
If there’s one thing Londoners love, it’s a quirky cocktail bar. Our city has everything from absinthe-focused drinking dens to bars that take you back in time, and even bars hidden away inside Mac repair shops. And now the team behind the latter bar is opening a ‘MakeShift’ new cocktail venue in Islington. But there’s a catch: they’re opening it inside a coffee hatch, and there’s no bar…
MakeShift will open up on Islington Green later this month. Running through the evenings for an initial three months, the quote-unquote ‘bar’ will share the space with a day-time coffee hatch. They’re making the most of the space, with 18 seats inside and they’ll be mixing up the drinks right there in the coffee hatch window. Who needs a bar, after all, when you’re running a bar?

In keeping with the ‘MakeShift’ theme, drinks will follow a DIY ethos. The bar’s ‘Adaptable Cocktails’ allow guests to tinker with drink specs and ingredients. You can tailor your drink specifically to your own taste. From “a MakeShift Martini, where you choose your own vermouth and aromatics, [to] a Negroni built around unexpected flavours, every drink is designed to be flexible, creative, and unmistakably delicious.”
It’s clear that The Natural Philosopher’s team is drawn to unique spaces. Their bar sports all manner of unique touches in the decor – not to mention the location. There’s moss climbing up the walls, foliage peeking through the furniture, and the paintings on the walls are almost definitely haunted. We can’t wait to see how they add their own touch to the coffee-hatch-cocktail-bar.

The bar is currently only planned to be in place for three months. However, the right support could see it transition from a pop-up to a permanent attraction. In a statement, the team behind the bar said: “MakeShift is initially launching as a three-month pop-up—but with the right support, we could become a more permanent fixture.”
MakeShift is set to open on Islington Green later this month. The nearest station will be Angel. Keep up to date with the new bar, and the Natural Philosopher team, here.
You can find The Natural Philosopher at 489 Hackney Road, E2 9ED. The nearest station is Cambridge Heath.