For the first time since opening in 2019, Lyaness is running a happy hour, starring five classic cocktails with creative twists, plus a selection of snacks – starting with £3 oysters.
In the Sea Containers Hotel on the South Bank, Lyaness is renowned for its high-concept creations, often using experimental ingredients (for example, the folklore-themed Lyan King blends whiskey with jellyfish and gooseberry). But with his happy hour menu, celebrated mixologist Ryan Chetiyawardana is keeping things simpler, using the core ingredients from the regular 12-strong menu to create intriguing twists on classic cocktails.
“We wanted to create a menu for everyone for everyone, while remaining true to ourselves,” says bar manager Lucy Thomas. There’s the Bramble, swapping the cocktail’s usual gin base for Tapatio tequila, plus “matchstick” grenadine, blackberry and lemon; the Ruby Old Fashioned, with Johnny Walker Black Ruby whisky and fermented chocolate; and the Pawpaw Daisy, with Bacardi Cuatro rum, tropical beer, passionfruit and lime. Naturally, there’s the Lyaness Martini, with a choice of Grey Goose vodka or Beefeater gin, made however you like it. The pared-back snacks menu includes £5 tots with buttermilk ranch, popcorn buffalo chicken with pickled celery and £3 English coastal oysters with blackcurrant mignonette.
Thomas hopes that the happy hour – which runs from Monday to Friday, 5pm to 7pm – will draw in a wider after-work crowd. “We have such a diverse community around us; our neighbours, offices, and cultural hubs, and we wanted to be a space that can connect them all together,” she says. “The timing of the happy hour caters perfectly for those post-work drinks, and unwinding after a long day.”
Her top cocktail and snack pairing? “The Lyaness Martini and tater tots are a no-brainer,” she says. “And the Rhubarb Spritz with the oysters.”
The Lyaness Happy Hour runs from Monday to Friday, 5–7pm.
