In a city bursting with exceptional, world-renowned cocktail bars, it can be difficult for new entries to stand out from the crowd. The solution? For the founders of Flipdog on Old Street, it’s a searing hot poker – heated to 1200 degrees Celsius – known as a loggerhead, or flipdog.
Not to be confused with a medieval torture device, the flipdog is at the heart of a once-revolutionary technique, first recorded in the 17th century, that sees the red-hot poker used to heat and sanitise liquids while caramelising sugars in boozy mixed drinks.
This method gave birth to the famously theatrical Blue Blazer cocktail. The definitive version was created by pioneering American mixologist Jerry Thomas in the 1850s: a blend of Scotch whisky, boiling water and sugar that’s prepared by igniting the liquid and pouring it between two metal mugs, creating a blue flame and imparting a smoky flavour. Centuries later, the flipdog has inspired a team with deep roots in Eastern Europe’s modern cocktail scene – founders Artem Skapenko and Alex Kostenyuk, and head bartender Igor Brovko (ex-Tayer & Elementary), all hail from Ukraine.
Skapenko first revived the centuries-old tradition at World’s 50 Best-recognised cocktail bar Loggerhead in Kyiv. For Kostenyuk, the London concept has been a long time coming. “The cocktail culture in London is one of the biggest in the world,” he says. “It was always our dream to open a place in London, so we just finally got the chance to make it happen.”
Flipdog is divided into two distinct spaces, spread across two floors on Old Street in Shoreditch. At street level, floor-to-ceiling windows flood the tin-lined, 20-seat arch with natural light. “We wanted to create a space for more fast and casual occasions, like aperitivo,” Kostenyuk says. “It’s a space for conversation.” Here, the team is planning a rotating programme of collaborations and pop-ups, ranging from ice-cream partnerships to speciality coffee takeovers. “We want to create a few new, different reasons to come, not just to be concentrated on the cocktails.”
Downstairs, meanwhile, the space draws on the all-out drama of the loggerhead, amped up by a tactile, futuristic design. Modern wood panelling, metal finishes and deep blue flocked surfaces decorate the walls and bar, while booths feature abstract textured prints and bespoke partitions etched with the Flipdog name. Dreamt up by the Kyiv-based Yod Group, the long bar allows guests to marvel at the spectacle of the loggerhead method in action, the iron poker plunging into metal cups to caramelise sugars and intensify flavour.
Served in custom-made glassware to create what Kostenyuk describes as a “multisensory experience”, drinks are a far cry from the classics. “We are a method bar,” he says. “We focus on the different types of methods – for us, it’s a priority.”
The opening menu is structured around 10 drinks served in custom glassware, each linked to a specific “moment” or “feeling”, according to Kostenyuk. One standout is his take on the Irish coffee, called the Morning Platform, featuring Buffalo Trace bourbon, Laphroaig whisky, Disaronno, oloroso sherry, filter coffee and salt, heated with the loggerhead. “We wanted to create the same feeling you have when you need to catch a train early in the morning … you feel cold, but at the same time you have a cup of coffee, filling you with warmth and comfort.”
There’s a substantial food menu, too. Small plates and desserts mix Asian ingredients with Eastern European flavours and European bar food traditions. “We don’t want to focus on one category,” Kostenyuk says. “We’re about collecting the most exciting ingredients across the world.” Among the opening dishes are bluefin tuna and octopus skewers, loosely inspired by the Gilda, as well as a luxuriously silky (and very à la mode) matcha trifle.
Flipdog
104–122 City Road, EC1V 2NR
Hours:
Tue to Thu 3pm–11pm
Fri & Sat 3pm–2am
