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Scarfes Bar debuts AR cocktail menu

Holborn-based Scarfes Bar at Rosewood London has launched its ‘Off The Wall’ cocktail menu which sees the venue’s ‘iconic’ caricatures come to life through augmented reality (AR) technology.

Pick Me: Macallan 12 base with wild strawberry and sparkling cabernet

Featuring 20 drinks, the new menu encompasses Scarfes Bar’s signature ‘playful and light-hearted’ approach, with a sophisticated yet simplified cocktail offering that is both physically represented by a bespoke figurine, and digitally represented by interactive AR animation.

The figures presented at the table are physical representations of designs from the bar’s namesake, British artist and caricaturist, Gerald Scarfe, who’s works adorn the marble walls as a living canvas. The figures include depictions of the Queen, David Attenborough, Adele, Elton John and Lewis Hamilton.

The cocktails are inspired by the works of the bar’s namesake, Gerald Scarfe

A 360-degree experience is created by the additional use of AR technology, which allows drinkers to engage with the figures on Instagram. A QR code located on each figurine invites guests to discover the new menu in digital format.

The menu’s curation has been led by Scarfes Bar’s head bartender Yann Bouvignies and director of bars Martin Siska, who have focused the new drinks list on inclusivity and sustainable practices.

The ‘Off the Wall’ menu promises to be their most considered and ‘grown-up’ menu to date, with a combination of minimalistic drinks and innovative technology.

Menu highlights include Let It Bee, a take on a Morning Glory Fizz made using Bruichladdich whisky and bee pollen; the Milk Punch-style Golden Hour which combines Naked Malt and Avallen Calvados; and Roadrunner, the menu’s only non-alcoholic serve made with a combination of 0% ABV apéritifs and CBD-infused Edi.

This is not the first time AR has been incorporated into a cocktail menu. In 2019, UK-based bar chain The Alchemist launched an AR cocktail menu called The Conjurer, which brought to life the drinks through a smartphone app.

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