VOC

Review

VOC stands for Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, which translates as the Dutch East India Company. This gives a clue as to what's on the menu - punch and other old-time drinks.

VOC is hidden away in the centre of the Regent's Quarter - that's King's Cross to you and me - in the same courtyard as Camino.

The drinks list has been conjured up with the help of Fluid Movement, the drinks consultancy run by the boys behind Purl and the Worship Street Whistling Stop, so that explains the historical bent and the barrel-aged cocktails that evoke life on the High Seas.

In practice, that means there are small wooden casks - some former sherry butts and some new oak - displayed on a suspended shelf above bar and on the shelves behind, containing grogs and punches. Other cocktails are pre-mixed and aged in wax-sealed glass bottles, plus there are various quirky concoctions and infusions, though there are freshly mixed options too. Overall, the list is perhaps a tad complex and challenging for the area's average punter but for geeky drinkers in such of barrel aged cocktails, VOC is a cracking little bar.