This cocktail lounge is as sharply turned out as the character it takes its name from, Evelyn Mulwray, as played by Faye Dunaway, in the 1974 masterpiece ‘Chinatown’. It’s not a mysterious, smoke-filled, film noir setting, which you may expect given the movie reference – instead it’s a world of pastel pink and baby blue. The link is simply the Chinatown location, with this parlour a part of The Blue Posts, a revamped pub from the The Palomar and The Barbary restaurant team.
It’s a gorgeous spot for cosseted drinking, with chic details including shell-shaped lamps, cabinets filled with bright bottles, a stylish screen that sections off half the room for private parties and a small bar with seats for just two. A hall of fame filled with framed pics depicts local life over the years, a loving tribute to the neighbourhood the owners have become a pretty big part of.
Service was as saccharine as that pink and blue colour scheme, however, with an overly familiar waiter a little too forceful when we said we were stopping at one. But I do take his point, since it’s hard to imagine curtailing your drinking. The menu is seriously on-trend. I mean, there’s a sherry list, a vermouth list, an alcohol-free section and rum served by the carafe. It’s as if somebody drew up a 2018 trend checklist for inspiration and then ticked off every item. Cocktails were serious too, the Lucky in Kentucky a super-smooth, bourbon-based old fashioned and the Mexican Fizz a brilliantly bright drink with a frothy top, packing that promised zing from orange sherbet and tequila. Plus, the wine list is fit for any connoisseur, special occasion-drinking coming from pricier bottles preserved by a smart coravin system.
Pair all this with bar snacks from the minds behind two of London’s best restaurants and you’re laughing – there’s no mystery to it.