05 Jun 2026
James Cameron steps back in time for a nostalgic food and drink journey across the hotel’s past 40 years…
Sopwell House has a long and distinguished history, first mentioned in records in 1603 and with notable residents including Prince Philip’s grandfather Prince Louis of Battenberg (surely a prime contender for a tribute dessert). For their latest project, however, they are focussing on the more recent past, specifically the 40 years since Abraham Bejerano took over the property in 1986.
If you want to delve deeper into history then the bar already does tribute cocktails dating back to 1140 and to when this was part of the Priory, but by focussing on the recent past with both their signature cocktails and menu items they are mainlining nostalgia, especially for someone of my vintage.
Adam Jobson, the Wizard of the Octagon Bar at Sopwell House, has created a special cocktail for each decade, each with a name that references both its inspiration and the number 8 that is central to the bar. The tribute to the ‘90s, the best ever decade, is the ‘Eight Sides of the Cosmo’, loosely based on the Cosmopolitan. Like its predecessor this is the height of sophistication and a great way to start an evening.
It takes you back to the sour section of a sweetshop, with a strong vein of grapefruit in the Citro Vodka, plus added tartness from the yuzu and cranberry.
Zooming through the years like that guy from The Time Machine, we next landed in the 2000s and the ‘Midori No. 8’ based on the Appletini, beloved by JD from Scrubs. This was my pick of the bunch as it really tasted like apples, rather than that synthetic apple taste you might find in (for example) Apple Tango.
Having said that my signature cocktail consists of Dark Rum and Diet Apple Tango, but that is definitely more of an end-of-the-night affair. The Midori was possibly even superior to that, it was just the right level of sweet and very juicy (by which I mean juice-like).
This drink has a special place in the heart of Fabrizio Russo, the executive assistant manager for food and drink at Sopwell House. As he explains: “The Appletini especially brings back memories. When it became popular, I was working in Leicester Square at a very busy bar, and we must have made millions of them – especially during film premieres. Famous and non-famous people alike would gather around for cocktails, and it often felt like a scene from Sex and the City.”
We finished our journey through the drinking ages with the ‘Octagon Ruby Spritz’, Jobson’s take on the still omni-present Aperol Spritz. I am not usually a fan of this drink, where others find them refreshing. I just think they’re overly bitter, but I have to say this has made a convert of me. On the surprisingly warm evening it was just the thing to cool you down. In keeping with the retro vibes it even tasted a little of Taboo.
To my eternal regret I did not get to sample the ‘80s entry, a version of a Sex on the Beach called ‘Momo Hachi’ but it’s probably for the best as otherwise the rest of this interview would have been incomprehensible drivel (moreso than usual). We also dodged a bit of a bullet due to changing tastes, as Fabrizio explains: “Blavod Black Vodka was hugely popular as a shot throughout the 1990s and early 2000’s, but it felt better to stay away from something that was a bit of a ‘danger drink’ back then and that people today might not enjoy in the same way.”
It is an interesting balancing act, to provide a drinking and dining experience that taps into your sensory memories of the past whilst also reflecting the fact that tastes change, and that what was acceptable and desirable then might not cut the salad cream now. I spent most of the ‘80s consuming Panda Pops and microwaved Mars Bars, but serve those on a menu now and you might get drummed out of town. Or win Great British Menu, who knows.
After our drinks we were led through to the warm and inviting brasserie to get some much needed food to sop up the alcohol. As well as the usual varied menu on offer the brasserie has also embraced the past through their special additional menu. There were no vegan options here for my dining partner, which I suppose is an accurate reflection of how things used to be, but this meant we got to try out both the old and the new.
The place was buzzing as you would expect on a Saturday night. Where we were seated looked over the spa lounge and it was initially disconcerting to watch people walking around in bathrobes whilst you eat your dinner, but one can get used to anything. There is definitely a more relaxed vibe at the Brasserie compared to Omboo, the other restaurant at Sopwell House, and this seeps through into the menu where comfort is the order of the day.
