Aqua Kyoto

Aqua Kyoto/Spirit

http://aquakyoto.co.uk

5th Floor, 240 Regent St, London W1B 3BR

What better time to explore the lovely cocktail bars of London Mayfair and Soho than Boxing Day while the streets look buzzing and the rooftop bars are nice and empty to provide the feel of coziness and private space in a welcoming place.

One such lovely place is Aqua Kyoto in a doorway just off Oxford Circus corner. A welcoming doorman greets and directs you to the 5th floor where you walk out of the lift into a warmly lit Kyoto bar that makes a centrepiece of the floor.

While trying to scan through the cocktails menu for my choice of Martini cocktails on offer, the barman appears and introduces himself as Marco. He offers to ignore the menu completely and suggests he makes us some festive specials instead to make us feel all festive.

Paranoid as I am that I will not be getting my Martini fix - I request a strong Martini with festive twist to avoid any long drinks. I like my cocktails strong and clean from bulky ice after all.

A lot of red coloured spirits dart around while he fixes 2 drinks for us while skilfully flairing. I gotta say we missed half of the impressive flaring show as me and my companion were taken away with an inside joke and when we looked up, realised that Marco was patiently waiting for us to notice him.

We are finally presented with our festive cocktails - a Cynar flavoured Martini and Aperol/Cynar twist on a classic Negroni cocktail in a short glass, glistening through the crystal glasses in pretty red hues. It was a novel way to create a Martini - avoiding sweet juices and instead choosing to add flavour with other spirits alone.

I gotta say, Cynar is a new discovery for me - an Italian bitter liqueur made from 13 herbs and plants, predominantly artichoke. It gave my Martini a nice festive hue and slight flavour but I must admit, the taste of it was so subtle it was not recognisable at all. The Martini remained slightly watered down as 2 cubes of ice were added to make it look festive and so I didn't quite get my special flavour hit this time. I was, however, pleasantly surprised to see that I shouldn't be concentrating on just juices and purees to flavour my Martinis but count in everything and anything the bar has to offer. After all, you cannot go wrong with a Baileys mixed Martini, can you?

The Negroni was bitter and very strong, a proper man's drink that delivers strength in a red and glistening coloured drink that can be deceiving if you didn't know what was in the glass.

We took our festive drinks through to the Aqua Spirit bar at the back through a low lit corridor with an arty blue bull facing you through the wall. We find our way to the terrace and settle in the corner overlooking the buzzing Regent street and enjoy our festive cocktails. Perfect.

I am thoroughly impressed by the atmosphere the bar has created and their friendly and welcoming staff. I will have to return to try their signature Kyoto Martini off their actual cocktails menu as I don't think Aqua can be judged upon by just one drink choice. It seems a perfect place for an intimate meeting or a date with plenty of seating areas to choose from. Until next time Aqua, you have intrigued me.

MM Rating 6.5 out of 10
(Martini Mule Rating)