Mr Fogg is inviting guests to take an immersive safari experience in London this summer.
Mr Fogg’s Society of Exploration is gearing up for summer, as the Covent Garden based bar transforms its interior ready for a safari, where adventurers and the curious can explore what lies below the streets of London.
In a nod back to the Victorian age of the bar’s inspiration – Around the World in 80 Days – staff will be attired in full safari khakis and pith helmets, while the venue will be engulfed in vines, plants and traps. The decor will echo the African plains, and the menus will reflect exotic libations abundant on the great continent.
Guests are invited to embark on an adventure of flavours and tastes throughout the months of summer. Adventurers will be issued a tourist visa upon arrival, before they travel to Africa via their taste-buds; sampling libations and bold food pairings, inspired by the rich and interesting history of the continent.
Once guests are in the venue, they will be able to tick off their safety checklist to ensure their vaccinations are complete and they are protected against the searing sun. Mr Fogg’s team will be on hand to offer each explorer their ‘Liquid Vaccinations’, a welcome treat for guest’s taste buds, before serving up Edible Victorian Sun Ointment (a coconut flavoured tropical, boozy mousse). For the third and final safety check, guests will be served a Whitley Neill Original gin and tonic, featuring a quinine-rich tonic (a traditional malaria treatment, of course).
Visitors to Mr Fogg’s Summer Safari will also be encouraged to spot ‘The Big Five’ animals dotted around the venue (thankfully, in miniature form). To get them in the safari mood, every guest and explorer who enters Mr Fogg’s Society of Exploration will be given a safari hat to wear during their adventure.
Guests should be on the lookout for an African Elephant, Black Rhino, Cape Buffalo, Lion and African Leopard within the venue; and visiting groups will be awarded a unique Fogg’s surprise, should they be able to spot all five with their magnifying glasses.
Concoctions on ‘The Big Five’ menu will be served in authentic African vessels such as kubo cups (small hand-held mugs with no handles), whilst the drinks menu itself will come in the form of a Victorian Binocular Contraption, meaning guests will be able to bring the menu to their eyes and flip through the variety of cocktails.
Whitley Neill dry gins and vodkas use African-inspired botanicals like cape gooseberries and baobab fruit, and the spirits will be present in every cocktail on The Big Five menu. Drinks will include Feline Fine, a mix of dry gin, vermouth, and maple and physalis syrup, served in a wooden cup alongside edible insects and pollen.
The food menu will aim to be sensory journey, featuring insects and game meat. Guests to this underground safari can sample dishes like Biltong, curried tempura grasshoppers and courgette with a sweet chilli sauce, cricket and chilli rice cakes, and cricket powder brownies.
Set to run until the start of September, the summer safari will offer a window into the wild world of Africa, via quirky experiences, creating an off-the-beaten-track adventure.
When: From 4th June 2019
Where: Mr Fogg’s Society of Exploration, 1A Bedford Street, London WC2E 9HH
£: Costs £30 and includes two tasters (vaccination and sun ointment) a Whitley Neill Gin & Tonic, and two cocktails from the ‘Big Five’ menu
More info: www.mr-foggs.com/society-of-exploration