What is a Bramble?London's blackberry gin cocktail, and ours at Fiena, King's Cross

The Bramble was created in London in 1984 by the British barman Dick Bradsell. At the time he was working at a Soho bar called Fred's Club, and he wanted a British cocktail. Memories of going blackberrying as a child on the Isle of Wight gave him the idea. The name comes from the everyday word for blackberry bushes: brambles.

Bradsell (1959–2016), born in Bishop's Stortford, was later called the "cocktail king" by The Observer. He also invented the espresso martini, the Treacle, the Russian Spring Punch and the Wibble. Background from Wikipedia's Bramble page and Wikipedia's Dick Bradsell page.

A Bramble brings together dry gin, lemon juice, sugar syrup and crème de mûre (blackberry liqueur), usually over crushed ice, and often finished with fresh red fruit and a slice of lemon. If crème de mûre isn't to hand, some bars use crème de cassis instead. It's often called a spring cocktail, though it works whenever blackberries sound right.

Our Bramble is Beefeater gin, fresh lemon, gomme syrup and blackberry liqueur. Cocktails are made with a 50ml spirit measure; alcoholic drinks are served from 10:30. It sits with the other long and short drinks on the list — from the Aperol spritz and limoncello spritz to the Pornstar martini. See also our gin guide and the cocktail list.

A sharp, fruity gin drink loves small plates from the main menu: Padron peppers with flaked sea salt, Arancini mushroom with saffron sauce, Bruschetta, or Baby calamari with tartar sauce. Or share a Caprese or the Goat cheese salad. See Padron peppers, arancini and calamari.

Guests come for the drinks as much as the food. Katelyn wrote: Best aperol spritz and spaghetti bolognaise I’ve had in a while! (Katelyn, Google review)

“I'd eat here every night if I could”

Fiona, Google reviews, 2026