Tasos Gaitanos and Alex Large the founders behind the fast growing popular establishment under the name of Brother Marcus has recently brought a new creation to the heart of Soho.
Meet Kamara – a new cocktail bar. Terracotta pots filled with ferments, warm equally terracotta coloured walls and little mezzes take us to the warm Mediterranean coast.
Which is ideal since the weather hasn’t quite warmed up even there yet, but the vibe at Kamara has.
The cocktails menu here showcases house-made infusions, macerated spirits and bold, regionally inspired cocktails.
Think hay smoked tomato spirit and Axia mastiha that’s just the type I love. Classics are good, but you can’t argue with Kitron Margarita and Yogurt Cosmo.
They are our first cocktails on order. The pottery around the bar is more than decorative, the pots are used to impact on the flavour of macerations through primitive ageing techniques.
Like the Yogurt Cosmo, or Yosmo, with Kamara’s blackberry and caramelised beetroot spirit, sloe gin, raspberry vinegar and clarified greek yogurt for that light cream sourness. It’s clean, velvety and a little fruity.
While the margarita features a Lost Explorer tequila blanco, traditional Greek grape pomace based spirit – Tsipouro and Naxos Kitron liqueur.
But despite being served straight up and with an array of spirits it’s surprisingly smooth and clear of that margarita kick.
Citrus blossom and Yorkshire lemon verbena hint at that familiar citrus finish, while wild green gooseberries keep it unique.
Both are so good they go in a jiffy, which calls for more alongside some dishes. The bar nibbles come from the downstairs neighbour – Brother Marcus restaurant itself. It’s mezze, dips and pitas.
Coming from a cold climate shaped by soups and rich, slow-cooked dishes, Greek food—with its generous spread of dips and bread—never particularly captivated me.
I was raised on the idea that dinner should be cooked rather than blended into a smooth paste. And yet, even I’ve developed a genuine soft spot for Mediterranean dips.
I may not fully think of them as a meal in themselves but as a beginning to the evening, they are wonderfully indulgent, comforting and far more addictive than they have any right to be.
With some warm pitta bread we share a good portion of smoked aubergine baba ghanoush topped with harissa oil.
It’s delicately smoky and smooth, the oil adds depth and richness rather than heat, making it satisfying and easy to return to.
Baba ghanoush works well as a dip to the crispy calamari even. I mix and match between that and zhoug aioli, which is a vibrant green cilantro Middle Eastern condiment.
Burnt lime is also optional on the side for a bit of a BBQ touch. I note that most of the bar dishes are GF, even the calamari although it has a crisp batter like coating.
If I didn’t know from the menu I would have thought there’s wheat in it. They make GF replacements so good nowadays, even better than the original.
Moving onto the third dish is a selection of cheese, which may sound plain to some but don’t jump to conclusions. It’s Greek cheese, despite Greek food being a huge hit for the last few years.
I feel not many are familiar with the regional cheeses there. So we educate ourselves. Caramel like buttery Cretan Graviera is a hard table cheese made from a mix of sheep’s and goat’s milk.
Alongside is a mature, nutty and a little spicy Naxos arseniko, crafted from raw sheep and goat’s milk. All blend in perfectly with wild sweet figs, za’atar & sumac pita chips and fresh crisp radish.
One more drink to talk about is Mikonian Martini, vodka based of course with earlier mentioned Tsipouro, pickled cucumbers and tomato water infused on premises in those Cretan artisan potters.
It’s satisfyingly savoury and so fresh with a semi dry finish.
Kamara is an excellent new spot to visit. It thinks outside the box offering artisan cocktails at humble prices in a sunny ambience.
Kamara, 58 Poland St, London W1F 7NR