30th July 2021
Will Bowlby and Rik Campbell, founders of Indian small plates concept Kricket, are opening a stand-alone bar ‘Soma’ in London’s Soho.
The new bar, which is named after the Hindu moon god, will open in September in a site adjacent to the pair’s existing Kricket site in Denman Street.
The 23-cover basement bar, which will open until 3am Tuesday to Saturday, will feature cocktails such as a gooseberry chaat margarita, made with tequila, triple sec, homemade gooseberry cordial and a splash of chaat masala, as well as a coconut and jaggery Old Fashioned, where bourbon is stirred up with the Indian unrefined sugar jaggery, along with toasted and desiccated coconut and bitters made from mace.
The cocktail list has been overseen by Kricket’s head of beverage, Will Rogers, and bar manager Angelos Bafas, previously of Aqua Shard.
A short menu of Indian snacks will also be available, including homemade crackers made using leftover rice from the adjacent Kricket restaurant.
Bowlby and Campbell said: “It feels great to be emerging from such a challenging period with a project that we’re so excited about. People have always loved the cocktails we offer at Kricket and we’ve always talked about launching a stand-alone bar, but it’s the space that gives Soma its modern speakeasy feel, with a backstreet underground setting in Soho and seemingly nondescript entrance. We see Soma as the latest addition to people’s Soho ‘stumblings’ and we can’t wait to offer the hospitality we’ve become known for at Kricket in a new context.”