Hoxley and Porter (Bar, Restaurant)

Top 10 things I discovered about Hoxley and Porter restaurant when I visited

1) Hoxley and Porter is much more than mere bar or restaurant. It is, in fact, inspired by adventure and classic colonial rail travel and thus bears a closer resemblance to an opulent steam train carriage, journeying across the land [insert chugga-chugga noise here].

2) Sound far-fetched? A train conductor ushered us to our seats. Fact.

3) Hoxley and Porter is, would you believe it, the second Victorian-inspired drinking den on Upper Street, following House of Wolf.

4) Hoxley is said to have been a Victorian explorer who inspired the plush dining carriage, which seats just 28. The cocktail bar is named after Porter, “a diamond so exquisite that since its discovery in 1880, has inspired riches, ruin and royalty.”

5) The interior is all House of Hackney print pillows, Art Deco mirrors, vintage suitcases, olive green armchairs and decadent, glass lampshades. Throw in a bit of jungle-inspired wallpaper and enthusiastic staff in fin de siècle attire and you’re just about there.

6) British gourmet is the cuisine of choice at Hoxley and Porter, and it certainly does not disappoint. We dined on scallops with celeriac puree, crispy bacon and truffle jus; salt and pepper squid; cider-braised pork belly with bubble and squeak and, wait for it, truffle macaroni with sunflower seeds and parmesan cheese. All as divine as they sound.

7) Ex-Powder Keg Diplomacy bartender, Mikey Pendergast, offers up a quirky cocktail menu, with plenty of exotic flourishes. Our favourites included Scarab’s Toddy, which ingeniously combines whiskey and stout, and Regal Roberts: Earl Grey infused gin topped with sparkling wine.

8) Take note: no matter how delicious the main, you must, repeat MUST, save room for pudding. Despite being as full as an egg, I greedily snaffled up panna cotta with honeycomb and peach, while my partner devoured the Neil’s Yard cheese plate.

9) The bar and restaurant is the venture of Costa Tofan, the brains behind the uber hip and Narnia-esque Betsy Smith in Kilburn, which has won awards for its design and interiors, courtesy of Kai Design.

10) Looking for somewhere that oozes 1920s colonial chic (and why wouldn’t you?!) then this is your place. We were promised a venture that was a cut above the rest, and Hoxley and Porter certainly delivered. All aboard indeed....read more