True Speakeasy Style at The Blind Tiger

Having long been fascinated by the 1920s, I was only too glad to welcome the trend for speakeasy style cocktail bars that have been popping up all over town. Although a casual night down the local boozer certainly has its place, sometimes a return to old-world glamour, an emphasis on finely mixed cocktails, an elegant setting and a whiff of the illicit is more than welcome.

So, I was thrilled to hear about The Blind Tiger, a venue that promises ‘illicit dining and forbidden beverages’, and intrigued to see how they would present an intimate and old-world feel in a venue that transforms two nights a week into one of Clapham’s busiest and most raucous drinking holes – Lost Society.

The answer is this: that the devil is in the details. Your whole experience from start to finish is exquisitely crafted to recreate a quietly glamorous, and ever so slightly outside the law, 1920s evening out. On ringing the doorbell, your waiter will pull aside the viewing portal to ensure you come alone, before ushering you through a softly lit courtyard with an outdoor bar. Upon being seated in your candlelit booth, complete with beaded curtain for privacy, you are presented with your ‘prescription’ – prohibition era parlance for cocktail list – to select from some of the most inviting ‘medicinal liquor’ you’re likely to find. As jazz plays softly in the background, and the water tinkles from your glass-cut decanter, the candlelit ambience firmly evokes “the Golden Age of the Cocktail”, and so do the drinks.

We sampled the Jasmine and Elderflower Martini, Chili and Lemongrass Margarita, the Gentleman’s Mojito and the French 75. All were beautifully crafted and presented, using the glassware of the era ( I do love authentic champagne saucers) but special mentions go to the Chili and Lemongrass Margarita which trod the line beautifully between sweet and spicy, and the Gentleman’s Mojito which was wonderfully warming but with a crisp edge.

Having got well into the spirit, we were whisked upstairs to the restaurant area. Amazingly, this very mezzanine hosts the Lost Society dance floor on Friday and Saturday night and the place is absolutely transformed with deep brown leather sofas, crisp white tablecloths, elegant flower arrangements and a dimly lit chandelier. Just as the cocktails were elegantly presented, so our food came carefully arranged and with sophisticated touches. We started with a pigeon breast on potato rosti with quince puree, which was surprisingly delicate for what is in essence game and mash, and came beautifully presented with an edible flower. We also sampled the braised squid with mini-pan friend sea bass which was also very tasty but perhaps not quite as impressive as the pidgeon.

Moving on, we treated ourselves the Chateaubriand which arrived with wonderfully chunky potato wedges and both alioli and peppercorn sauces. The meat was tender, succulent and juicy, and we only wished we’d ordered double rations. Extra portions or not, we arrived at dessert totally stuffed, so elected to share the apple and hazelnut crumble, with cinnamon ice cream. This was rich and perfectly spiced, and managed to raise the game considerably for a dessert most people usually sample along with a Sunday roast.

Unfortunately my camera gave in before I could photograph the main and dessert courses, so you’ll have to imagine them for yourselves, but both looked as good as they tasted.

The Blind Tiger is not the cheapest place to eat and drink, but for the experience I’d say the money was worth it. It outperforms on the cocktails, as befits somewhere focussing on recreating the speakeasy vibe, yet also provides a menu that goes beyond being simply enjoyable and is fairly reasonably priced. I’d definitely recommend checking it out, and will be back with the girls for their delicious sounding Sunday Afternoon Tea too. 

The Blind Tiger

697 Wandsworth Road

Clapham, SW8 3JF

Open Sunday, Tuesday - Thursday evenings

Fitness, but with a little added luxury

It's usually January when we begin to feel a bit fed up: a bit overweight, a bit run down and a little bit poor. So last weekend, Sarah and I tackled all three at once and spent the morning at Cupcake Mum, Parsons Green, checking out their spa, personal training services and hearing all about their new fitness programme for young professionals - Club C studios.

We kicked off with a fairly brutal 8am session with Gen, of The Body Professionals, who take care of personal training services at Cupcake. After assessing our posture, alignment and general levels of fitness, Gen set out to make us love the bits of the gym we'd always hated (the rowing machine and circuits respectively) by injecting some variety and mixing up the intensity, teaching us new twists on exercises we already knew and really working on our technique and posture to make sure everything we did was truly effective. That, mixed with an upbeat soundtrack, endless positivity and a mischievous sense of humour meant an 8am ass-kicking in the gym was almost fun! 

Nonetheless, thighs and stomachs aching after various rounds of "Swiss Ball James Bonds" and "Sumo Squats", a 'head in the clouds massage' in the beautifully appointed Cupcake Mum spa was more than welcome. The treatment rooms are softly lit, gorgeously scented and beyond comfortable (one of the beds has a heated water mattress - you'll never want to get up) and all our tensions, knots and worries were gently teased away. The spa is open to non-members, so you don't need to be a Mummy to benefit, and for sheer boutique luxury, it really rivals many of the other spas in the area, so is well worth checking out.

Next up was a meeting with John of Club C studios. A long-time personal trainer and fitness entrepreneur (John and his business partner Neal set up successful kids' sports company Young Stars), Club C is a new venture to take the brilliant facilities and fitness services of Cupcake Mum, and make them available to the discerning young professionals of SW6. For a monthly sum of £37.50 you'll get unlimited access to their range of over 30 fitness classes per week, making use of the boutique studios at Cupcake and local parks and greens. They offer everything from early morning bootcamp to pilates and yoga, and spent months recruiting the most experienced and engaging local instructors. I've done classes with a few of their staff before at other venues, and always found them extremely positive and engaging. Best of all, the class sizes are small, topping out at around 12, and there's no fixed term contract.

If you want to check it out for yourself, Club C are doing FREE taster sessions all this week. Simply consult the timetable below, and give John a call on 0203 326 4986 to book your place.We guarantee you'll feel a little less run down, podgy and depressed when you do.

Cupcake Mum & Club C Studios

11 Heathmans Road

London

SW6 4TJ

The Best of Boma

Boma, meaning ‘a safe enclosure’ is a much loved local restaurant come bar on Wandsworth Bridge Road. Having always previously visited bleary eyed with a banging headache following a heavy night, I decided that January being the month of detox would be an ideal time to try a civilised dinner at Boma. We visited on a Friday night and were pleased to see the restaurant heaving with groups of Fulham-esque friends, some of whom were obviously not detoxing. Braying aside the atmosphere was relaxing and welcoming and the staff friendly- regulars of this establishment appear to be on first name terms with most of the team at Boma, an informality which I love.

                                               

The menu is extremely varied, a factor which usually sets the alarm bells ringing in my head, sceptical of restaurants claiming to master Asian, British, French and Italian I decided to have an open mind. I am always impressed with the quality of their brunch menu and vote their full English the best in SW6, however I had wondered if they had the same success with their eclectic bar/restaurant menu. My friend ordered the crispy confit duck salad and I opted for the fish pie, my pie was extremely comforting and hearty but I was a little bit disappointed with the fish/potato ratio, my friend said her duck salad was delicious however.  Unfortunately budgets permitting we only went for one course on this occasion and so I cannot give a more detailed food analysis, however in terms of reliability, friendly service and fun atmosphere I would highly recommend it.

                                    

Boma by night is an ideal date spot, when we visited the room was filled with couples enjoying the relaxed candlelit atmosphere and the back room in particular is very private. The jovial atmosphere also lends itself well to birthday parties, striking the balance between special occasion yet let your hair down a group birthday dinner would undoubtedly revel in this safe enclosure.   

116 Wandsworth Bridge Road

Fulham

SW6 2TF