The Alchemist Bar & Restaurant opened in Nottingham's city centre in early 2018. It is located in an imposing 19th-century listed building at the junction of King Street and Queen Street, just off of Market Square. In the lead up to its opening, stories of ghostly sightings, mysterious footprints, and builders running scared from paranormal activity circulated in the city's
local reports. Nottingham is the thirteenth venue for the brand. A fitting number for the spooky gothic ambience the bar attempts to create with its ghost stories, skull decor, and references to the mysterious alchemists of yesteryear.

Colour Changing One: Reyka vodka, apple, soda, citrus, magic
To escape the large weekend crowds (often the bar is full to capacity on weekend nights), we checked it out on a weekday afternoon. It is decidedly less mysterious and macabre with full sunshine streaming through the large windows, but the drinks live up to their billing as amusing, creative, and theatrical. The cocktail menu is set up in periodic table style with reference to the properties of the alchemist's laboratory (
drinks are said to contain 'science' and 'magic').

Lightbulb Moment: anqueray gin, Pimms, ginger beer, raspberry, lemon, mint
Some drinks are served smoking and fizzing in laboratory equipment (Lightbulb Moment, as pictured above), while others require some DIY mixing to achieve colour or flavour changes. Along with the theatrical drinks, there are selections without the dramatic presentation (but just as tasty), such as the iced charcoal latte, which is an espresso cocktail made with charcoal ice cubes (Appleton Estate Signature, white cacao, milk, espresso, salted vanilla syrup, charcoal). A range of tasty mocktails are also on offer, such as the mango shake pictured below (made from white chocolate cream foam, orange, apple, lemon, mango, and passionfruit).

Pictured: Colour Changing One (top left), Mango Shake (top right), Iced Charcoal Latte (bottom)
Along with the main selection of drinks, The Alchemist is a full-service restaurant offering
bar nibbles, a
food menu with vegan and vegetarian options, and a
gluten-free menu.
This is a fun and somewhat different venue to enjoy creative drinks whether it be on a weekend night out or a quiet afternoon.