not racing out the door yet? How about a horse-shoe bar you can actually get served at, happy and skilled bar staff, comic book decor, no pretentious twats we could see and brilliantly cheesy music from when bands played instruments? And there are karaoke rooms downstairs (no fee but there’s a minimum booze spend) and Wii games. Fridays and Saturdays get super busy so best to book a seated area online.
THE GRUB Party food, of course, with platters serving one or two (£7.50) and three or four (£15). Or organic burgers for the starving – try the classic (£7.50), gourmet (goat’s cheese and beetroot, £8.50) or The Bog Boy (double 8oz pattie, extra cheese, onion rings and they’ll call the ambulance for free for £10.50).
BEHIND THE BAR No shock that it’s all about the classics – caipirinhas, mojitos, Manhattans, cosmos, Moscow mules, etc – but really well done. Our Singapore slings were deliciously dry. The ’man on fire’ is a triumph if you’re the slightest fan of whiskey – with flamed rosemary, a wee dram and the talent of our cheery bartender, it’s a triumph, like a warm night by the fire on a pogo stick.
BILL PLEASE Cocktails from £4.90; wine from £3.50/11.50 per glass/bottle. Beers include Tiger, NZ’s Monteith’s and Estrella Damm, and cider is Magners, for £3.50.
VERDICT Could be tacky and try-hard, but is cracking cocktails with fun and flair.
111 Long Lane, SE1 4PH
Tube | Borough
Railway | London Bridge
theoldschoolyard.com
