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97 Maple Road
Former cocktail bar Rubicon Bar on Maple Road has recently changed hands and is now owned by the same owners of esteemed cocktail bar Purl in Marylebone. Still open in the evenings as a cocktail bar but now also open as rubi cafe during the day.
I popped in the other day for a quick coffee and I have to tell you it is the best coffee I have had for a long time!
The food looked great too! lots of freshly baked cakes and muffins and brownies and some lovely looking savouries.
Just wondering if anyone else had been in and what their thought were. Doesn't ever look very busy which confuses me because the produce is great!
Has anyone tried their brunch menu at the weekends yet?
Comments
So Jamie Mumford "popped in for a coffee at Rubicon". Well well well. I thought his post sounded like an advert. Just google him and include the word Rubicon. He makes the cocktails!!!!
Now we know why Jamie Mumford asked for a coffee when he went in - he knew what the cocktails were like and wouldn't touch them with a bargepole.
Oops!
The above text has been deliberately disemvowelled as it is in breach of the Surbiton.com terms.
I went in there just after the changeover andI thought I would try some of their cocktails.
Imagine my surprise to see a menu only containing about 8 cocktails.
I was told that they could make lots of other cocktails but didnt feel the need to provide a proper list.
Very bizarre for a 'Cocktail Bar'.
Had one and left.
They will need to up their game if they think they can compete with Bosco.
What's wrong with 'only' 8 cocktails on the list?
Not bizarre at all but more bizarre that you feel that you have to comment on this and make yourself look a little sheltered.
I'd rather they perfect a few rather than claim they can make anything you want. For the record I have tasted one of their specials and it was very good, I am by no means a regular but would have no problems going back.
A cocktail bar with only 8 cocktails on the list is a Wetherspoons.
And a bar with more then 8 is called Yates.
Bosco had an extensive list of cocktails and looked how that turned out but by the sounds of it that's more up your street.
I have obviously touched a nerve with you? Why are you so defensive about this place, does your mum work there?
BTW, Yates does not purport to be a cocktail bar, this joint does.
You haven't touched a nerve it's just fun for me but you clearly lack any wit or charm. Annoying or boring, what do you think sums you up? I would ask those close to you...oh wait a minute, that's a shame.
A cocktail bar only having 8 cocktail is a bit odd. If you go to a bar like b@1 they have over 200 cocktails.
I went there for the first time the other night, yes they had a specials menu with a handful of their own crafted cocktails but when asked the young man serving had no issues with serving me up a a very yummy martini. I'm sure they can't compete with 200 but i don't want to trawl through endless cocktails that get served in test tubes or that glow in the dark.
Shock horror the Antelope only has 5 ciders on tap, OMG how dare they call themselves an ale and cider house, my mate's dad has a pub and it has 5 million drinks on tap...grow up guys, this isn't the city so just relax and be grateful that we have such a variety in Surbiton. Cheers!
In my experience, they are quite happy to make whatever cocktail you'd like and have the right range of products to cover most bases. I do agree that a little bit more imagination on the list itself may not go amiss.
In reality, this place couldn't be further away from being a Wetherspoons and is as close as Surbiton comes to a real cocktail bar. That is not to say it is all that good, but I'd rather have it than not.
That's a shame. The cocktail list in there used to be quite good with some reasonably inventive choices as well as the standard choices. It used to be a real pleasure sitting in their courtyard garden having a couple of cocktails before dinner.
Sadly, I think Surbiton is probably not suited to cocktail bars. This one failed to attract enough people and has now gone downhill by the sound of it. Bosco was great when it first opened, but seems to be a bit of a no-go zone for those of us over 21 on a lot of nights these days. I think they even had a 'Made In Chelsea' fan night the other week, which I guess a lot of the current clientele might actually enjoy.
This place just never seems to work. It is usually dead in there, but up until recently it used to be really busy of under 25s on Fri/Sat nights. Now it seems quiet even then. Not sure why as it always seems quite good and all of the other places on Maple Road do good business.
You seem remarkably knowledgeable about this place considering you just "popped in" for coffee, jamiepmumford.
The owners were presumably especially chatty to their customers, or perhaps they were handing out factsheets about the place to everyone who went in there(?)
Yes, that must have been what happened...
Its owned by Kevin Pietersen and Jessica from Liberty X - I highly doubt they are sitting there giving out info.