Golden Gai is a Soho bar from the team behind popular Italian-cum-Japanese Dalston restaurant Angelina. Founders Amar Takhar and Joshua Owens-Baigler have enlisted the help of bartender Wilson Salemos to run the bar, which is based upon Angelina's former six-seater bar of the same name. Offering a range of cocktails alongside a simple but unique food menu based around filled flatbreads originating from Emilia-Romagna called Piadine with a Japanese twist, Golden Gai is a great Central London spot to pop in for a few drinks and a snack.
With space for up to 65 covers, Golden Gai isn't as small as you might expect looking at it from the outside. Hanging plants decorate the dimly lit bar area while there is also the odd reference to Japan, such as square lanterns, to tie the space in with the food. The bar is finished with marble counter tops to give Golden Gai an elegant yet stylish feel.
The drinks menu is predominantly focused around cocktails, but there is also an impressive Italian-led wine list on offer. Cocktails on offer combine Italian and Japanese ingredients and include the Itameshi which blends Vin Santo, Montanaro Rosso, whisky and fish dashi, and the Navy Staple which combines mezcal with flavours of Japanese curry and apple. The bar is also home to a small bottle shop, which will mainly stock one-off wine varieties that you'll struggle to find elsewhere.
When it comes to food at Golden Gai, piadine options range from chicken karaage, with salsa verde and a yuzu kosho mayonaisse, to ones adorned with caviar and freshly grated truffle. Other food options include sharing boards which once again blend Italian and Japanese produce. A traditional Italian cheese board, for example, is accompanied by aged tofu with Moromi-miso - the perfect thing to pick at alongside a few cocktails