Button

From the guys that brought you Pocket and Stitch comes Button (hang on – is that… a theme?). You’ll find Christophe Lehoux and Karl Schlothauer’s new bar on Foveaux Street – right next to Red Door by Foveaux and across the road from the infamous KB hotel.

There are two crossed muskets hung behind the bar. You can just about hear them saying “Caution all ye drunkards and louts getting silly on Side Cars.” Better fill up on the free pistachios before eying off the bottom of any more cocktail glasses.

The dark, wood-panelled bar room is lit by candlelight, low-lit up-cycled amber glass light shades and furnished with big, padded leather booths. A large communal table runs down the middle of the space while big comfy bar stools are tucked along the bar, which is also adorned by hanging wooden baskets filled with fruit.

You might well catch the Groundhogs, Jeff Beck, Mamas and the Papas or the Marcels over the speakers while you settle with a crisp, aniseedy Last Word – gin, green Chartreuse and maraschino liqueur shaken with lime juice. The fact that decent music in bars has become the rule rather than the exception makes us all kinds of glad. Sure, you may find a lot of the drinks a little hectic on the syrups and ingredients, but there are simple things too, such as Corpse Revivers and Mint Juleps.

Our pick is the Box of Rain - a cocktail of coconut water and white rum, like a piña colada, de-frocked. On a health kick but can’t bear to give up the devil water? Go for a Beetlejuice – a Stitch perennial of fresh-squeezed beetroot and ginger juice, gin, Punt e Mes and sweet vermouth finished with a little ginger beer.It’s a friendly team, but a busy team behind the bar at Button. So while you’ll get your drink with a smile, don’t expect a long chat. Nevertheless, it’s a bar with Good Times written all over it. Get involved.