Happiness Forgets — Restaurant in London

AVOID this place if you're looking for a nice calming drink with a friend and think this will be the place. Firstly, I would like to start by saying I have been coming on and off to this bar for 10 years and have never had a problem. I decided to introduce my friend to this place, thinking it would be a cool place to take her, but on arrival we were greeted with the most disgusting attitude from the two women working that day- I won’t name names but the girl with the short brown hair and the head bartender. Brown hair being the one who created it by having a little gossip about my friend and I are whilst blatantly staring at us and whispering within the first minute we sat down. It is shocking to me that a bar like this would hire someone like her who can be no more than 25 years old with the mindset of an insecure and jealous teenager, not an adult. From walking in.. She looked us up and down as if we were an inconvenience being there, walked over to get the menus, stared at us, whispered something to bartender, who then laughed incredibly loudly and obnoxiously. We both immediately felt uncomfortable and I calmly addressed it when brown hair returned to our table with the menus, asking if she blatantly gossips about all the customers, both women denied it as if we were stupid. When I asked her about what it was and gave her a chance to be honest. She stuttered and said “oh.. it was.. we have been speaking about the presentation of the place ALLLL day” what a weird and obvious lie. It would have been much cooler if they admitted to making a stupid mistake, instead they only made us feel uncomfortable and felt like we should leave to enjoy our day elsewhere. I really think the hiring team should look better at the people they hire, who care more about judging customers they feel some type of strange way towards and what my friend and I could only describe as jealousy and unnecessary judgement towards two people who just wanted to enjoy a drink and focus on kinder people who are mature and focused on doing their job. They not only are pushing business out of the door that day but also a loyal customer. On top of this it was my friends birthday which made the experience even worse. Won’t be returning and emails to the business are being...

“Even if happiness forgets you a little bit, never completely forget about it.” Jacques Prévert

So comes up one of the results of a Google search when trying to work out the name of this little bar in Hoxton square. It is a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ cocktail joint, nestled secretly below a cafe. You could easily mistake it for a dive, but as you walk down the stairs towards a sign saying ‘bar’, the smell of incense hits you awakening your curiosity for what might be down below. You don’t get incense in dives.

Stepping in, a dimly lit bar bathed in warm red and white lights greets you. Clientele are eagerly chattering away with cocktails in various stages of consumption in front of them. A lively hum of conversation fills the room as waiters speed by delivering drinks and food. The bartenders, dapper young chaps, are shaking away the drinks combined from the many bottles of spirits decorating the shelves on the wall behind them. It is small, but yet comfortable – though it gets busy so booking in advance is recommended.

What’s quite striking about the venue is that it doesn’t have the upmarket polished ‘faux Speakeasy’ look that most cocktail bars seem to be going for these days, but still maintains a quaint old-worldliness about it. It unashamedly looks put together with comfortable chairs and cushions surrounded by exposed brickwork walls licked with a red paintbrush. Music, mainly various forms of jazz, flows out of the speakers combining itself into the laid back hustle and bustle of the atmosphere. The customers are a mix for the area that straddles itself between Shoreditch and the City. The drinks menu is small but hints to works for all tastes. Prices are on average with most cocktail places in London, but the results are high quality concoctions making you want to complete the whole menu.

In times where everywhere with vodka and cranberry juice can call themselves a cocktail bar, Happiness Forgets sticks out by a mile with their quality of drinks, laid back atmosphere and friendly vibe welcoming all who want to relax in this cosy...

A combination of a wonderful atmosphere and excellently-made drinks by masters of their craft. It's a little tiny bar hardly signposted; though its reputation leaves little need for signage. There was a short wait of 10 minutes (not bad for a Saturday night, considering Mayor/Scaredy Cat was a 90-minute wait). After being ushered in from the subterranean, covered-yet-outdoor waiting area, we were seated at a table, and given a menu and water by the gracious waitress. My first drink was on the menu; Jerevana. A delicious blend of sherries and orange bitters. A fascinating drink with an orange flavour, but without the hyperglycaemic coma-inducing sweetness that can be associated with orange. It had a noticeable bitter edge which suited the citrus flavour, but was very smooth. After this we were invited to sit at the bar. We were tended to by the friendly and chatty bartender who was keen to make sure I'd have something I'd like. I gave him my preferences (something gin-based and with some of the tartness & acidity associated with a Charlie Chaplain. He concocted something akin to a Martinez Sour, with gin, maraschino, egg white, and a deliciously herbaceous element. The service was sooth as were the drinks, and considerably warmer, the bar was dim, and atmosphere cosy. With a venue as small as this, I think it made for a very pleasant atmosphere that it wasn't filled with people standing and drinking; it'd have made it a little cramped. The menu, as good as it may be, might not be the largest, but I am more that sure you can trust the bartenders to mix something that'll knock...