Good morning and welcome,
On Wednesday, KAM ran a Trade Tour around innovative pubs and bars in South London. My personal favourite venue was First Aid Box (FAB) in Herne Hill on the main drag to Brixton.
Built around the theme of medical and general wellbeing (or not, depending on your choices!), FAB gives customers the opportunity to pick from a “healthy” (Doctors Orders) or an “indulgent” (Against Doctors Orders) side of their extensive cocktail menu.
FAB create “shrubs”; kind of pickles using healthy ingredients that are added to drinks, and use herbs, vegetables and fruits wherever possible to add to the health credentials of their menu.
First Aid Box has a lot of medical paraphernalia being used in drinks and the decor is suitably themed; I was particularly impressed with my “Drip Advisor” cocktail served in a medical saline fluid bag. Chris, one of the two owners told me on the day (with not a small amount of glee) that people bring in all sorts of medical items and challenge them to create drinks that involve said items. His latest focus was trying to find a use for a kidney flush!
Just when you thought that things couldn’t get any weirder, bar snacks include dried crickets. The face in the picture below was slightly different 10 seconds later after I’d tried one!
First Aid Box could easily be a “gimmicky” bar; but thanks to great food, authentic decor, excellent cocktails and friendly, knowledgeable staff, it works- and what a great fit for the current trend towards “health and wellbeing” within the industry.
After last night’s disappointment of not winning the pub quiz, tonight I’ll be staying in and swotting up on my general knowledge. Tomorrow I’m taking the family out for lunch and then on Sunday we have friend over for what will certainly be a boozy Sunday Lunch.
Please keep your thoughts/pictures/trade examples coming- and if there’s anything specific you’d like us to focus on in these emails, just let us know!
Katy
