Discount Suit Co and Peg + Patriot, 7th August

The Discount Suit Company

This place is another basement bar serving cocktails speakeasy-stylee. Nothing groundbreaking there. Nothing groundbreaking in general really but that didn’t stop me from really liking the place. It takes its name from the shop that used to be here, and the original signage and façade are retained, giving pretty much no indication that there’s a bar below the dark hole that constitutes a doorway. It’s an odd location – near Brick Lane and near Liverpool Street but among the odds and sods of the environs of Petticoat Lane. Inside, the feeling is cosy and comfortable, with love seats in one corner to mooch into. The lighting is low (annoyingly so if you’re trying to take photos) and the music is excellent. We had some country, some soul and some disco in our short visit as well as My Sharona and that song Jessica Rabbit sings – Why Don’t you Do Right?.

The rest of the décor borrows heavily from the theme of a clothes shop with the bar made of drawers that you can imagine once held material to be tailored. In fact, the whole place reminded me a bit of a shoe shop. So far so good in terms of atmosphere.

And they kept it up in terms of drinks and service. As we weren’t sitting at the bar we had to rely on one of the staff regularly checking on us to be sure our drinks were replenished and our guy was pretty good at keeping on top of that. We stayed for two, not wanting to turn up at The Culpeper where I wanted to eat too late in case we couldn’t get in. I really enjoyed both my drinks, and even though the Peg + Patriot where we later went was good too, Discount Suit Co was the victor on this occasion.

First I had a Zizi Jeanmarie and Stephen had the Skipper. They were similar in taste, both of us having chosen drinks with fortified wine in them (mine sherry, his port) and both having pretty much nothing but alcohol in them. They were good, strong drinks.

We then had a quick second which were equally as tasteful. Stephan followed his Skipper with a Clipper, managing to make even absinthe taste good, and I had a Charlie Chaplin. Gin, more gin and apricot brandy. Delicious! Prices here were pretty good – one side of the menu had cocktails at £8.50, the other a bargain £7.50. They have a new place opening up in Bethnal Green (where else - and who decided this was the next 'in' area?) called the Sun Tavern which I shall be putting on the List.

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The Peg and Patriot

After our dinner at The Culpeper we made our way home via The Peg and Patriot, recently opened in the Town Hall, another place poshing Bethnal Green up a bit. We took a stool at the bar and took a gander at the amusingly named cocktails. I was drawn towards the odder-sounding concoctions but chickend out and ordered the relatively normal ones instead. They have a penchant for savoury cocktails, or those taking inspiration from a dish – hence the cocktail Pho Money, Pho Problems, designed to taste like pho, and the Rice Rice Baby, which uses rice ice cream liqueur. Needless to say they make all these crazy thigns in-house (where else would they get them from?!). I had the Rice Rice baby as a bit of a dessert to the evening and I really enjoyed the sweetened, bubbly drink. But first I ordered the Riot Cup Number One.

Stephen had the Barley Legal to start which tasted like a grown-up pina colada, and which he wasn’t very taken with and on the basis of this, didn’t want to stay for a second. I must admit, in comparison to the ones at Discount Suit Company, I wasn’t too enamoured either. The drink was eminently quaffable, but also reminded me a little too much of a Pimms. For drinks that sounded so different, they were a bit too familiar. But I persuaded him to take another bite at the cherry and our second drinks were much more to both our liking. His Rye your Eyes Mate came with a cherry dipped in beeswax for either peeling and eating whole, or, as he did, squishing into your drink. I’ve already said my Rice Rice baby was a lovely little number. 

The place was pretty swanky looking though not exactly full of life on a Thursday night. Prices for this kind of establishment were pretty standard – 8 or 9 pounds.

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