Nozomi

Nozomi is a Japanese restaurant, serving up (in their words)’contemporary Japanese cuisine’ and’eclectic cocktails’. While I don’t know nearly enough about Japanese food to give credence to the first statement – they served sushi, sashimi and tempura, what more do you want? – I can safely say the cocktails were eclectic.

Every spirit under the sun is on offer here, mixed with every fruit money can buy. Although we tried a few, including the watermelon bumbum and a fruit cocktail that floated in a small bowl of ice, my favourite was possibly the simplest – the Japanese Old Fashioned. That said, as well as whisky and sake, they had flavoured this with hints of caramel and a stick of ginger, so not that simple after all. A nice strong drink, that takes a good while to sip, the caramel gave a sweeter than usual taste, while the ginger left a medicinal aura. Mmm…medicinal.

Crockers Folly

Crocker’s Folly is brought to us from the guys behind the much-loved Lebanese chain, Maroush. The Grade II listed building it inhabits was once home to a hotel and Victorian gin palace. Last week, after ten years of abandonment, followed by a period of intricate restoration, it opened to the public once again.