Little Bat — Restaurant in London

Little Bat is the sister bar to London favourite, Callooh Callay. We headed North to this lovely bar in Islington and found a thoughtfully designed interior and friendly staff to welcome us. Comfortable seating, dark tones and shelves full of books, bottles and vintage mirrors make up the space. We stayed to try out the weekend brunch offering and of course, the cocktails.

Little Bat has a creative sounding cocktail list with some eye catching ingredients. We chose the Elevenses (£10) with McVitie’s Digestive Rumbullion, Tea, Fair Cacao, This arrived looking very much like a cup of tea complete with an amaretto creamy “milk” to add to your taste. It could not have been more suited for a brunch! The Earl 75 (£13) was a gin based number with Few Breakfast Gin, lemon vanilla syrup and veuve champagne. It had lots of bubbles and sharp flavours which was great if you love a good gin cocktail.

We began with the lemon and coriander olives (£3) and truffle popcorn (£2.50). The popcorn had a lovely coating of truffle oil and plenty of salt. They were great snacks to accompany the drinks. The beetroot hummus and zaatar flatbread (£7.50) came next. I usually have a rule of not filling up on bread before mains but this flat bread was an absolute exception. Smothered in zaatar spices that worked fabulously with the fresh beet hummus, it was a great starter.

Little Bat have a range of brunch mains depending on your mood (and hunger level). From granola to pancakes to chicken and waffles, the menu offers interesting choices. The pancakes I can seriously recommend – served with almond butter, strawberries, orange zest and mint (£7.50). Made with polenta and served with a good glug of maple syrup, they were melt-in-the-mouth soft and full of light summery flavours – perfect 10/10 for these. The chickpea & potato parmesan rosti was our second option with spinach, poached egg & hollandaise (£9.50). A nice carby number, perfect if you have a hankering for a nice filling brunch! The egg was perfectly runny and the rosti had great texture.

With so many places jumping on the brunch train and offering weekend brunch menus, it is nice to try a bar that takes the food just as seriously as their (very good) cocktails. The food is classic brunch dishes with flavourful ingredients that really pop. The prices for the brunch options are very reasonable and great for the variety and portion size you get. The cocktails are on the pricier side but for the variety of ingredients and unique combinations we feel they are justified and worth trying. There is also a bottomless option should you want to go all out (£25pp) and the venue is beautifully kitted out and has a...

Came for a cocktail, a pint and some nibbles with my partner.

Drinks: We each got the same cocktail, the Pop Tart. I know that some cocktails are short, but this one was REALLY short. In the picture attached, you can see the tiny glasses with the single massive ice cube each in them. Those are the glasses used for the cocktail. Yes, with that colossal ice cube. The cocktail was nice, but nothing special. Definitely not worth £13! Pints are on the standard high-end side, I believe about £7 a pint. Nice lager.

Food: we got the pork bao buns, tuna tostadas, and padron peppers. The pork bao were nice. The tostadas were very mild, different to what I expected. They were Japanese inspired more than mexican - a very interesting taste. Worth a try. The padron peppers were the star of the show - great value for money in terms of portion size compared to the others (which makes sense, as it's just battered peppers) but they're DELICIOUS!

Interior: cute decor. The bathrooms had a really unique design with a high ceiling of hanging plants and an amphora-like sink. It is impressive enough for me to bother mentioning.

Staff/service: the staff were lovely. Special shout-out to the guy (sorry, didn't get your name) working on the evening of the 9th of April. He was extra friendly and really delivered that attitude that puts customers at ease and makes them feel welcome.

This venue may be more suited for a professional meeting, special occasion or maybe just for punters who earn more than I do! But, as a hospitality worker myself, a bit too pricey to be worth it for a long stay, considering the products.

I would still come back here for the delicious Padron...

Came here for cocktails yesterday and it was a really good time! I went on the early side (6-7:30pm) so I can't comment on its ambiance in the evening. It's a perfect date spot with cosy tables, an extensive cocktail list, mood lighting and excellent service.

Our waiter was super nice and attentive, filling up our waters and asking if we needed anything. The cocktails themselves were really tasty - twists on originals and tastefully done (not just pouring loads of sugar in). The menu is on the alternative side (the place is inspired by a poem in Alice in Wonderland), and full of intriguing drinks. For the non-cocktail lovers and tee totals, they also have beer, wine and no / low alcoholic cocktails.

I had a side of cauliflower croquettes which took quite a long time to arrive, and wasn't very tasty, but they were apologetic.

There was someone who seemed to work there next to us who seemed very stressed and upset (banged his phone down a few times), but we all have our bad days I suppose.

Pricing was reasonable for London - cocktails cost around £12-13, although it does end up being a bit more with the 13.5% service charge on top. Our bill came to £60 for 4 cocktails and a side of cauliflower croquettes. I'm not sure I'll be be back for the food, but I'll definitely be back to experiment the rest of the quirky menu.

We booked via DesignMyNight, which was nice as they had a table ready when we got there. They offer Instant Booking, although you do need to put a card down which will be charged £10 in case you...