TWO FLOORS

In Hoxton, a bar called Two Floors would come across as knowingly ironic. In Soho, it just sounds like a simple statement of fact. Tucked away at the south end of Kingly Street, Two Floors does indeed have two floors – a busy upstairs lounge and a small downstairs room full of tiki lamps and bamboo that reminded us ever so slightly of Elvis’s living room in Graceland. Before you take that analogy too far, the designers have shown commendable subtlety – while other bars plaster their walls with Hawaiian murals, Two Floors invokes the feel of a ’70s lava lounge using nothing more complicated than flickering tealights in volcano-red covers.

The first thing you notice when you walk in the door is the plastic-letter bar menu, with a list of cocktails as long as a Long Island Iced Tea, starting from a very respectable £6. Regulars swear by the caipirinhas (Brazilian cachaça, sugar and lime) and caipiroskas (the same, but with
vodka). Many cocktail bars go all out for the spirit-based concoctions and forget those of us who relish the fusion of hops, barley and yeast, but Two Floors has a generous selection of bottled lagers (including Modelo and Brooklyn) and ales (including connoisseur labels St Peter’s and Sierra Nevada).

The other thing we rate about Two Floors is the unpretentious mood. Despite the Will Broome ‘scary panda’ prints on the walls, nobody will take a second glance if your jeans aren’t the coolest brand or you came out in office brogues instead of Jimmy Choos. We find the mixed crowd a welcome change from the all-media clientele at some of the local competition. A cocktail bar you can actually relax in – now that’s a novel idea!