Last time I went to the Cat and Mutton I made the mistake of
not having any food there. And this time – I kinda did again! Fate had
determined that I was to have a work lunch that day and it kept me surprisingly
full for so long that by the time we went to the Cat and Mutton for our dinner
reservations, I wasn’t hungry. We did manage to fit in a couple of things, but
first, we went to Stories.
Stories
There seem to be some places that you just instantly like,
without even knowing why. Stories was that kind of place. It’s the sister venue
of the Book Club and has that same kind of laid back, light and airy feel to it. Long
tables in the middle and smaller ones round the edge are all loomed over by
huge white lamps.
We were there for drinks only but we saw other people’s food
and it looked great. It also wasn’t too busy for a Friday night, meaning we
could get a table and have a catch up without feeling cramped and without
having to shout. We stayed for about an hour and had two cocktails, although
the last one had to be gulped down rather quickly. We ordered at the bar but
the drinks were brought to our table and I must admit the last one took so long
to arrive I began to worry they’d forgotten about us.
Drinks were good – Alison had the Naughty which she wanted
me to mention was possibly the best tequila cocktail she’s ever had. It was
tequila, apple, cucumber, chili and lime. I had the Kiss and Tell – gin,
strawberry and balsamic syrup, lemon and cucumber. I thought this was summery
and fresh but I would say that the ingredients sounded more interested than
they actually taste. However, for my next – a Likely – I was wowed. This was
basically a rum and coke but with the addition of Disaronno, giving it an extra
dimension. I could happily go back and while away a few hours sipping on these.
And so, we arrived at the Cat and Mutton and went straight
upstairs to Pearl where we joked with the host about our need to make a
reservation (it was empty). We got a bottle of wine to share – a nice picpoul, after
much debate about trying the one recommended by our host until it turned out
they didn’t have it! And then we still weren’t really hungry so we decided to
get another bottle of wine. But I really wanted to try some food despite my
lack of appetite so we also got some bread with smoked butter and the beetroot
hummus with homemade vegetable crisps. As far as ‘nibbles’ go these were some
high-end fare. The bread was amazing – chewy, dense. The butter was so thick it
was like clotted cream – I never before have scooped bread into butter as if it were a
dip. I loved the veggie crisps even if a couple were a tad chewy rather than
crispy, and the hummus was lovely and light (though the beetroot seemed to
mostly add to the colour rather than the taste). And our waiter was just lovely
the whole time. I already liked the downstairs part of the pub but climbing
those beautiful wrought-iron stairs is well worth it too for a less pub-like
atmosphere.
The Souls
We ended the night on a high by dipping into The Souls (where
Portside Parlour used to be). It’s still without any obvious sign it exists and
is still incredibly dark down there, but it feels completely different to
Portside cos now it’s all about the dancing! I would no longer use terms like ‘drinking
den’ and ‘illicit’ instead I would say ‘party’ and ‘disco’! We ended up
chatting to the guy who runs the place and his wife who’d been roped into
working for the night but seemed to be having a whale of a time. Apparently his
friend comes up with the cocktail concoctions while he concentrates on the ‘audio
pleasure’ which is meant to be the main focus of the place. We had a taste or
two of their frozen margarita which was great but for our nightcap I chose the fiery Fire and Ice - a dark and stormy with added storm (chili bitters). I would
have happily stayed until it closed (about 2 am) – it was like stumbling on a
private party getting into its stride (complete with resident cat uninterested
in anyone) – but I had to get home. I was driving to Dorset the next day for a
wedding! But I know I’ll be back.
