42 Devonshire Road, Chiswick, London W4 2HD www.evansandpeel.com

Keep taking the medicine – new menu at the Pharmacy and The Detective Agency

Knocking on the door of Evans & Peel Pharmacy in Chiswick, I spot a medical skeleton standing in the shop window alongside the bottles of tinctures, potions and evil looking medicines. When I am eventually let in I sneak past him into a secret bar as the windows simultaneously black out to preserve its identity.

Pharmacy is a 1920s style cocktail bar which takes its inspiration from The Prohibition Speakeasy joints. Once inside, we find a cosy, atmospheric bar with vintage furniture and low lighting.

There are no skeletons here as Pharmacy in Chiswick  and its sister establishment The Detective Agency in Chelsea have now both introduced a Smokehouse menu with southern American dishes all made daily using their own in-house smoker, as well as a small plate led bar menu.

Under the heading’Consume with Liquids’ Pharmacy offered  deep fried wings in buffalo sauce, charred padron peppers with smoked goats cheese, Mac’n’ Cheese with pulled pork or smoked mushrooms, Padron peppers and Root beer BBQ beans with pork brisket and smoked sausages served with mustard – all healthy portions with strong flavours to tempt the weakest appetite.

Cocktails build on the chemist theme with The Pharmacy’prescribing’ botanical and herbal cocktails to their guests such as ‘Marabout Healing’using Brokers gin washed with toasted sesame oil, Cynar, homemade date syrup, fresh lemon juice and egg white.

An Alexander Fleming (cognac infused with jasmine tea, gentian liqueur, calvados and fresh lemon) and Louis Pasteur (aquavit, fresh lime, kumquat and chive cordial) are among the many options.  I had to sample the Potassium Up (side effect may include youthful effervescence the menu warns) which contains yagura cachaça, Aperol, dried banana, citrus rhubarb syrup and champagne.

Larger plates are on offer at The Detective Agency with Carolina style pulled pork, t Louis with cut pork spare ribs, Texas style brisket, and Pulled eggplant and mushroom brisketall served with pickles, buttermilk potatoes, BBQ beans and slaw, as well as house sauces.  The meat is sourced from local London butcher, HG Walter of Baron’s Court

Both sites were designed by owner Chris Peel.

Detective Agency: serving the Smokehouse menu from 7pm-10pm and a bar menu from 5pm-10pm.

Pharmacy: serving small plates of the smokehouse menu and a bar menu from 5pm-10pm.

Evans & Peel Pharmacy, 42 Devonshire Road, Chiswick, London W4 2HD