There’s a new basement bar in East London and it’s a whole lotta fun
What do you get when you combine a half-French, half Vietnamese, graphic designer/computer science engineer/bartender with one of the most irreverent kitchens in London and a healthy amount of pink paint? The answer is Freddles.
The intimate cocktail bar sits underneath Papi in London Fields with Thomas Auger in charge, who’s stepping out solo after a decade spent at bars like NOLA, Discount Suit Company, Milk & Honey, Basement Sate, and Genuine Liquorette. Operating as a distinct venue (and not just an extension of the restaurant) Freddles is very much Thomas’s playground. There’s a red glittery floor and a hot pink bar. The lighting is as low as the pop bangers are loud. The menu is his imagination distilled into twelve drinks.
The ‘Freddles’ section is where you’ll find unique serves, like the Iron Bruda (made with peated scotch, Japanese plum, Irn-Bru and citrus), while the drinks listed under ‘Spotlights’ are his take on familiar faves. The bar also shakes up the cocktails offered in the restaurant, which are classics but done Freddles and Papi-style, so yes, that means bright blue yuzu margs garnished with a crisp.
Vividly-coloured drinks have become something of a Freddles signature and are the result of Thomas’ near-constant experimentation. He’s created (and is creating) punchy cordials and housemade syrups to give his cocktails an edge, but crucially, without tipping any of the flavours out of balance. Marmite syrup gives an umami note to the bourbon and jam donut IPA Love Potion, and green apple cordial and burnt white chocolate add sweetness to the aquavit and sherry Granny & The Tramp.
Thomas also makes good use of the seasonal ingredients that pass through the kitchen. Winter veg, including beetroot and red pepper, gets mixed with chillies, coriander and Szechuan pepper and clarified with milk to produce a spicy juice. That’s then shaken with tequila, port and mezcal to make the Purple Heat, which is like a Picante, only purple. Rhubarb also gets a look-in; following lacto-fermentation, the fruit cordial is mixed with vodka, vanilla, citrus and rose for the Rhubarbie Doll. It’s a surprisingly light and clean cocktail, Freddles-ified with a couple of Haribo on top.
The chefs upstairs are just as creative as Thomas and they’re doing a short, regularly changing menu of bar snacks for Freddles. You might see a curry corndog, perhaps a duck currywurst, likely something else that doesn’t have curry on it at all. Don’t hesitate, just order them all, then order another cocktail and float away into Freddles land.
1F Mentmore Terrace, London, E8 3PN
@freddlesbar