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LOUNGE LIZARD - stick with a beer

Skilled service saves the day

When I think about pubs, I think beer but maybe I’m just not getting out enough and hope of hopes maybe a decent cocktail can be had – it’s possible – right?

So one Sunday it’s check-in time on a little place called the Gorge Pointe Pub to discover whether they can make a mean cocktail.

There are many bastions of syrupy ‘90s style cocktails still making a show around Victoria (think technicolor blues, reds and purples) and the Gorge Pointe Pub as it turns out, is still one of those places, so I go for a classic.

My theory is everyone who stands behind the bar must know how to make a martini and a Manhattan. So I should be safe.

A few words of advice: a lime wedge does not belong on the rim of the glass or, for that matter, anywhere near a martini. When serving two cocktails with equal portions, the glasses that hit the table should hold the same amount of liquid. I know that some people prefer shaken to stirred (and I did actually attend a physics lecture that sided with the former – though I know he must be wrong) but when there are chunks of ice the size of a pea think about a strainer, it’s a useful tool, though obviously doesn’t help when you’ve shaken the drink so long that it tastes more of water than gin.

Before I write this place off, I must say the staff are delightful, skilled at service and incredibly pleasant. I swear my eye only twitched once when I ordered a martini and she asked me ‘which one?’