The Voodoo Rooms says:

The Voodoo Rooms is an award-winning bar & restaurant located in central Edinburgh which opened in November 2007 with the aim of further boosting the city’s vibrant bar, restaurant and live music scene! The Voodoo Rooms was awarded the title “Best Cocktail Bar” in our first year, courtesy of Scottish Licenced Trade News, and we have continued to build upon this high standard under the stewardship of manager Jon Linstead and his team of top mixologists.Our award winning bar is stocked with a vast selection of speciality rums, tequilas & fantastic cocktails, with food served from 4pm – 10pm Monday – Thursday, and from
noon – 10pm Friday – Sunday. The Voodoo Rooms comprises of five large rooms and four bars – The Bar, Dining Room, The French Quarter, The Speakeasy and The Ballroom & Ballroom Bar. We aim to provide an eclectic and exotic range of live music, cabaret, clubs, events, gatherings, happenings, exhibitions and screenings so diverse and electrifying that it won’t just be our preposterously fine drinks, dining and lounging that will draw you back.

Social And Cocktail says:

The Voodoo Rooms is a plush old belle of a Victorian venue, and the bar’s interior definitely has a little bit of an old Parisian style of glamour. Black and gold is the colour scheme of choice, and if you ever want to know what a ‘well-stocked bar’ is then this place should clear up any queries of definition.

We went in on a Saturday night and the place was buzzing. The DJ in the corner booth is mixing in some Studio 54-esque disco tracks, and my drinking companion and I head in for round one. A Dry Martini for me and a girly Cosmopolitan for Emily. It’s a busy night and so our drink is being prepared further along the bar. I am mildly annoyed that the barman doesn’t check how I’d like the drink finished; olive, lemon or whathaveyou. As it turns out, a perfectly mixed mouth-puckering gin martini with a lemon twist is soon in my thirsty grasp. Emily’s cosmo with requisite flambéed orange zest is also good, juicy, and unashamedly passé!

We then take some time to peruse the quirky drinks list. Drinks are put into sub-categories with headers such as ‘Season of the Witch’ , ‘Asian Sorcerers’ and ‘Cult of Voodoo’ and in each you’ll find imaginative re-workings of classics like margaritas, tiki favourites and green-fairy loaded mind meddlers.

Emily dove into the ‘Aztec Challenge’ (£7.95) which was an odd but totally intriguing drink packed with ice. It had a decidedly smoky finish from the mezcal, blended with vanilla cognac and teas for good measure. On my gin-journey, my next choice effortlessly became the pick of the night. Oh lovely ‘Geisha’: a drink of delicious elegance. I have to take my hat off to its creator. The Geisha (£6.50) comprised Beefeater 24 gin, yuzu citrus wine, lemon and watermelon jelly and was finished with a fresh basil leave and ground black pepper. How these ingredients married into such a pretty, juicy but still aromatic blend was a tasty mystery.

The most eagerly anticipated drink of the night ended up being the biggest let-down, which is a shame. Early doors we’d spotted that some people were enjoying ‘prohibition-style’ cocktails which came in teapots and were served with cups and saucers. We waited a good hour before we could order one of the Hendrick’s branded pots of  The Infusionist (£13.95) which is designed to be shared. What is described as ‘generous proportions of Hendrick’s gin’ (I watched this being made and only saw one measure poured) Mandarine Napoleon, basil, bitters agave syrup and lengthened with homemade rose lemonade somehow managed to taste like a weak cordial mix.

Despite a slightly disappointing glitch with the final tipple, the Voodoo Rooms’ mix of glamorous surroundings and imaginative drinks concoctions more than earn them their stripes as one of the city’s best spots for cocktail, or indeed a few.

Leila Arfa writes www.leilappetit.com