The Cocktail Trading Co.

5 Reviews on “The Cocktail Trading Co.”

• BlancheMange

  Cool little cocktail bar in a super central location (just off Oxford Circus). The cocktails are inventive and presented really well, the atmosphere is cosy and service is really friendly.I would recommend it to anyone who’s in the area and is looking for a relaxed place to have a drink. It’s a little difficult to find though since it’s in the basement of another bar!

  April 10, 2016, 7:26 pm

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• Charlene

  Drink presentations were very fancy, bartenders were really nice and they explained the drinks well. The taste however, wasn’t as amazing as how you would expect it to be.

  February 24, 2016, 2:16 am

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• Gingle Lists Everything

  From the cocktails I tried I would say some of the drinks here are more style over substance. But when the style is this fun, who really cares?I was already very familiar with this space when it was but the ‘&Co’ part of Central and Co – it was my and my best friend’s go-to cocktail joint that we always seemed to get a seat at. The Cocktail Trading Co has got a lot of publicity lately but it also doesn’t really make a song and dance about it when it comes to any signage which might explain why I managed to get a seat as soon as I turned up after work.I already knew I liked the space and it’s just as cosy as before, but this time you get monkey nuts to snack on. The staff are just as friendly and attentive, even though it’s busier than it ever was when I went before.Reading through the cocktail menu is where the fun begins. Not only do they have great names like Tu-Whit-Tu-Whoo-Woo but the descriptions are actually instructions – telling you how to make them and including helpful advice such as ‘shake like a dog in heat’ or ‘shake it up like a revolution’.They have the more ‘normal’ cocktails towards the front – margaritas and even mojitos. My friend had a ‘Delicious Sour’ made with calvados and peach wine which was indeed delicious and also very pretty.I had the aforementioned Tu-Whit-Tu-Whoo-Woo which was a Frankenstein version of a woo woo. Vodka, sage, peach and cranberry syrup and topped up with prosecco. And packed full of ice, so that the flavours were a little muted. I loved the owl it came in and the candy floss it was adorned with, even if the other things festooned on the top got stuck in it.On my second visit I finally chose a Scout’s Honour which was served in a tin cup and came with a ration tin wedged on top and some toasted marshmallows to complement the smoked marshmallow syrup. (Marshmallows are really only any good when set alight to some degree.) Again, I loved the presentation and the tin actually opened to reveal some sweets and a party popper! (Duly popped). But the drink itself didn’t do much for me – it took quite a while before I could discern the mallow sweet flavouring over the tequila.My companion had the Urn-Aged Corpse Reviver No.2 which, for one of their fanciful cocktails, was the least wackily presented. The cocktail rested atop a plot of grass/hay and with a little hand beside it (I think it was meant to be poking out of the ground). But it did taste nice, even if it was only half full. I even didn’t mind the absinthe afternotes.So, I still really like the bar, but I would probably steer towards the less interestingly styled cocktails if/when I go back. Except of course I will have to try the one in the noodle box…Photos to come! jaminaward.wixsite.com

  September 19, 2015, 6:08 pm

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• Tess Ward

  I love a good bit of theatricality with a round of cocktails on a night out. Smoking goblets, sherbert-laced martinis and drinks disguised as sloppy noodle takeaway boxes cannot fail to intrigue even the most traditionalist mojito drinker. Am I right?For years of being a rather selective drinker, but an experimental eater, (not a snail or frogs leg would cross my path intact) I have rather turned the scales. Give me something simple, like a plate of spaghetti (spelt of course) and pesto and I am happy. After discovering life beyond margaritas and mojitos, I am newly a lot more interested in the liquid to wash it down.This week my haunt of choice was the Cocktail Trading Company. A hidden underground speakeasy, slap bang in Oxford Circus. Where better, I thought, to head for a weekend of weird and wonderful cocktails I have yet to try?!Armed with two pro-taster assistants, I was ready for a long night of research.Hidden underground, beneath a restaurant, it took us a while of pavement marching in the cold before we found the place, but once inside I knew it was worth the frosted nose for. The vibe of the place was a mix of couple on dates, friends and people glammed up to party. An eclectic bunch, but to be expected in the centre of town. No stuck up city types, or stuffy old pub beards.The night began with the first play it safe round. A clover club, a cucumber martini (my new fave since my last trip to Bob Bob Ricard) and a tu-whit-tu-whoo.The clover club was mix of raspberry, gin, lemon and egg white. Light, fruity and refreshing, served in a martini glass. The cucumber martini was a classic gin base, shaken with a little vermouth, fresh cucumber and served with an edible garnish. The final drink (which I shall not write it again for fear of spelling mistakes) was a vodka based tipple, with peach and sage syrup and more than a dash or two of prosecco. Served in a mug with an extravagant candy floss garnish.Naturally they were all rather delicious. But as yet the best had yet to come is the name of the best drink of the night. Literally translating to Welcome to Kentucky and have a nice day,A jim bean, ginger and plum infusion with yuzu juice and energy kicking, matcha green tea. Not one for the fainthearted and certainly only for whisky lovers. It was a racehorse of a drink. Matcha is a fortified green tea (aka a caffeine powerhouse), making the drink not only delicious but also an effective energy pick me up for any flagging energy early in the night. As the name suggests, we did have such a nice time in Kentucky that we went back again for one more. And maybe one more after that.The other favourites drinks of the night were the Scouts Honour, the tequila shots, with bloody mary chasers, and a few others we were served off-menu. It is always a test of a good bartender if they can come up with the goods when you go off piste. Luckily these boys hit the nail on the head with ours.If havent got saturday plans already, there still might be enough time to nab yourself a prime time table. How better to top off a sunny London saturday?! tessward.com

  August 9, 2015, 3:33 pm

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• Becks Dobson

  It seems London’s been having a love affair with anything that’s not at street level – from the likes of The Shard, Sky Garden and Tower 42 towering above the city to places like WC, a wine and cheese bar that’s popped up in former facilities underground. Whilst this is nothing new, I think a few places are stepping up their game. Take The Cocktail Trading Co, for example. A downstairs speakeasy, yes. Like all the others out there? No.We stepped inside on a Wednesday night with an hour to kill before a dinner reservation (that’s another story). Most of the tables were already busy save for a spare couple that were booked out – but the friendly waiter said we were free to perch until their real owners arrived and happily for us, they never did. This gave us the perfect opportunity to check out the decadent decor – framed caricatures of familiar faces along one wall, a curio of objects along the other and an upright piano by the bar for those who fancy tickling the ivories.Turning our thoughts to the booze, we were quick to choose. I went for the Urn-aged Corpse Reviver No 2 which came served on a grassy tray complete with grabbing zombie hands and a thirst for more. Mixing Egyptian embalming gin, fortified honey wine, mandarin liqueur, lemon juice and absinthe this was a dream – not too fruity, not too sweet, not too sour but with enough depth, smokiness and warmth to have me hoping for a refill.S went for the No 42 (also called the Welcome to Kentucky, have a nice day) which blows any previous efforts at presentation straight out of the water. A Chinese takeaway box is filled to the brim with Jim Beam, ginger and plum infusion, yuzu juice and matcha tea then topped with crunchy noodle bites and edible flowers. This is cocktail genius – and well suited to the bar’s self-proclaimed productivity.The waiters were not only attentive but genuinely some of the friendliest I’ve ever been served by – a real testament to a bar that’s smack bang in the middle of the most stressful shopping streets in London.We would gladly have stayed for more (especially as the drinks are an unbelievable 9 each) but had to move on to catch dinner, but we’ll definitely be back. thenotsosecretdiary.com

  May 16, 2015, 4:31 pm

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