One thing Americans do better than the British is a bar. (Others include award ceremonies, skyscrapers, and shooting stuff.) Sure, we have pubs, and pubs are great, but there’s something effably sexy about a proper bar. The type of place where you sit on a stool and talk to strangers and the cocktails are prepared a metre from your nose. For some reason we don't really do those.
Well, The Prince on Old Street questions that theory. Relaxed, intimate, and rather green, even the most hardened American barfly would concede The Prince is the real deal. Bring a date here and you’ll immediately look vaguely cool by osmosis. Try not to ruin the effect by promptly falling off your stool.
Want to look cooler still? Explain the name has nothing to do with the monarchy: the bar is paying homage to Prince Buster, a legendary Jamaican musician known as the King of Ska. Casually mention a few of his most famous tracks such as Downbeat Burial and Ghost Dance. (Here’s a helpful article.) Then maybe talk about something else – nobody likes a poseur.
The menu is as stylish as the interiors, with a particular emphasis on martinis, black velvet and punch. Indeed, those three drinks are prominently displayed on the outdoor sign. The Prince takes its martinis seriously: the menu offers ten separate iterations, including Vesper, Gibson and the wonderfully monikered Hanky Panky, plus instructions on how to build your own from scratch.
I went straight down the middle with a classic vodka and it absolutely slapped. Need a little inspiration? The extremely knowledgeable staff will be happy to help, talking you through the process to ensure you create a martini that unleashes your inner Bond. Just don't blame the bar if you subsequently head to Leicester Square Hippodrome and lose your shirt on the slot machines.
Not a martini fan? Not a problem – you’ll find plenty of cocktail options, helpfully categorised from social, sharp and strong. And the menu is more of a guideline than a rule: should you be a diva like my friend and want something off-piste, in this case a Tommy margarita, the staff will have no issue obliging – with spectacular results. If the ingredients are there, it will be made – and the ingredients are basically guaranteed to be there. Don't be afraid to get a little creative.
Small bowls and various boards – cheese, charcuterie, ploughman’s – can be ordered to line your stomach although it’s fair to say The Prince is more focused on booze than food. Owners Will Hawes and Aaron Wall are hospitality experts, their shared experience encompassing the likes of Milk and Honey, Homeboy, the Booking Office and Callooh Callay, where the pair first met. The Prince is clearly a labour of love, the result of two guys who love cocktail bars decided to create their ideal version of such a thing.
The Prince only opened this year so it can still be counted as ‘in the know’. Expect that status to change as more people stumble upon it. This is a lovely spot, everything a cocktail bar should be.
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44 Old Street, EC1V 9AQ; The Prince
