Murder Inc. Cocktails — Restaurant in London

A very solid, respectable cocktail bar that thankfully (unlike many others in big cities) doesn't lean so hard on the cheesy "speakeasy" cliché just because they have a craft cocktail menu. There's a big sign out front; it's no secret where this place is. And that is refreshing these days.

I came here on a rec from another cocktail bartender in London. It seemed like the least pretentious/fancy of his recs and I will say it is totally chill and laid back. If you want well-dressed fancy socialite Instagram influencers doing dumb TikTok reels, this isn't the place. Maybe those people come too, but it's not the general vibe. It's relaxed and down to earth.

The place is dark, and red, and meant to just hang out with friends over some good drinks. Music was a good level for conversation.

Menu is not "small". It is a decently sized menu for a venue of this size. I cannot understand why people think tiny cocktail bars need every ingredient ever and a menu with 50 cocktails they do half-a$*ed. I'd rather have a cosy place with happy staff and a smaller menu that does each drink well.

They are creative and unique cocktails. I only tried one and would have liked more, but time was limited. "Caramelised banana" is like my love language, so I knew I had to try that one.

Have to give props to the server, Sam, who was an absolute superstar ✨️. Super welcoming and very approachable, and good at his job! If all servers were like him and clearly enjoyed their jobs as much as he appears to, the service industry would be revolutionized. So kudos to this bar for clearly being a good business to work for. It comes through in the employees. Also, it seemed like a lot of customers were also industry folks that is always an excellent sign that a bar is good.

The cocktail itself was okay. I wasn't blown away, but I was surprised that almost all the flavours came through. It seems to be rare at a lot of these craft venues who throw a bunch of ingredients on a menu but you can't taste any in the final product. The banana, lemon curd, and a strong herbal twist were all present.

(I don't understand the point of saying "monkey nuts"... Considering the name of the cocktail, I did expect more nuttiness. It's a Blue Lagoon callback by name (but really more of a Blue Hawaiian riff in practice) using legumes, right? Clever, for sure, but where were the nuts?)

Not complaining, it was still a tasty drink and getting the rest of the flavours in balance that way was very well done, blue curaçao included ;) Didn't taste very strong at all.

In order to truly give it 5 stars, I'd have try to more drinks to really say I love this place. It was pretty good and left a good impression on me. I will be back again with more...

Is this my new favourite cocktail bar in London? I think it might be.

A friend took us here on a late night weekday and then we returned again the next day because we liked it so much.

I was immediately charmed by the friendly relaxed atmosphere, nice lighting, music at perfect volume (and good choice of tunes) and fun, quirky ephemera on the walls. Lately I’ve found some cocktail bars a bit unfriendly (perhaps I’m not their idea of ideal clientele, ha!) but not this one.

We hadn’t booked but were able to find a table. I would book though if coming earlier, as the next day when we came back earlier in the evening, most of the tables were reserved. The staff were super friendly and welcoming, and helped us choose cocktails when we were stuck for choice. Thank you to the guy dressed in the Halloween “Yakuza” outfit.

I particularly liked “The Middle Aged Waiter” - a cherry sour, and my companion had “The Blue Legume”, which genuinely I was astonished by how delicious it was, like a sticky toffee banana pudding in a drink (I didn’t think it was my kind of thing initially because it was blue). I also tried the “Blockbuster”, which was nice (though not sure I could taste all the notes mentioned).

I also really liked that the non-alcoholic cocktails were priced at £6.50 - my current bugbear is that sometimes places charge mocktails at almost the same price as cocktails. So kudos to Murder Inc for doing it right!

Sitting in there over a few hours, I got the feeling that this place had a very personal touch, which I appreciated.

We had a great time. 100% will return and...

Truly a hidden gem of a bar, Went there on a whim on a Tuesday night, and loved it so much we came back the following evening with more people.

Great styling; small, intimate and cosy without being cramped in any way. And both nights were fairly busy but it never got in the way of enjoying our time there

The pricing is incredibly well balanced, and the food, despite being limited is exactly what you need with a cocktail. The portions are all more than enough to share between 2, and the nacho dish was a mountain of food that tasted great.

The flexibility of cocktails you can order that aren't even included on the menu suggestions were amazing and there was not one drink I didn't savour to the last drop. I can't say anything more, they were simply great cocktails.

The service however was the biggest factor that made us come back immediately and will keep us coming back again and again. Everyone we spoke to was friendly, chatty and charming but allowed us room to breathe whilst we were drinking, I also enjoyed how knowledgeable they were. Huge thanks to Sam and Oscar for making our evening.

I can't lie, it was the best bar I've ever been to, completely worth spending a whole evening there. And a great relaxing place after a long day...