AYE, AYE CAPTAIN

Doulgas Blyde falls in love with Speedboat Bar

Open until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays, Soho’s Speedboat Bar combines playful drinks with fiery dishes. The liquid pursuits — frozen, lurid and kitsch of garnish — come care of Swansea-born Elliot Davies, a touring musician turned legendary bartender whose previous roles include the discreet, moneyed Maison Estelle, taxidermy enriched Satan’s Whiskers and the ever-consistent Hawksmoor collection. ‘Speedboat’s dive-bar vibe reminds me of a place on Koh Pha-Ngan where I hung out for two months,’ says Davies. Taking inspiration from Thai-Chinese restaurants in Bangkok’s Chinatown and the high-octane sport of speedboat racing along the country’s klongs (canals), the tube-lit interior features nautical craft strung from the ceiling, a pool table seemingly never out of use and TV screens airing Thai football.

Served in ice-cold glasses, the surprisingly complex ‘world’s best’ whisky soda features hyper-carbonated bubbles calibrated to the bar team’s wishes, while the creamier King Colada is pepped with Mekong Thai rum, just enough palm sugar and a touch of the polarising, fragrant, visceral durian. And to relieve the jaded, the Ya Dong Bomb shot features a measure of Thai caffeine drink, M-150, to the fore. And then there are the portable, sou’wester-yellow Singha beer towers replete with frozen canister inserts, dispensing a dozen lip-stinging halves. Such drinks either enrage or quell arrestingly presented dishes such as tail-on, powerfully piquant prawn ceviche with guava purée, or crunchy pickled mustard greens with Chinese sausage — by consultant chef, Luke Farrell. ‘I like to see young bartenders who were hit with a year inside during lockdown have fun, build brilliant drinks and develop their personalities,’ says Davies of his team. ‘Speedboat is unabashed with no holds barred.’ It is also arguably the most enjoyable drinking hole in London.