Edward & Ida’s

Edward & Ida’s is a pub by veteran bartender Dimitri Rtshiladze (who also owns Foxtrot Unicorn and Nieuw Ruin). It follows the same retro-leaning styling as Rtshiladze’s existing venues. An entire wall is crowded with vintage mirrors and framed posters. Retro tin drinks trays are mounted behind the bar. A handsome timber staircase descends into the unique cocktail bar – a parlour filled with taxidermy, a broken TV set and a king’s ransom worth of miniature alcohol bottles. Out the back, you’ll find a more modern, dog-friendly courtyard complete with a fireplace.

The booze side of things is strong. Upstairs, the cocktail list celebrates the classics, both modern and time-honoured: think Bloody Marys, reengineered Midori Splices, plus The French Pearl, a sort-of Southside spiked with pastis that was invented at legendary New York cocktail bar Pegu Club. Downstairs the drinks veer a little further off-piste with shiso leaf, tamarind, coconut milk and house-made doughnut bitters among the ingredient lists. There’s also Guinness on tap, and other packaged and tap beer in case stout isn’t your thing. By-the-glass wine options are almost exclusively chardonnay and pinot noir.

The menu is informed by both old-school and new-school thinking. There’s a Scotch egg, albeit one where the pork mince caking the fudgy-centred egg has been sharpened with curry spice. The Fillet-O-Fish gets a bougie makeover with flaky Patagonian toothfish and a properly chunky tartare, while golden crunchy puff pastry and a fruity brown sauce (both house-made) inject something special into the sausage roll. Ploughman plates and fancy pies should appease the purists.