The Spirits: drama in the drinks at Mr Fogg's

Richard Godwin's cocktail adventures take him to Charlie Gilkes's new novelty nightclub in Mayfair
30 May 2013

On a rainy afternoon last week, I was invited to Mayfair to meet Charlie Gilkes. The 29-year-old former Etonian is pre-eminent among posh London party-planners. His empire of novelty nightlife includes Maggie’s, where the late Margaret Thatcher’s speeches play on a loop in the toilets, and the Italian haunt Bunga Bunga, where you can drink a cocktail from a Colosseum.

His latest venture is Mr Fogg’s, and it looks set to be a hit. Pippa Middleton graced the launch, and since there is nothing the author of Celebrate doesn’t know about having fun, we can take that as a high endorsement. Sadly, not even a strong Martinez could tempt Gilkes into an indiscretion about her. Instead, he talked about Jules Verne.

Mr Fogg’s, which is in a former pub, is supposedly the ground floor of a residence belonging to the hero of Around the World In Eighty Days. There is an ottoman in the centre of the room and a piano in the corner. Around the room are Victorian relics, apparently collected by the adventurer on his travels: a globe which opens to reveal a punchbowl; a hot-air balloon basket; an elephant’s foot. All the staff are trained to act in character.

“Do you like the alligator?” asked our waiter, gesturing to a wall-mounted reptile. “It’s from Brazil, where I come from!” I was more appreciative of the fact that he made me a martini with Old Tom gin, an astute period detail.

Gilkes and his business partner Duncan Stirling have a strong track record of gauging what people want. In short, it is a licence not to be serious or self-conscious. Gilkes said he found inspiration in Punchdrunk and You Me Bum Bum Train, the London-based companies that have turned immersive theatre into a fine art. Their influence is also dimly apparent at Evans & Peel in Earl’s Court, a cocktail bar that pretends to be a detective agency and asks you to play along. A generation that has grown up with the fantasy worlds of computer games is fairly open to doing so.

I suspect there is much more to come in this mix of theatre and nightlife. Felix Barrett, the founder of Punchdrunk, once told me that his ideal form of theatre would be one that takes place without any of the audience members being aware that it is happening. Still, subtlety is not really the order of the day at Mr Fogg’s. For the launch, they sent a man dressed in Victorian livery to deliver telegrams to the guests. “It was so embarrassing,” said one recipient. “This out-of-work actor turned up at my office with the invitation, pretending he was one of Phileas Fogg’s servants? Everyone was like, ‘Who is this tool?’”

Mr Fogg's, 15 Bruton Lane, W1J 1JD, mr-foggs.com

POP THAT FIZZES

Daft Punk, schmaft punk. The album of the summer is clearly Trouble Will Find Me by the elegantly despondent American rockers, The National. As a soundtrack to all-night pulling missions, it may leave a little to be desired. However, as a soundtrack to a minor existential crisis on a bus, it’s top hole.

It also contains, in the mournful Pink Rabbits, a conundrum. “Am I the one you think about when you’re sitting in your fainting chair, drinking pink rabbits?” runs the chorus. I can only assume the Pink Rabbit is a cocktail — but the internet turns up no hint. Perhaps it hasn’t been invented yet? Plenty of bitters, I'm thinking.

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