It is, perhaps, fitting that this bar founded by Joel Fraser should find itself sandwiched between a Hotel 81 and a KTV bar. The ex-Tippling Club mixologist has lofty ambitions for his flashy outpost on cosy Jiak Chuan. The flagship for his own consultancy enterprise, he calls it ‘an integrated concept of charcuterie and cocktails’. Yet a laddish-verging-on-bawdy aura is pervasive – from the high-bpm playlist and cocktail menu lionising Fraser’s booze-addled idol Ernest Hemingway, right through to the backrooms, where the ladies’ toilets are indicated by wallmounted wooden figurines, one busty and one flat-chested.
This is a boozer run by the boys, for the boys: its name practically declares it outright. One weeknight we were even visited by a scarlet-clad member of the oldest profession (which, to be fair, might be more indicative of the area). The bleak humour of Steve Coogan, in his guise as failed TV personality Alan Partridge, is piped in through speakers in the toilets.
Taken purely on aesthetic appeal, it’s hard to find fault. Dark green tiles adorn the lengthy bar, where baristas cheerily concoct the potions at admirable speed, while a zigzagging floor pattern enlivens the entire joint. Two smoking tables outside greet those seeking a tranquil puff, while jetblack tables and wall seating line the interior, lending TCC an air of spacious, polished comfort.