Satan's Whiskers

Satan's Whiskers describes itself as a neighbourhood bar, but in reality it is far too trendy to be taken as such. Also, you don't tend to have to wait 40 minutes to get a seat in a neighbourhood bar. But for me that's not a bad thing. It's nice to have such a cool little bar livening up a rather dull and kinda skanky stretch of road. And it's only one stop on the tube from my flat. Sold.

Great service and absolutely top knotch food! I went with 5 other friends and all of us were blown away. The servings are not huge but are big enough to fill a decent sized hole and coconut slaw in the brisket roll was a touch of genius! The scallop and bacon roll also comes highly recommended. It is of course first an foremost a cocktail bar and the drinks do not let the side down. I tried as many as I could and thoroughly enjoyed them all (particularly the A&B Sour). There's plenty of variety and the drinks menu changes daily so plenty of excuse for more future visits. The interior is also nice, especially if you're into taxidermy (I'm not particularly but it's not off-putting) and it has a great overall vibe. The bill when it came was a bit expensive, but well worth it in my opinion. A good night was had by all!

The Vibe

Walk past this bar three or four times , cursing the date you don’t yet know, scanning door numbers while wondering who on earth would pick the Cambridge Heath Road for an old fashioned wooing. But you trawled twitter in advance, read a lot about the good and stiff drinks and were finally sold by the mention of an old school hip hop playlist. Satan’s Whiskers, I’ll bite.

Finally you spy it, near a laundrette and some other uninspiring store fronts, and step into a candlelit, warming, old school joint. You prop up the bar as you wait and then station yourself at a wooden table small enough to feel intimate even when seated interview style. When things get real cosy later, you can do a simple crawl around to share the bench.

From the hype and Satan’s coy digital footprint (no actual website, just some social pages) you expected something a little more up its own pouring spout. However, on a Tuesday night, there are a respectable number of friendly punters, a cheerful vibe and some awesome tunes that creep imperceptibly up in volume as the lights get dimmer, and you get drunker.

The Order

The cocktail list changes daily but a good rule of thumb is to start with long drinks (El Diablo, Harvey Wallbanger) and move to short and efficient spirits later. Wind down with a potent Satan’s Manhattan – pure bourbon, vermouth and bitters. If you want to stretch things out after three rounds, simmer down with a Brooklyn beer or a cool Sierra Nevada.

The Game

You prop up the bar to wait for the inevitably late companion and banter with very friendly staff. You text her and ask what she’s drinking – she asks for a Skinny B**** (lots of vodka, lots of lime) – and you prop up the bar with a potent El Diablo (tequila, ginger syrup, lime, cassis and ginger ale). By the time she’s arrived you’re basically done so order another one quickly. You move from the bar to a table and get chatting. She’s drunk after one and you move onto your third. You chat shop, plan your week and relax into it fairly quickly. You stay longer than you should mid-week, check yourself before you wreck yourself and note to self that next time you’ll come on a weekend. Leave after two hours, walk to the station, say a formal goodbye and get something to eat on the way home. Long game.

The Faults

Bad influence mid-week. Crappy road.

Sex Factor

Solid 5 on a Friday (them drinks be strong), a little less earlier in the week.

Satan's Whiskers had a rough start during my visit, but an absolutely wonderful finish! They actually forgot about drink order and didn't realize that for almost twenty minutes. One major apology later, they compensated the drink, gave us a small glass of champagne, and we're prompt on every other. Wonderful service! The menu reads as a fun riff on classic cocktails. The only one I tried that I'd avoid was the Comodore. Otherwise the drinks were wonderful, including the off menu sazerac and Charlie Chaplin. The seating is a bit cramped but that's a minor gripe. I'd happily return any time for more excellent cocktails! Side note, they're all made from scratch - nothing is pre mixed as of October 2023.

Decent place for drinks but I really cannot understand the hype and how they are in top 50 in the world with so many good cocktail places in London. Worth going if in the area but not taking a special trip. Their menu feels very "basic" and even the decor is not that exciting

Phenomenal bar. My girlfriend and I received excellent service & drinks from the staff (Ollie & Yoann) for several hours. We were recommended to visit Satan’s Whiskers by a local.. We’re super happy that we went - thanks for the recommendation, Lucas! If you’re reading this - go & check it out, like we did, we’re sure you’ll be glad you did 🙂

Amazing staff, amazing service and amazing drinks. Popped in mid week and the bar was absolutely buzzing. Managed to get a seat at the bar and spotted Sipsmith on the back bar which I absolutely love. I mentioned that I love a Gin Martini and Emilio proceed to pull out a bottle of Sipsmith London Dry from the freezer to produce the finest Dry Martini. Easily had the best seat in the house to witness Emilio and the team provide a world class service to all customers. Their attention to detail and commitment to delivering a quality service is unrivaled. 10000/10

Service on point (thanks Kevin) and great atmosphere - easy to see why it’s rated so highly! Probably worth booking as we wouldn’t have got in otherwise.