Kricket team announce debut bar Soma, a Soho speakeasy open till 3am

The new bar is offering Indian-accented cocktails and very late nights
Life by the drop: Kricket founders Rik Campbell and Will Bowlby
Kricket

Rik Campbell and Will Bowlby, the pair behind the Indian-inspired group Kricket – which has restaurants in Soho, Brixton and White City – have announced their first foray into the bar scene.

Campbell and Bowlby will open their debut bar, called Soma, on Soho’s Denman Street in early September. It will sit under the original Kricket restaurant there.

Named for the Hindu moon God – who’s sometimes also known as Chandra – the small, 23-cover basement will have India as its muse; cocktails will include the likes of a gooseberry chaat margarita, made with tequila, triple sec, homemade gooseberry cordial and a splash of chaat masala, as well as a coconut and jaggery Old Fashioned, where bourbon is stirred up with the Indian unrefined sugar jaggery, as well as toasted and desiccated coconut and bitters made from mace. The list has been put together by Kricket’s head of beverage, Will Rogers, working with Soma’s bar manager Angelos Bafas and Zoe Burgess, the creative director of drinks consultancy Atelier Pip.

A short menu of Indian snacks will also be available, including homemade crackers made using leftover rice from the upstairs restaurant.

Pleasingly, given so much of London shuts early, the bar will open until 3am every Tuesday through to Sunday. Tables will mostly be kept for walk-ins, though groups of six or more will be able to book.

Speaking to the Standard, Bowlby said: “After an incredibly tough year, we’re immeasurably excited to not only be opening something new, but also a concept that’s close to our hearts. We’ve always wanted to open our own bar, a place where the culture and warmth of Kricket meets the history of Soho, and we’ve channelled all of that into Soma.”

Campbell added: “People have always loved the cocktails we offer at Kricket and we’ve always talked about launching a standalone bar, but it’s the space that gives Soma its modern speakeasy feel, with a backstreet underground setting in Soho and seemingly non-descript entrance.

“We see Soma as the latest addition to people’s Soho ‘stumblings’ and we can’t wait to offer the hospitality we’ve become known for at Kricket in a new context.”

Soma will open at 12-14 Denman St, W1D 7HL in early September. For more information, follow @somasoho.

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