Dandelyan

You may have noticed things have been a bit quiet over here. It's not that I haven't had things to say, I've just been throwing myself into other things temporarily following the break up earlier this year. Some of these things involve new places and others not so new, so it's all about claiming them back and new experiences. Like Dandelyan last night.

After a few drinks but disappointing food at The Refinery, we decided to call in at Sea Containers for a nightcap or two. The luxurious bar is perfectly positioned on the South Bank, and best at night when the city lights over the Thames come to life. On paper, the decor shouldn't work - deep greens and purples and crushed velvets mixed with a marble bar - but if Dandelyan was a person, it would ooze charisma, leading the resurgence in good hotel bars, having recently won the 'Best New International Cocktail Bar'.

The drinks are seasonal and 'botanical', the menu divided into ingredients such as 'birch', 'poplar' and 'oak'. Within these are lighter drinks more suited to the daytime, or boozier, richer alternatives for late night escapades. We started with the Iberico Sour (acorn ham mezcal, tapatio reposado, lemon, endive and oak honey) which was deliciously smoky, meaty and bitter with that agave bite, and The Cooper (seaweed-infused redbreast, oak moss, lemon and cucumber) which was the refreshing lighter little sister. 

Next up was the Crimson Waxwork, a tumbler coated with beeswax and topped up with beeswax cognac, bee pollen, cocchi americano and oak bitters. Much deeper and sensual with a lingering smooth finish, this one almost stole the show were it not for the classic Concrete Sazerac. Cognac, fermented peychaud, absinthe and edible concrete, this is one of my favourite drinks in London at the moment. It's an achingly sexy drink that balances all the right flavours.

Topped off with a great mix of music, the impeccable lobby decor and really friendly staff, Dandelyan is the perfect nighttime stop. I'm just dying to check out the rooms above next.