Telling a Knight's cocktail

This review was published in August 2002

Until recently, there haven't been a lot of things to like about Knightsbridge. Cynical observers (okay, so it was me) once commented that the filthy lucre-laden locality had only two things in its favour: both of them retail emporiums (and one of which was deemed visitable only during sale time).

But the area beloved of American tourists and Arab expats is experiencing something of a style renaissance, thanks in no small part to a long-overdue incursion of new bar blood: The Blue Bar, Isola's Isobar and Zuma have been making in-roads with the in-crowd in recent months, and it's a rejuvenation set to be consolidated with the launch of the latest addition to the Douglas Ankrah oeuvre.

If you don't know the name, you will almost certainly have experienced the legacy. Having honed his cocktail-creating skills in the then-trendy Hard Rock Cafè, and with 15 years of bar-tending experience under his belt, Ghana-born Ankrah established the London Academy of Bar-tending, which lent its initials - and many of its alumni - to Soho's precedent-setting Lab bar.

Boasting an exhaustive menu of luscious liver-destroyers, the three-year-old establishment set new standards in cocktail innovation, and has been credited with pioneering the nowubiquitous 'mixologist' movement.

Unsurprisingly, it's a much-plagiarised formula. 'Ten thousand menus go missing from The Lab every year,' says Ankrah, 'and it's amazing where they turn up. A colleague was presented with one in a bar in New York.'

The bar's commercial success sealed Ankrah's reputation as (arguably) London's foremost chef du cocktail, with his Midas touch now evident on the menus of Nectar, The Red Fort's Akbar and countless projects 'I'm not allowed to discuss'.

So what of his new venture, Townhouse? Secreted in a suitably salubrious sidestreet off the main tourist drag, the ivy-covered building cuts an unimposing presence: if it weren't for the impeccably dressed doorman, I'd have walked straight past.

Once inside, it's immediately clear that Ankrah (along with long-time business partner Richard Hargroves) is cultivating an ambience far removed from the pheromone-fuelled funkiness of The Lab. While the three-floored venue has all the overt trappingsof trendiness - brown leather banquettes with adjustable backs, velvet drapes, plasma-screen TVs and a manned DJ booth - the emphasis is on high-end lounging.

'I see it as a boutique bar. We designed it to suit the area, which is why we've paid so much attention to detail. But it's not exclusively for locals: it should appeal to anyone who wants a bloody good drink, accompanied by some top-notch food,' says Ankrah.

The food is a focal point, with wheat, gluten and guilt-free lunch options available alongside indulgent evening meals and appetite-whetting weekend brunches. 'We want it to be relaxed. People come here to unwind - it's like a private members' club, but without the exclusionary admissions policy.'

And what of the drinks? Having perused the menu - a tome comprising 120 confections, 25 of which are new - I and my companion partook of a St Augustus (pineapple vodka, Psang Ambon liqueur, grape, apple and carrot and lemon juices; 'named after my father - you should feel privileged drinking that'), a Ruby Tuesday (Cristall cranberry vodka, mandarin Napoleon, Licor 43, passionfruit and cranberry juice - the bar's bestseller) - and countless others besides.