The Golden Bee Cocktail Bar, Shoreditch – Review

The Golden Bee can be found in London`s coolest area, Shoreditch. Home to the ultra-trendy and hipster mob, there are lots of suave locations in the area to visit and a lot of bad ones too. We were lucky enough to visit the Golden Bee, which for us, is one of the best in the area! Just off Old Street, the Golden Bee has a stylish bar area and a spacious roof terrace, complete with heaters and outdoor seating. The décor initially appears dark, however, elements of great mood lighting perfectly highlight the high quality setting of the bar area – we loved it. We arrived quite early on A Friday night and the atmosphere was relaxed and the bar was already buzzing (sorry for the pun!).

The bar staff and fully trained mixologists made some absolutely fabulous cocktails, which really were to die for. Although the menu is concise, it seems to cater for all and it also offers some great twist on classic cocktails, such as the “Re-fashioned” and the “Old Street Mule”.We were put in capable hands and began our exploration of the menu.

Intrigued by the name and hankering for something sweet, we started with an Apple Crumble. The cocktail is a blend of spiced rum shaken with fresh apple, limes and home-made cinnamon syrup. The freshness of the apple and the zingy lime, really worked well against the cinnamon flavour and made for a truly balanced cocktail. I warn you now they are very easy to drink, so be careful not to get too carried away.

The Passion Fruit Collins was also one of our favourites. Depending on which way you swing, the cocktail is Vodka or gin based, to which passion fruits, passoa, sugar and lemon juice are added. I love any cocktail with passion fruit in, so this was always set to be a winner. A really easy going and drinkable cocktail!

Long Island Iced Tea, which wasn`t on the menu, but the drink was perfectly blended and tasted gorgeous. It`s easy to add too much or too little alcohol to an LIIT; however, there was a great balance in the drink and the flavours all came through individually.

If you are feeling a little bit more flamboyant, try the Pornstar Martini. A classic cocktail for any bar, yet the Golden Bee does it really well. Maybe clouded by my love of everything passion fruit, this drink was my favourite of the night. The vodka (which I believe had hints of vanilla) laid the foundations for (more) passion fruit, passoa liquor served with a shot of champagne on the side. The champagne perfectly complimented the cocktail itself and came together with gorgeous results.

I should also add that each cocktail comes in at a very reasonable £8!

In short, the Golden Bee is a fantastic night spot and a great way to indulge yourself in some cocktail goodness. Highly recommended.

http://www.goldenbee.co.uk/