Kamara, Soho: Greek-inspired cocktail bar turning bread, butter and tomatoes into liquid gold
A low-lit hideaway above Soho’s busy streets
As London melted in June’s boiling-point heatwave and Soho’s pub regulars spilled out onto the streets like soggy chips from a deep fat fryer, finding a cool, dark corner among the brain-melting madness became an almost Darwinian challenge.
Find the shade. Find a drink. Survive.
A good thing, then, that we were booked into one of Soho’s coolest — both literally and figuratively — cocktail bars, Kamara, to be whisked away from the hustle, bustle and burns of the climate end times.
Perched above Brother Marcus on Poland Street, this Eastern Mediterranean-inspired cocktail bar takes familiar classics and rebuilds them using Greek spirits, house-made ferments and ingredients that would be just as at home on a tasting menu as behind a bar.
WHERE IS IT?
You'll find Kamara above Brother Marcus on Poland Street, a five-minute walk from Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road stations. It's tucked into the former home of the Blind Pig, but the mood couldn't be more different.
Instead of old-school speakeasy theatrics, Kamara leans into warm terracotta tones, bronze detailing, cave-like ceilings and shelves filled with handcrafted Cretan pottery. It's intimate without feeling cramped — as if Yoda had decided on building a human-sized extension on his cosy little home — polished without becoming intimidating. Behind a nondescript door leading to stairs up from the Soho pavements, it’s a welcome escape from Soho's usual sensory overload.
WHAT'S SPECIAL?
Building a mood for your tastebuds. Dimly lit, affording intimacy and privacy with its seductive seating, Kamara sets a scene for your tastebuds that lets the flavours do the talking. It’s an inventive menu, where every cocktail starts with a recognisable classic before taking a sharp detour into the Eastern Mediterranean.
The team, led by Angelos Bafas (Shortlist’s favourite booze wizard responsible for the wild concoctions at Nipperkin and Cato), make many of their own spirits, ferments and infusions in-house, often ageing ingredients in traditional clay amphorae. Greek spirits and unusual distillations run through the menu, but it’s never forced or gimmicky. Kamara isn’t here to weird you out with ingredients you’ve never heard of — if they’re part of a mix, it’s because they genuinely improve the drink.
WHAT'S NEW?
There’s an all-new menu for the summer at Kamara, with a “focus on process, provenance and flavour development, reinterpreting classic drinks through Eastern Mediterranean ingredients and techniques.” The intent remains the same — Greek-influenced sips — but there’s some fresh options for those that have delighted at Kamara previously. We tried the best of the bunch, as we’ll get to in a moment.
WHO SHOULD YOU BRING?
Though we visited with a friend, this is definitely a date spot first and foremost, as the snuggling couples around us defying the heat outside attested to. The lighting is flattering, the music sits in conversation territory and the service strikes that sweet spot between knowledgeable and approachable. Equally, it's an excellent place to start a longer Soho evening with friends before moving elsewhere, although there's every chance you'll end up staying for another round.
WHAT SHOULD YOU WEAR?
Trainers won't raise eyebrows, but this is somewhere people have generally made an effort. Think fashionable rather than formal. You'll fit right in wearing your nicest overshirt and clean kicks — though the fact you’re almost certainly going to be coming here for a date means you’ll more want to match your partner’s lead than anything else here.
WHAT WILL YOU PAY?
Cocktails sit between £13 and £15, firmly in line with premium Soho pricing. Add a couple of small plates from the Brother Marcus-inspired food menu and you're looking at around £45-60 per person for a relaxed evening. It's not cheap, but given the level of technique on display, it feels fair.
WHAT SHOULD YOU DRINK?
There are some go-to classics on the revised Kamara menu (Martinis, Negronis, Old Fashioneds) but skip the temptation to play it safe and dive into the unique pours created here for the real experience.
The standout was Shiso + Mint, Kamara's take on a Gin Smash. Hendrick's provides the familiar backbone, but pickled cucumber, shiso, basil and freshly grated horseradish transform it into something zippily fresh. Quaffable rather than deeply herbal, it disappears alarmingly quickly.
Tomato + Cucumber reimagines a Martini as something savoury and crystalline. Tomato water gives it remarkable clarity, while pickled cucumber, caper leaf and sea salt create a drink both delicate and deep.
The biggest surprise was Bread + Butter, an Old Fashioned featuring Kamara's own burnt butter spirit alongside Michter's bourbon. Toasted bread, mahleb and cardamom leaf could easily have become overwhelming, but the balance is superb. Rich, nutty and gently spiced, it's comfort food in cocktail form.
Finally, Lemon Verbena + Gooseberries might be the crowd-pleaser of the four. A Margarita built around tequila, tsipouro and Naxos kitron liqueur, it delivers bright citrus before tart gooseberries and fragrant lemon verbena keep everything feeling wonderfully fresh. It's recognisably a Margarita, but a twist all Kamaras own.
The staff deserve plenty of credit too. Rather than simply dropping drinks onto the table, they're keen to explain the ingredients and guide you towards flavours you'll actually enjoy, making an unfamiliar menu feel immediately accessible.
And they’re attentive in all the right ways — I nipped to the toilet to find my drink briefly missing. The reason? They’d popped it back into the freezer to keep it icy-cool on one of the hottest days of the year. A very classy touch.
WHAT SHOULD YOU EAT?
It’s all about the booze at Kamara, but small plate serves are well realised and take their delicious cues from the bar’s sibling restaurant. The food offering borrows heavily from Brother Marcus, with a concise menu of elevated mezze designed to complement the cocktails. If you're ordering blind, let the staff steer you towards the taramasalata, crispy calamari or fried chicken – they're among the dishes most often recommended alongside the drinks.
GET ON THE GUESTLIST?
Looking east rather than chasing whatever London's latest drinks trend happens to be, Kamara is a real hidden gem in the heart of Soho.
The cocktails are ambitious without being inaccessible, the room feels sexily languid and the service is warm and careful. If you're after another Espresso Martini, there are hundreds of places that will happily oblige. If you want to taste what London's cocktail scene is capable of when it starts borrowing from the Mediterranean instead of Manhattan, Kamara should be at the top of your list.
Kamara can be found at 58 Poland St, London W1F 7NR. Reservations are recommended, particularly on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, and can be made through OpenTable.
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