The first thing you notice when you walk down into Mark's Bar is the huge, glass urn-like vessel sitting on the middle of the counter. Its contents look like something out of True Blood, crimson and visceral. "It's damson gin," says Mark Hix, smiling at the river of broken glass and champagne from our photo shoot flowing over his bar. All sorts of potions sit behind him, the glass shelves resembling those of an apothecary. There's pine gin, lemon verbena, lovage gin, "Grandpa Leo's" bergamot vodka and chipotle vodka. Oh, and a murky jar of dead seahorses – "a gift from a Vietnamese friend as a kind of ritualistic thing".
Sipping a strong-smelling coffee, Hix looks at home in this subterranean Soho speakeasy, which, along with the restaurant upstairs, has been open two years. Hix exudes an old-school hedonism and you get the feeling his own bar has become something of a stomping ground. "I'm always here," he says, a Joker-like smile spreading across his face. "Either alone, or with friends." Hix's circle of friends includes hard-partying artists Tracey Emin and Tim and Sue Webster, so you can imagine how some evenings end up. "There has been dancing on tables," he grins.
Hix is best known as a chef and restaurateur, although he's rarely behind the stove any more ("save the ad-hoc visits that keep my chefs on their toes"). As well as Hix in Soho, his small empire includes the Hix Oyster & Chop House, Hix Oyster & Fish House, and Hix at Selfridges. A bar was new territory although it was an immediate success – the glamour and quality of the drinks seducing Londoners even in the day. "Soho office workers love an afternoon tipple," he says.
Former Hawksmoor barman Nick Strangeway helped create the classy cocktail list. "I always wanted it to be a cocktail bar but I hate the word 'mixology' – I find it beyond tacky," says Hix. "I wanted the drinks to be interesting, with classics and retro combinations." So there are "simple, British" drinks such as Hanky Pankys, Picadors and Criterion Milk Punches.
The place itself is sophisticated, but worn around the edges thanks to battered Chesterfields, rugs and a mish-mash of retro lamps and tables. It feels exclusive, but it is open to everyone, although, Hix whispers, "the staff on reception do a bit of subtle screening".
