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Jeff Tan — the former chef de cuisine of the high-end Chinese restaurant Hakkasan Mayfair — has confirmed that he will open a new Vietnamese cocktail lounge and ‘small plates’ bar in Chinatown next week. Viet Lounge will open on Thursday 7 June at 34-36 Wardour Street, promising to “serve wickedly moreish Asian fusion cocktails alongside signature Vietnamese small plates.”
The new speakeasy-esque lounge bar is situated on the third floor, above Tan’s existing Chinatown restaurant, Viet Food. (He operates a second restaurant, Go-Viet, in South Kensington.) The bar will be dominated by a central counter and Art Deco stained glass windows.
Tan says he has developed a new range of Vietnamese small plates to complement the “dynamic” new drinks list. The menu will feature: octopus salsa; sweetcorn crab balls grilled with homemade chilli sauce; fresh water prawns grilled with garlic and dressed with lemongrass vinaigrette; Hanoi beef braised with homemade fish sauce, bone marrow and black pepper crumble; and crispy tomato wrapped with bacon and mint. Small plates will be priced between £4.80 and £8.80.
Tan is joined at Viet Lounge with mixologist Alex Looi (formerly head barman at The Dorchester Hotel, Park Chinois and Hakkasan).
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Looi’s list features: “Voodoo” (vodka, cognac and pear liqueur, peach bitter, homemade clove with anise and Szechuan pepper syrup, lychee juice, raspberry, blackberry and lemongrass); “Black Magic” (vodka, coffee liqueur, pistachio syrup and homemade coconut milk); “Hibiswater Fizz” (vodka, plum bitter, homemade hibiscus syrup, aloe vera juice and champagne); and “High Five Mexico” (tequila blanco, matcha tea syrup, almond syrup, lime juice, cucumber and apple juice). These drinks will be priced between £8.50 and £12.80.
Viet Lounge will be on “soft launch” for three nights only with 50 percent off food and cocktails from Monday 4 to Wednesday 6 June, 5pm — 11pm. There are no reservations during this time, but bookings will be taken by phone from Thursday 7 June.