Graphic Bar

Amazing place to meet friends for a good drink and to appreciate some good tunes. The place is small but intimate which I really like. Service at the busy bar was ok but the staff were lovely, who knew your order after a couple of visits. Gin cocktails in a paint can, good cocktails, overall nice selection of choices.

Oh. My. God. I had the best cocktail here! Literally, THE BEST. If you want a cocktail that came with a song and dance and a show, order the Blue Blazer here. While it is quieter, so you can fully enjoy the show. This is a cocktail where they pour it FLAMING from silver jug to silver jug (like milk tea) and then flick cinnamon powder and stuff on it while it was still on fire. The whole song and dance for my drink took about 5 minutes, and the product was… man, I love a hot cocktail… it was basically like a seriously alcoholic mulled wine, but much better than what mulled wine usually tasted like. WOW.
Also available were a plefora of gin, matched with different tonics (which I initially thought was a bit poncy, but actually made sense after we tried different pairings) and paint cans which were reminiscent of the buckets and colour coded cocktails in Thailand (but I think they’d taste better).
All together a lovely bar with an incredibly chilled and happy vibe and I would definitely be back for more of that lethal, yummy drink.

Quite enjoyed a monday evening here! Came for the Gin Social which happens once a month — basically a free gin tasting. Got a gin and tonic with fresh strawberry to start off with, tasted two gins (neat), and ended with a gin cocktail made with sour cherry. From beginning to end, really tasty stuff, and I learned so much about how gin is made! Of course it was a bit sales-​y (put on by a representative of a specific distillery), but a small price to pay for a free tasting/​lesson! Tip: don’t come late! we thought it was literally a social and that we could come and go as we pleased, but they really do want you to be there the whole time. if you’re late, they may not let you join the event.
Loved the atmosphere of graphic bar — lighting was warm and intimate, seating very comfortable, decorative aesthetics colorful and fun. and a glance at the menu made me want to come back to try some of their other drinks (and food). Not too cheap, but definitely a quality place, perfect for a date night.

That was my first time in this bar and I actually enjoyed it. The coctails weren’t bad. Staff was good. Nice location. I had a classic Mojito and it was delicious. My friend had something else that she didn’t like but looked amazing. Not sure if its personal taste. I would go back though.

Cool bar in london, we arrived around 9pm and the place was full. People were dancing and everyone seemed to be having a great time. The dj was playing a lot of American hits and made for a great vibe.
Drinks were good and the staff was courteous, even the door man was nice.
I guess this is a good after work meetup place, lots of locals who just wanna let out some steam and enjoy their thrusday night.

Having loved gin since before its recent revival, back in the but-​only-​old-​ladies-​drink-​gin days of the early noughties, I was a very happy bunny to be surprised with a visit here before dinner nearby.
It was heaving on a Friday evening but some well-​timed crowd dodging got us straight to a spot at the bar, and me immediately wide-​eyed in wonder at all the gin bottles racked up. I was a bit out of my comfort zone — at least with whisky I know about the different regions and flavours and can describe what I like, but even with the help of several awesome gin-​themed Unilocal elite events (which gave me extensive taste-​testing experience!), I was still at a bit of a loss as to what I wanted.
I did the sensible thing and confessed this to the barwoman who ably guided both of us towards something we’d like with a series of questions (‘floral or fruity?’), and the result was one seriously delicious g&t. Well, two actually — my mate got his ridiculously strong and not too sweet which is how he likes it. I am kicking myself for getting too carried away with the sniffing of different bottles and not remembering which one I settled on in the end, but it was subtly floral and served with an orange wedge.
The bar itself is quite dark inside and the music pounding, so fun for a drink to some old school 90s tunes but not one for a cosy chat. People-​watching is fun, esp the giggles of schadenfreude at a couple of bigger groups we spotted ordering the sharing cocktails, which arrive in full-​sized paint cans and are impossible to pour out into glasses without spilling everywhere (woops)! We perched on the edge of an empty table for a while but once the folks who reserved it showed up we had to move aside. It’s quite a long and narrow room though so standing in the middle isn’t ideal — you get pushed aside a fair bit by people heading to and from the bar. We could deal with it for one round though and left just as it was getting too squishy.
A great drinks stop for fellow gin fans — put your trust in the bartenders and enjoy!

We went for drinks after my bday dinner, and it was a good choice. Drinks were solid, even though we didn’t get to order any of the fancy gin-​based drinks that I hear this place specialises in. I particularly liked the ambience — it was a combination of a sit-​down bar and a club. Great dance music, but intimate enough for conversations. They close at midnight, so make sure you have a back-​up plan if you want to stay out later!

Stopped in for a cocktail, I got their version of a margarita which was really good. One of the better margaritas I’ve had. Service was great and friendly and décor was really cool. They also had a DJ who was playing good music.

