Ottolenghi pours out extravagant cocktails at new Spitalfields restaurant

Get blottolenghied at the Israeli chef’s new deli-bar where the cocktails are spiked with saffron and sumac, says Susannah Butter
Ottolenghi: ‘The drinks here don’t have a drop of the cloying sweetness that cocktails in restaurants can have’
Daniel Hambury

Extravagance is back. At least it seems so, because I am writing this from the City between sips of champagne containing saffron — the spice that is more valuable than gold. But this is not flashiness for the thrill of it. I’m trying a cocktail at Ottolenghi’s new deli/restaurant in Spitalfields and the flavours have been thoughtfully selected.

Saffron takes the sharp edge off the champagne, adding musky depth. It is mixed with Chase English gin, Chase elderflower, lemon and saffron syrup. That is a lot of ingredients for a drink but what do you expect from the man who made London fall in love with salads requiring at least 25 spices you’ve never heard of and stand slim chance of sourcing at a Tesco Metro?

Now Ottolenghi has turned his flair for original flavour to drinks, with new cocktails in cheering colours featuring on-brand ingredients. Think sumac, allspice and pomegranate.

He describes the cocktails as “the perfect segue into the meal”. “A lot of the flavourings are the liquid equivalent to the food.”

This interest began at Ottolenghi’s sister restaurant Nopi (ottolenghi.co.uk), in Soho, where mixologist Lukasz Rafacz started experimenting in the kitchen. His colleague Patryk Wakula, who is in charge at Spitalfields, tells me: “The ideas grow organically. Inspiration comes from Yotam and Sami [Tamimi, his co-founder] — we just go into the kitchen and ask what is in season.”

Unusual flavours: far left, pineapple and sage martini, kumquat and passion fruit cocktail, sumac martini, rum and rosemary Old Fashioned. Saffron Chase, left, mixes gin with saffron, elderflower, lemon, and saffron syrup

Wakula stops to spritz rosewater onto a tall drink of kumquat, passion fruit, lemon, golden tequila and Cointreau and explains that the crossover from the kitchen means cocktails such as the sumac martini, which is a wonderful creation — dry with a bittersweet pomegranate juice kick. It’s made with Ketel One Vodka, lime and falernum, a homemade syrup of almond, ginger, cloves and allspice. It’s one of Ottolenghi’s favourites. He says: “It’s clean, palate cleansing, interesting, not at all sweet, original, beautiful and, crucially, delicious. The rooibos Old Fashioned is also — for very similar reasons — a favourite, with the bitter black Fernet Branca balanced by the rooibos tea syrup.”

Most of the ingredients are made on site. Wakula’s favourite drink is the pineapple and sage martini, because he enjoys roasting the pineapples, infusing the gin with sage and concocting the accompanying clove syrup. Sage is the latest herb being recommended for weight-loss jags — drinking this cocktail feels like a good way to try it out.

These drinks all complement the salads — you need to balance the virtue of having just vegetables for a meal somehow.

Latest bar reviews

1/80

Alcohol makes its way into Ottolenghi’s cooking sometimes too — concoctions include champagne and saffron jelly with cardamom shortbread, and stewed blackberries with bay and custard gin. Ottolenghi says: “Some puddings have to be just for the adults, right? Once you are too old to fit the number of candles your age requires on top of a dessert, it’s time to ditch them entirely and douse the whole thing with booze.” He adds a serious foodie note: “As well as giving a sense of occasion, a proper boozy soak also introduces an incredible depth of flavour.”

At the bar I admit to Wakula that I used to be a cocktail sceptic, with their girly Sex and the City-type connotations. They were too sugary, and not as satisfying as a glass of red wine. But now Sex and the City has been replaced by Mad Men – the show that has done wonders for the reputation of the Old Fashioned. Ottolenghi Spitalfields serves three twists on this classic cocktail.

Ottolenghi says there are many people like me. “A lot of people say they don’t normally order a cocktail but they love the cocktails at Spitalfields. They just don’t have a drop of the cloying sweetness that cocktails in restaurants can have. It’s a really nice bar to sit at — it’s just the right balance between bustling and intimate, and connects the deli and the restaurant — and just take some time out. It’s one of those ‘everything is okay with the world’ moments.”

In this warmer weather it’s hard to resist a cool glass of delicately spiced, good quality spirits (you can still open a bottle of red wine later). Just try not to become completely blottolenghied.

Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in