Manhattan Bar

I was definitely not there for Manhattan Bar's cocktails, although a classic gin and tonic was welcomed. Any other cocktail hold too many flavors and lean towards the sweet side, both of which my tastebuds can't deal with. It was a night out at a swish quiet-enough bar after a looong day of noise and bustle and I simply wanted to chill out in the good company of the girlfriend.

The bar bites have significantly improved since the last visit sometime shortly after its opening month in 2014. However, for now, order anything except the Maine lobster roll. That was rubbish. It came like a single wrap sliced into four pieces which looked like sushi maki bits. Frozen lobster. Very tasteless and nonsense. No eatery should put 'lobster roll' on the menu and not give me a freshly toasted bun. Pffft. Especially when this bar is named 'Manhattan' and not a Japanese izakaya where liberties are taken with 'rolls'. Otherwise, service was super attentive. Totally enjoyed their non-stop top-ups of piping hot spicy-salty popcorn and iced water. Most appreciated.

Flipped through the menu and decided to stick to gin and tonic instead of the usual whisky. Had a No.3 all the way. I'm partial to London dry gins. The girlfriend ordered an Old Fashioned to start and declared it lovely. Then she swopped out to a Sipsmith London dry as well. Stopped at three drinks. Nothing over-the-top. It was just our usual night out.