Please note, Evans & Peel Pharmacy is now closed. Time Out Editors, January 2020.
On first impressions, Evans & Peel – a pharmacy-themed bar just off the Chiswick High Road – gets it very right. Us Londoners love a quirky gimmick, and the idea behind this drinking den is as unique as its sister bar’s ‘detective agency’ guise. This time though, it’s about booze in medicine bottles? Yep, I’m into it.
But after arriving at an inconspicuous shopfront – a dusty old chemist circa 1920 – being greeted by a pharmacist and receiving a ‘tincture’ to swig before we entered (swigging’s not compulsory, but we were thirsty) we were led into a dimly lit, cramped speakeasy and the drugstore theme was somewhat left behind.
Drinks-wise, they’ve got the experimental cocktails on lock: the What A Melon was a tangy mix of vodka, watermelon liqueur, fennel cordial, bergamot and cardamom bitters. If cocktails aren’t your bag there’s a short wine list, with a glass setting you back £7 and a bottle £27. If you want nibbles with your tipples there’s a modest snack menu, advising customers to ‘take with liquids’. Portion sizes were good, and the food itself impressed: cornbread was served warm and buttery, while padrón peppers were grilled to perfection, if a little on the salty side.
Evans & Peel knows its cocktails, that’s for sure. If the bar could double down on the theatrics, I might pay the pharmacy a second visit. After all, I did leave feeling considerably better than when I arrived.