Exceptional concoctions. Good service. Crap DJ.
I am at war with myself. This place deserves a 5-​star rating. The tantalising cocktails, the funky ambience, the attentive staff, even the friendly bouncers (oxymoronic much!?)…
But I’m sorry. The DJ has to sort his game out.

I met a lovely young lady here for what was meant to be a ‘work meeting’ but alas having a shitty arse day at my real job meant that i walked in and asked the barman, ‘whats the strongest gin you have? Gimme some of that’.
He then proceeded to make me a very nice drink with this über-​strong gin (55%) which fixed me right up, ready for my meeting — wooh!
They have a shedload of gins here and Im sure had I asked, they would have been able to tell me a lot about each one; at least they gave me that impression anyway!
I liked the décor and the whole paintcan thing looked cool, though I think maybe a little too much booze for a Monday night (!!!) but nevertheless I am pretty sure I shall be adorning this wonderful bar very soon.
Come drink here if youre a gin fan!

I dressed up like a cat version of charlie chaplin for one Unilocal event, this places serves a charlie chaplin inspired fruity cocktail. It was meant to be.
Yeah, I make a lot of decisions based on ‘its meant to be’, as in ‘gin doesnt make me throw up violently, but rum does, this is a gin bar, therefore it is meant to be.’ Graphic bar is actually one of London’s top gin bars– having featured in many many articles and it’s slap bang in the middle of golden square in Soho. I’ve always walked past it on the way to Carnaby street and never been in. So, it’s ‘meant to be!’ (Did I just do that, YEAH I did!) So I was immensely excited when Andrew planned and led the classy crawl to this bar!
The cocktail itself was super fruity and super sweet– it even had a dusting of icing sugar on top. Sorry Mr Dentist, fruity juice with gin is a much better friend than you’ll ever be. Since we were on a ‘classy’ crawl (not so classy once I fell into that puddle on the way home– but that’s another story) I settled for only one drink, but damn those paint can cocktails also looked amazing!

I LOVE HALLOWEEN. And I was sad not to dress up on the day this year, but instead I took a fabulously trendy friend of mine for a little late birthday celebration. She suggested somewhere around soho area and I said I’d surprise her, so this place was a lovely little find.
If you want a table, book. They get BUSY. We booked so it was fine (they ask for a deposit, but turn up and it’s refunded). So we turn up. And of course, it’s dressed for Halloween — cobwebs on the walls, the CUTEST little pumpkin lanterns/​candles on the tables, the staff dressed up in ghoulish dress (massive shout out and respect to the creepy clown, IMPRESSIVE). The place looked awesome. I was a little disappointed because I wanted to see the décor as it was normally, it’s meant to be really trendy with urban artists displaying their work there. Never mind, I’ll have to go back ;)
So we sat down, table by the door slightly annoying but we drank enough to feel warm. I opted for the delicious paint can options, deliciously made punch of various colours in paint cans. If you want to share one, you can buy a large can for 4 and they looked good! I had individuals — tried a refreshing gin, mint, lemon & cucumber base; a sweet gin, strawberry jam and grape juice base and my favourite a ‘pack-​a-​punch’ heady gin, pineapple juice and bitters base. Om nom and indeed NOM (also casual pun on punch in there, one for you Friday lovers!).
We also decided on some food and got the sharing platter. Overpriced at £15, but AMAZING — lamb kofta, smoked salmon with capers and dill potato pancakes, grilled haloumi and various breads with houmous and tzatziki were sorely needed.
Another shout out to the friendliest table service waitress with blood dripping down her, thanks love!
5 stars for atmosphere and good drinks, excited to see it as normal. Happy late birthday to my fashionista friend!

such a great bar. in an area which is filled with manically busy bars, this one is in a slightly quieter square, so you can often find a seat, even on the busiest of nights.
of course, i also love it because it’s a gin bar. i forced myself to like gin a few years ago, and i’ve not looked back since.
get a cocktail in a paint can — i think they cost around £6.50 and you choose by colour. I had the green, and it was delicious… although it felt a little weird to be drinking something with spray painted green ice.

I had a friend who I was showing around London and she wanted to see Ice Bar. Why not, it’s worth seeing. So we headed that way on a Saturday night, only to find it in reservation-​only status. Damn. What now?
Of course I do what I always do — check Unilocal.Turns out there’s a well reviewed bar named Graphic nearby. Time to head that way.
Turns out Graphic is a gin bar, which makes me happy in ways I can’t even begin to describe since I love gin so. Big typeface letters painted on the wall, tables and couches throughout the mood-​lit spot leading to the bar in the back.
We were there and a DJ was playing some really good mix of new and classic song mixes. Who doesn’t love a little 90s Will Smith?
Here’s where Graphic gets really interesting. They have their normal range of drinks, but if you’re out with a group or just looking to drink for a while, it’s all about the gin punches. First, they’re named after colours (RED being cranberry based, YELLOW being pineapple based, etc). You can get them in a glass or if you get the £30 version, it comes in a paint can.
Yes, a real paint can, complete with handle and painter’s tray to carry the glasses on.
This is amazing. However, also problematic. There’s no spout or spigot so it’s very, very, very hard to fill that first glass without spilling it everywhere. As the drink goes down, it’s easier to pour, but that first time is hard.
Still, I really liked this bar and would come back again, no question.