After all, there are few things as comforting as a retreat into the past, and so I started off with the very retro-starter of a Prawn Cocktail. In this case it was a Prawn and Crab Cocktail, luscious juicy prawns ensconced by shredded crabmeat and doused in a Marie Rose sauce with a sprinkling of paprika.
My previous experience of Prawn Cocktails had been confined to the crisp flavour but what I will say is that this tasted very different. I would go so far as to say better. Beneath the seafood was a layer of avocado, like sunken treasure at the bottom of the ocean, and it walked the perfect starter tightrope of being packed with flavour whilst leaving you tantalised for the main course.
My companion commenced with the Superfood Salad, a veritable cornucopia of things to make you feel good about yourself including in-season asparagus, broccoli, kale and a lovely crumb of toasted seeds and chickpeas. The whole ensemble was fresh and colourful with smoky undertones. Like my companion it was very well dressed, and the sharpness of the vinaigrette interacted well with the creaminess of the avocado. Both dishes were very light and playful entrances to the meal.
The Prawn Cocktail was served with Melba Toast, which sent me down memory lane to my parents’ dinner parties where I would delight in eating the superfluous crusts that are a by-product of its creation. This led us through other culinary highpoints of our past, including my truly disastrous attempt to make Chicken Cordon Bleu for my in-laws.
Luckily the kitchen at the brasserie is operating at a much higher level, and the Cordon Bleu I had for my main course was the highpoint of the evening for me. Like a Chicken Kiev of the gods it was covered in crisp breadcrumbs and filled with a creamy gruyere sauce that delivered a mustardy umami kiss. I could tell by the smell of neighbouring tables that the chips were going to be something special even before they arrived, and they absolutely delivered on the promise.
Crisp and full of flavour, better yet there was more of the gruyere sauce to dip them in.
One small note, I think it may be about time to retire the fake newspaper that chips are often served with (as was the case here).
Even someone as venerable as me does not remember chips actually being served in newspaper and it’s a pretty yucky concept when you think of how impermanent the ink was. Some parts of the past should stay in the past.
Other historical main courses included Beefs Tartare and Stroganof but looking to the future the vegan main course was Butter Beans, served with a pine nut crumble. This was pretty free-form on arrival, with a fresh topping of kale and courgette covering the creamy butter beans. The listed crumble was not overly present, and perhaps a bit more of this could have leant the dish more structure.
There was a deep and varied wine list, as you would expect of Sopwell House (I bet they have a very impressive wine cellar), but they also serve Pale 4 by Tring, which is one of my favourite ever beers and pairs exceptionally well with chips.
For dessert I had to run the gauntlet of pronouncing ‘Millefeuille’ to the waiter, which took several attempts by this point in the evening. It came with big juicy berries and a smooth custard.
For some reason (I blame Mr Kipling) I was expecting a fondant icing on the pastry, possibly with some feathering, but instead there was a dusting of icing sugar. It seems an odd thing to say that something covered in sugar is not sweet enough, but the puff pastry was fairly savoury on its own.
There was raspberry sorbet for my dining partner, this was very cold (as is par for the course with sorbet) and had a strong fruit flavour.
It could have benefited from some little biscuits on the side, but then that is true for most things in life.
We had ordered some peppermint tea to accompany our desserts, which arrived quite a bit before. It was a lovely drop, though, served in very stylish pots.
Two words I keep on returning to for my visit to the Sopwell House Brasserie were comfort and warmth. I had an almost transcendental experience of feeling an immense sense of community with all the other dining parties there that night, all separated but going through a similar and wonderful experience. This might have had something to do with the cocktails, but it is also a testament to the care and attention that you receive here.
My Trip Through the Decades was thoughtfully curated and felt like putting on a favourite old jumper that you find at the back of the closet and have not worn in years, and I would encourage you all to head over in your Deloreans or phone boxes.
The past is a foreign country, they do things differently there. But as long as they cover the things in gruyere sauce I will be reaching for my passport.
