Tipples and testicles at new bar in Soho’s Arbutus

Balls and bottles at a Michelin-starred institution
Les Couilles du Chien: A load of balls in Soho
Ben Norum2 October 2015

Longstanding Michelin-starred Soho restaurant Arbutus will launch a new bar later this month, with a name that references the private parts of dogs.

Les Couilles du Chien – literally ‘the dog’s balls’ in French – will major on wine as well as serving a bar menu created by co-founder Anthony Demetre.

This will include a dish called A Load of Bollocks featuring crisp lamb testicles and tripe along with less spherical options such as warm pig’s head with spiced mayonnaise and chicken wings with a Texas Ranger sauce.

The bar will use Coravin equipment, which allows wines to be poured via miniscule penetrations in corks rather than by opening the bottle fully. This means the wine won’t spoil as it would when open and therefore that higher-end wines can be offered by the glass.

Wines available by the glass will include the biodynamic Lion’s Tooth Chardonnay from New Zealand; Condreiu ‘Chaillet’, a Viognier from the Rhone Valley; and Andromeda Pinot Noir by Devil’s Gulch Vineyard in California.

Cocktails will also feature, including a prune Negroni and a drink called Give Peas a Chance made from pea and basil-infused vodka, Lillet Blanc, and lemon peel.

In terms of looks, expect a polished white stone bar that stretches the length of the space and red neon signage displaying the bar’s name against patterned wallpaper – how very Soho.

Latest bar reviews

1/80

Les Couilles du Chien will open on October 19. All that remains to be seen is whether this bar will prove to be the dog’s you-know-whats or just a bit balls.

Follow Ben Norum on Twitter @BenNorum
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