What: The Little Orange Door
In a nutshell: New Clapham bar from The Little Door Co.
Summing it all up: Clapham Common is about to be the latest in a string of slightly eccentric, ‘fictitious-flatshare’- inspired cocktail bars from The Little Door Co. The aim is to feel like you’ve wandered into someone’s home: to embrace the house-party vibe, try some experimental cocktails, perhaps ad-lib some poetry, and wind up as a regular with a set of keys and your own personalised mug.
The low-down
If you’ve ever been to The Little Yellow Door in Notting Hill, which became a permanent site in 2019 and wished it was located a little further south, well cocktail bar dreams are made of this. We bring you news of The Little Orange Door’s impending arrival in Clapham.
If these are not doors you’ve knocked on, then let us enlighten you. The Little Door Co has essentially created what they like to envisage as a fictitious flatshare, where you can try inventive cocktails in what feels like a friend’s home. This new venture, near Clapham Common, will be no different in vibe. Wander in through a traditional garden gate, help yourself to some accessories from a fancy-dress box if you fancy it, peruse the cookery books in the kitchen, sprawl on a sofa by the fireplace, or play retro console games in the library. On the weekend, things pick up a bit, with Friday night dinner parties, as well as DJs and live music providing the soundtrack to house parties that run till the wee hours. And, like all good house parties, you can even stay over if things get a bit crazy: there’s a concealed Bedouin-inspired snug, which is something no-one’s flatmate has ever said to us.
The food is focused around a BBQ grill in summer but the menu also sounds more ambitious than the average house party. You can expect the likes of:
- Green herb, mushroom and truffle arancini
- Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Cheese with beetroot-stained burrata, nduja, confit onions and courgetti
- Brace for Bao Buns with smoked chilli glazed pork belly with coriander and house pickles
- Fried chicken with red slaw served with Louisiana chilli and tarragon
For cocktails, expect to see the list displayed on hanging pots and pans, which will include:
- The Espresso Biscuit-ini: an espresso martini inspired by chocolate wafers
- The Summer Snow Cone: gin, blackberry sorbet and Prosecco served from an ice-cream cone
- Sex in the City: a riff on the Picante, with chilli, elderflower and lychee
And if you’re eventually presented with a personalised ‘mug-shot’ mug and a secret key to get into the flat? Well, you’ll know you’ve been granted special ‘regular’ status.
More about The Little Orange Door
Where is it? 16a Clapham South Side, London SW4 7AB
When does it open? 29 July 2020
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @thelittleorangedoor.
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