Get a sense of wanderlust at Havana Coco

Havana Coco could not be in a more convenient place. You’ll spot Clapham’s newest cocktail bar as soon as you emerge from Clapham Common tube station and, planned or not, we hope you end up inside because this place takes the word ‘vibey’ to a whole new level.

The space itself is really cool. Outside on the terrace is a great spot for watching people chilling on the Common (or stumbling past you towards the clubs on a Friday evening) and it’s a real sun trap too- made sure you bring the sunnies if you’re there before dusk. The interior is very trendy and very boho-esque with green plants, dim lighting and neutral colours that will give you the impression of being in a Cancun beach club, especially if you are there when the DJs kick off… Which they do! Between 2pm and 1am on Saturdays there will be a rotation of 10 different DJs that will play ambient house/tech tunes. It will be super laid back during the day time, but inside is definitely a bit of a buzz with louder music and we can imagine it getting lively as the night goes on and the cocktails go down.

Speaking of which, we were so intrigued by the impressive, interesting menu at Coco Havana. We tried out a trio of their drinks, the ‘Aguas, Aguas!’ was the first. The name roughly translates as ‘something big is going to happen’. An accurate description of this firecracker of a cocktail. Patron Reposed tequila, vanilla liqueur, marmalade, passion fruit and vanilla syrup, was finished off with a squeeze of lime and dash of tabasco. It was every bit of a ride as it sounds. Sweet, spicy, fragrant and extremely good.

Next up was ‘Breakfast in Clapham’ (we couldn’t not!), which was a mix of gin, Italicus, orange blossom honey, marmalade, lemon juice. The description here really hit the nail on the head, calling it ‘a real morning awakening’. It was a zingy, refreshing drink and what a lovely tribute to Clapham! Finally was the ‘Havana Piña Colada’ which used Santiago de Cuba Añejo 8YO, pineapple, lime and bitters to create a Coco Havana twist on the classic. This was a really good one, sweet without being sickly and clearly very carefully thought through.

Having met the bartenders, we’re not surprised how good the cocktails were. These people know what they are doing and will happily help you to work out what will suit your taste from their menu. We were seriously impressed, especially when seeing the price tags on these drinks- considering the quality it’s great value for money. They also do a mean happy hour, where you can get 50% off drink until 8pm every day apart from Saturdays when it is until 3pm. We’d highly recommend embracing your wanderlust and heading down to check them out.