I check out new cocktail spot – Outrage Of Modesty

by Karisa

So there’s a new uber hipster cocktail spot in town.  It’s called Outrage of Modesty (or “OoM”  which I don’t think they realised actually means “uncle” in Afrikaans – but that’s how I pronounce it now 😉 )

I went to check it out about a week before Christmas last year and it was quite the unusual yet fun experience.

Now do not be expecting a Mai Tai or Daiquiry at this cocktail spot, instead you’ll experience creations like the Applebos with pink lady apple, fynbos, wild rice & corn blossoms.

Tucked away in Shortmarket St next to House of Machines, you may miss the signage if you don’t happen to be looking down:

But the sharply dressed bouncer outside is also a good marker…

The brainchild of the guys behind very popular House of Machines in collaboration with Australian bartender Luke Whearty who brings more than 15 years mixing experience & who also owns a successful bar in Singapore, OoM offers a selection of cocktails that require careful preparation and an array of interesting ingredients like fennel, pollen, buchu, wild berries and more.

The space is small and can only seat 24 people, therefore they do recommend that you make a booking to avoid disappointment, but walk-ins are welcome too.  You’ll be ushered upstairs where Jackie O & Mr Kennedy himself await to greet you.  Then you can choose to sit either at the bar for a front row seat to the mixing action, or if you want a bit more privacy you can also opt for a table a little more towards the back.

Photo credit: Darryn van der Walt

The menu may take your breath away when you see that prices start at R70 a drink right up to 100 South African ronds.  But hey, this is an experience.  One which if you’re on a budget, you’re likely not going to be splurging on a few times a week.

You also won’t find any branded bottles behind the bar, or even a mention of what alcohol is used in which drink. Why?  Well firstly the spirits are apparently made in-house AND you’re supposed to choose your drink based on the flavours you think you’ll enjoy rather than focusing on the fact that perhaps you’re not a gin drinker for example.

Because it happened to be my birthday, we kicked things off with a little bday drink which the guys referred to as a “pickle back” (not on the menu sadly):

Photo credit: Darryn van der Walt

Then as an palate cleanser they give you a little watermelon cocktail cube:

Photo credit: Darryn van der Walt

After that we opted to try the “Bee Pollen” – bee pollen, wild thyme and lemon charcoal:

Also the Applebos which is warm and kinda tastes a little like Glühwein…

My friend D also really enjoyed the pinotage cocktail:

Photo credit: Darryn van der Walt

But my favourite hands down was the Icy Hot – green apple, honey vinegar, tequila, coconut and lavender:

Now have you ever seen anything like that before? It’s this weird & wonderful mix of hot and cold textures and it’s really tasty…

Wanna check out OoM for yourself?  As mentioned above they do recommend that you book – to do so, just pop them an email at reservations@anoutrage.com.

We never got a reply to our email the day we decided to go through, but they did apologise for that.  When we got there we were told that they were full but that we should come back in 30min or so.  We ended up having a few drinks at Aces ‘n Spades before returning around 11:30.  At that point the bouncer also told us that he’d first need to check if there was space.  Their hostess then came down to greet us a few minutes later and said we could go up. Upon arrival upstairs we realised that we were in fact the only people there, so there may be a little bit of illusion at play to keep the exclusive feeling going, but I’d say don’t get to testy about it.  The team’s actually all really cool & welcoming, so we had a bit of a giggle about the strict entry procedure and then moved on to having a really fun night.

OoM is open Tue to Sat from 6pm until late and you’ll find them at 88 Shortmarket Street, Cape Town.

Go on, swap your usual for something unusual this week…

xxx

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