Islington's Irish cocktails

The sleek lines of bijou 'Irish cocktail bar' Anam seem at odds with its setting. We are, after all, in the heart of Islington's deeply scruffy Chapel Market, where plush brown and cream leather and gentle orange mood lighting are not exactly the norm. Sure enough, after a few hours the clientele were looking decidedly more chav than chic.

Undeterred, we decided to tackle the cocktail list. The enthusiastic (and brand new) manager/barman was eager to point out he was about to expand the cocktail list by about 200 drinks. 'Choose a flavour and a style and I'll create a drink for you.' 'OK, mango.' 'Er, actually I haven't got that at the moment.' 'Alright, blueberry.' 'Um, blackberry is similar, you know, how about that?'

We stuck to the list from then on, and were not disappointed: the Coconaut Martini (Havana Anejo Blanco shaken with lime and coconut) and the Re-entry version (with a Wray & Nephew flaming half-lime added) were fun.

Anam's sole claim to Irishness seems to be its range of Irish whiskies, but this wasn't flagged up and by the time it occurred to me we were too plastered to partake. It does merit venturing back.

Anam
3 Chapel Market, N1 9EZ