Communion is the latest brainchild from brothers Mel and Jose Raido. They first opened the Church Street Hotel in 2007: described by the Daily Telegraph as ‘A Cuban/Mexican fantasy in Camberwell,’ it soon became the go to South London boutique hotel, before the brothers opened the restaurant, Angels and Gypsies in 2009. Described as ‘A little Camberwell beauty’ by Time Out and ‘A destination restaurant’ by The Independent on its opening, it’s become one of best loved Tapas bars in London, voted ‘Best Local Restaurant,’ by Time Out, and one of the ‘Top 5 London Tapas bars’ by Metro.
Communion is London’s newest artisan cocktail bar, tucked away in the heart of South London’s thriving Camberwell Church Street.
Adorned with beautiful handmade stained glass windows, depicting different biblical scenes, the bar is dressed with church candles, church furniture, colonial tiling and Latin washed walls. It’s a bar where every table has communion wafers and complimentary communion wine, and where drinks are served in handmade vessels and cups made by master potter Chris Lewis.
Special hand crafted touch
“Everything we do is about having that special hand crafted touch,” says owner José. “From the inception of the hotel,utilising hand painted Mexican tiles, hand made ironwork beds and furniture, to the restaurant’s relentless work ethic and creativity, making everything in house daily from the organic sourdough bread to our organic ice cream, and finally to the handmade cocktails & infused beverages of our basement bar. Our whole business was about creating a holy trinity, hotel, restaurant and bar; communion bar completes this.”
Ecclesiastical ‘feel’
“The idea came about as we were looking to carry on the ecclesiastical feel of the business,” adds brother and co-owner Mel. “We are on Camberwell Church Street, and the Church Street hotel started this tradition. Communion, the name, carried on that theme, with emphasis on the ritual of partaking in the wine and the wafer. The reverence that is placed on the beverage is what we really liked, since we are so passionate about our cocktails/ botanicals, and house infusions as well the food, symbolised by the wafer.”
The bright stained glass windows are undoubtedly the bar’s most striking feature. Handmade by Polish stained window artists Witrasz, who supply churches all over the world, each window depicts a different biblical scene: Jacob’s Ladder, Moses parting the sea, the worshipping of the Golden Calf and a triptych of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and finally The Creation. “We are not interested in the dogma of religion,” says Jose on the bar’s religious iconography. “But more its magical ability to create community and the fine reverent art it creates.”
Some of the best artisan cocktails in London
Communion also claims some of the best artisan cocktails in London, all designed with Camberwell’s local community in mind.
Drawing upon South London as the influence and inspiration, all ingredients are sourced locally, ingredients the brothers are confident you won’t find in many other cocktail bars. This includes Mauby Bark, Granadilla Fruit, small label rums, Nigerian Guinness, African under the counter gin, Irish Pocheen, Sorrel, Roots straight from the street bitters Caribbean and African, seasonal Caribbean fruits like Ortanique Oranges, Julie Mangoes, Guava, Guinepp, Sugar Cane and Jelly Nut.
“There’s also Asian influences with fruits like Rambutan, Dorian, and Jack Fruit, and Greek Zyphania, Turkish Rakia and Turkish coffee,” says Mel, who’s designed all the cocktails himself. “We also infuse our spirits with highly sourced flavours. Whether it’s the Cantabrian bottle tomatoes we use, or raw buffalo milk, fermenting our own pineapple wine, making our own Limoncello and liquers. We even make our own family ginger beer and Kombutcha (fermented teas).”
Something special?
“We believe we’ve created something special with Communion – a neighbourhood cocktail bar that is as serious about its drinks as its food. A place for the local community and hopefully also a destination bar for Londoners,” say the brothers. “And we’ve created it with the same ethos as our hotel and Angels & Gypsies, so we hope people appreciate it in the same way.”
Communion Bar, 29-33 Camberwell Church Street, Basement, London SE5 8TR
0207 703 5984
For more information about Communion Bar click here
For more information about Angels & Gypsies click here
For more information about Church Street Hotel click here