Slow starter

There is a school of thought that suggests you could open a cardboard box in some parts of town and it would immediately fill up with crowds of willing punters. This theory follows the principle that nature abhors a vacuum, and if testament to the positive could ever be found, Shoreditch would probably be held up there as an example of an area least likely to fail a new bar.

But the typical Shoreditch bar tends to be a grungy affair, catering to the fashionably unfashionable nouveau peasants who live there. True style bars and glamorous cocktail lounges tend to prosper in other parts of this city, which is possibly why the new Savarona, an Ottoman-style lounge bar and restaurant operation, sits a little uncomfortably with its near neighbours.

Savarona - relocated from premises in Covent Garden's King Street - consists of an immaculately manicured ground-floor bar with lowslung leather furnishings, dark wood decor and Ottoman insignia in the wrought iron partitions, and a gently kitsch, low-lit basement restaurant which, in stark contrast to the bar, wouldn't be out of place in Romford if filled with cab drivers wearing bling-bling jewellery.

But neither the bar nor the restaurant were busy with any type of clientele during my visits, which in the case of the bar is tantamount to criminal neglect by the Shoreditch public. My mate St John, who lives hereabouts, likes the venue because it's so quiet. Something to do with being a useful place to entertain his harem, I seem to recall him saying.

The cocktails are fabulous and the menu is helpfully divided into lists of sweet, sour, long, short and sparkling concoctions(£6.50, or £7.50 with champagne). For a dry, punchy, full-of-flavour quick hit, try the Ahu Dudu (raspberry flavoured vodka stirred with elderflower cordial and white cranberry juice), or for those with a sweeter tooth, a Cherry Badem (Jameson Irish whiskey with cherries and white chocolate) should do the trick.

Beers are available by the bottle and include Efes, a Turkish pilsner, Hoegaarden, the Belgian wheat beer, and Dos Equis, a Mexican lager. Yummy bar snacks include filo pastry sticks with spinach, feta cheese and Turkish sausage (£4.50); spicy, skewered (Spanish) sausages (£4.50); and a raki meze plate of a shot of raki (a fruit brandy flavoured with anise), feta cheese, melon, cucumber, tomato and rocket salad.

It's a shame I can't say this place has a positive vibe, but three people do not an atmosphere make. At the time of writing I would say that Savarona is suitable for discerning drinkers of all ages, but when this place takes off - as it surely will - I hope it remains true to its principles of being a delightful Turkish bar with an above average drinks offering.

Savarona
66 Great Eastern Street, EC2