Smokey Kudu

The owners behind the hit Peckham restaurant Kudu have now opened their own chic cocktail bar, nestled under the arches by Queens Road station. The small but perfectly-formed drinks list includes 1s different cocktails with subtle South African influences (we particularly love The Perske Boom, a blend of Mezcal, Peach Liqueur, Pink Grapefruit, Cumin and Bitters) and a couple of snacks to keep you going, such as biltong (a dried meat snack popular across the country). Sleek and intimate, Smokey Kudu revolves around a central horseshoe bar with a sky-high back bar set against an arched mirror geometrically framed with dark oak wood. Peep the two-metre high chandelier hanging over the bar and tell us that your interiors goals haven't just been elevated.

mood Sleek and intimate; features a central horseshoe bar with a sky-high back bar and a two-metre high chandelier.

Smokey Kudu, the cocktail bar at South African restaurant Kudu in Marylebone, boasts a cocktail menu inspired by South African ingredients and south London spirit. An inventive list of more than 15 drinks includes the Braai Negroni – tarragon, mezcal, Gran Classico, vermouth, Noilly Prat and Campari – and the SE15 Martini – bucchu, vodka, gin and Cocchi Americano, offering fresh takes on the classics that sit alongside a variety of original serves. With pages and pages of spirits and digestifs, the options are extensive and include some huge South African names, including wines from Klein Constantia, Mullineux and Graham Beck.

mood boasts a cocktail menu inspired by South African ingredients and south London spirit

Smokey Kudu is above the restaurant proper, softly resplendent in browns and fuzzy reds... The service is slick, there’s a gentleness to the place, and the drinks are beyond sound.

mood softly resplendent in browns and fuzzy reds, the conjuring of lionish feelings where orange light falls milkily on courageous drinking.