My friends and I came here for World Gin Day, and on that front, it was a great success! We were there during the day on a Saturday, so it was fairly quiet which was nice, but looked to be picking up as we left around 6pm.
They have two separate menus dedicated to Gin. One for British and one for International Gin, and that, to me, is awesome dedication. They also have something called The Juniper Society, which I’m assuming is a regular meeting of Gin-​lovers (I believe they were meeting while we were there, and doing a sort of blind taste test) but again, big points for dedication to gin.
We ordered a few martini variations, with different gins and they were great. I’d highly recommend the Martin Miller’s Dirty Martini. Really fresh and delicious.
The downside, was that our waiter was borderline lobotomized. He had to come back after about ten minutes 2 of the 3 times we ordered to re-​ask what we wanted, and even then I wasn’t too sure he’d got it. I have a pretty low tolerance for poor service having waited tables before, but when an automatic 20% gratuity is added to the bill, it’s a bit wtf.
However, overall I’m keen to go back for the cocktails if not the service!

When someone wants to meet up at a bar in Soho, my immediate suggestion is Graphic.
This isn’t because Graphic is particularly hip or its drinks are particularly good or its clientele is particularly fashionable or even because it’s a particularly enjoyable experience.
No, this is because it does everything competently.
–It’s spacious
–It has comfortable couches*
–It has a vast cocktail menu and skilled bartenders
–It does food
–It has table service**
–It serves booze in paint tins
–If you’ve got ££££, Tony Hadley from Spandau Ballet will sing ‘Gold’ for you***
Also, the fact that it’s a gin bar helps. I love gin.
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*If you can snag one.
**Although that table service will cost you 12.5%, which annoys when all you’re doing is drinking cocktails.
***This is not a joke, people.

Cute concept. Mediocre cocktails. Perhaps a bit twee. Not my thing.
Nothing wrong with it, though. But to temper all the love.

I spent here one evening with some friends, about 2 months ago. I liked the drinks in paint tins, actually when I arrived my friends were already there and I thought their drinks were part of the decoration of the table. They had ordered some food which I didn’t try, but they said it was a bit too expensive for rather small portions. Prices for the drinks were OK for the area, and the setting is nice to meet with friends and have a chat. When it’s warm and you can sit outside, it’s really nice there, as Golden Sq is usually very quiet and pleasant. The staff weren’t particularly nice, a bit impatient, and the drinks weren’t very special (at least not for me, but I’m not a cocktail lover or expert).
I would probably choose a different place in Soho to have drinks, but it’s not a bad option if you’re near, specially in good weather.

This is seriously one of my favourite bars in London. Bad day at work? Graphic bar. Birthday celebrations? Graphic bar. Bored? Graphic bar.
This place is always thinking up fun stuff – for pride, they had their own specialty menu that was hilarious and tasty (my drink tasted like candy, mmm). But really, any day of the week is an excellent time – I’ve been here for a wee tipple on a weekday when it’s quieter and rocked out to their excellent DJ on a Saturday night. Something for everyone, really.
In terms of drinks, my absolute favourite is the White paint can. Served in an actual paint can, it ticks my boxes of creative serveware, excellent concoction and decent price. You also can’t go wrong with the G&Ts — the only problem is selecting which of the 60 gins you want to pair your tonic with! Last night, I had a mint julep with gin for the first time; I’m not going to lie, I was a bit sceptical but it was actually quite refreshing! (Note** My favourite drink in the world is a properly made mint julep. a high compliment from me!)
If you’re über special (or ask them real nicely) then you may get an invite to the ‘Juniper Society’, where those with less than professional knowledge on the subject of gin can sample different ones, hear a bit about how the gin is made and generally bask in the audience of some genuinely cool bar staff and gin enthusiasts.
What are you waiting for? Book yourselves a table this weekend!

I came here one day last week to get out of the office and have something quick to eat and was delighted to see that it’s been refurbished from it’s previously dark looking state.
The first thing you notice is the massive garage door style alcoves plastered with street art from Ben Eine (the artist who did that piece which David Cameron gave to Barack Obama). As well as the alcoves, there’s some other artwork on the walls and the friendly waitress said that there’s some more pieces coming soon.
You’re looking at around £10 — £12 for a main meal, which isn’t terribly cheap, but you’re effectively situated in the middle of an awesome street art gallery. I learned also that they re-​design the whole bar with a different artist every 6 months. Very cool, I’ll be back here.
This post is also on my bloggy blog