The background

Inside the cavernous Brew Dog venue in Waterloo’s new playground, The Sidings, is a speakeasy by master mixologist Rich Woods. Known simply as “The Cocktail Guy”, Woods is a multi-award-winning pioneer of bartending and was previously listed by The Evening Standard as one of London’s most influential people. Lost Property Office is a true speakeasy – hidden behind a door marked only by a rotary phone that will gain you entry once the receiver is picked up. But more than that, the cocktail list is meticulously crafted to echo that of true speakeasies of the 1920s. This is the first bar Woods has opened since the closure of legendary Scout, which was number 28 on the World’s Best 50 Bars list – so expectations are understandably high for his new venture.

The space

Through the door from the impressively large and busy bar outside is a den of low lighting, plush leather chairs and muted colours. It’s an intimate and clubby space – serene and yet with a buzz created by happy customers and knowledgeable and friendly staff.

The drinks

The bar’s signature cocktail list takes inspiration from prohibition cocktail classics but adds the kind of creative flair one would expect from Rich Woods. The menu includes the Full Flexx, a take on the Manhattan crafted from bourbon, cacao butter, ancho chilli and pink grapefruit – a punchy and moreish spin on the classic; Milk Punch, a new take on a whisky sour made from whisky, almond milk, almond flower, palo santo (a fragrant wood from Central America), lemon and sugar; and the Glass “Oh” Water, a completely bonkers (in the best possible way) take on a New York sour, made from clarified lemon, distilled clear whisky, red wine foam and sugar. The red wine foam is made in house and sits on top of the clear liquid underneath, occasionally dropping a bubble of delicious scarlet through to the bottom of the glass like a contemporary artwork. It’s as good to drink as to look at. A Millenial Mai Tai includes rum, lime, apricot kernel and – of course – avocado; and the beautiful Lagerita is crafted from hopped Tapatio Blanco tequila, blood orange and bergamot, clear lime and comes with a beer cloud as well as a topping of gorgeous flowers. Perhaps the Lost Property Office’s most thrilling serve is the Martini Roulette, three miniature martinis served in bottles that show how the most classic of cocktails has changed through bar history.

The bill

Cocktails at Lost Property Office start at about £12.

The verdict

Ambitious and original, Lost Property Office is a truly exciting opening that should thrill cocktail lovers. It’s as much of an education as a night out – in the most fun and delicious way possible and proves yet again why Rich Woods is the Cocktail Guy.

waterloolostpropertyoffice.co.uk