Manhattans Project bar to pop up at Pond Dalston in London
East London pop-up cocktail bar the Manhattans Project is to launch at Hawaiian restaurant Pond Dalston in north London on 4 September.
Overseen by Felix Cohen, the bar is set to run for three months in its new restaurant home, which is run by chef Byron Knight. It originally started in Knight's other venture, New-York-inspired bar Off Broadway in East London, and has since also taken a three-month residency at Hackney café-bar Bohemia, and has run the house bar at Kerb Street food market in Spitalfields.
The Manhattans Project menu features "classic cocktails done right", with tweaks using seasonal ingredients. Naturally, the signature drink is the House Manhattan, made with Rittenhouse 100, cognac, vermouth, and a homemade brandied cherry; but other favourites will include the American Gothic, with whiskey and calvados smoked with apple wood; the 8 Rum Mai Tai, with rums, pineapple and almond syrup; a Lychee Story, with gin, Thai basil and lychee; and the classic Sex on the Beach, with white whiskey, blood orange soda and cranberry bitters.
There will also be takes on nostalgic drinks such as a "boozy hot Ribena" designed for winter, along with small servings of Negroni, and a selection of alcohol-free choices.
The drinks are designed to work alongside the food menu at Pond, which has been developed by Californian-born, Japanese-Polish head chef Byron Knight, and is based on dishes inspired by the ingredients and culture of Hawaii, the Pacific and Asia. Typical options include Kalula pork smoked with iceberg cups; ahi tuna and salmon with Thai basil oil; and charred avocado with pickled mushroom and Japanese chilli.
Knight trained under chefs in Los Angeles and New York, and also launched American barbecue restaurant and microbrewery Dukes Brew & Que in London's Haggerston in 2012.
Dalston's Street Feast launches new night-time market event >>Looking for a job? See all the current pub and bar vacancies available with The Caterer Jobs >>
Latest video from The Caterer
