ABQ London – Breaking Bad bar review

Oh Hackney, we need to stop meeting like this. We were lucky enough to be invited along for a night of cocktail cooking at ABQ London on Saturday, where we got acquainted with the Breaking Bad RV and a hell of a lot of molecular fun.

ABQ London is an immersive experience based on Breaking Bad. Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love anything OTT and that I simply love The Alchemist for all of their dry ice and magic. ABQ goes one better as there is cocktail making AND dress ups here. The dream!

It was a bit quieter than usual due to the weather and the Champions League final. Which was perfect as it meant I could star in my very own mini photoshoot, much to Dems joy.

The experience

Located in a side street in Hackney – it isn’t immediately obvious where this little molecular masterpiece is located, but then you spot the RV and all becomes clear. From the moment you walk in, it feels as if you’re on the set of Breaking Bad with graffiti scrawled on the walls and everyone wandering around in yellow suits, goggles and gas masks.

The two hour session includes a welcome cocktail which comes with a syringe which changes the colour of the cocktail and just looks damn cool tbh. Then once you’ve had that it’s time to head to the RV to get suited up and choose which cocktails you want to cook.

I had obviously done some stalking of reviews and read that it can get quite hot in the suits so made sure I was dressed accordingly, in a lace bralette (we all know how I feel about underwear as outerwear). Who said Hazmat suits couldn’t be sexy? I did get a couple of sly digs from Dem about being naked, but half way through our session he had to get undressed. 27 degrees outside meant the boiler suits were exactly that, boiling – his shorts were actually a little damp… FIT! 

Cooking the cocktails

Ok this is where the fun really begins. You’re given two menus – one which has the cocktails listed, and another which tells you how to cook them. I obviously scouted the menu for the most extra cocktail I could find. The more elements to mix together – the better.

I opted for the CTR Fix first which was gin based with elderflower and a hell of a lot of dry ice! Dem had the La Tortuga which was tequila based with added fun from N20 gas. All the of the instructions are super easy to follow but Dem still ended up completely messing his up, much to the delight of the table beside us.

We also tried an Ice Ice Janey which was like an alcoholic sorbet with wafers and a Choco Sky which was made from bourbon and infused with white chocolate. We were sat on a table with another couple who were even worse at cooking cocktails which had us howling as they wore most of what they were making.

Top tip here – don’t try and smell the dry ice like Dem did (there’s always one), it’s very strong and gave him an instant headache, which luckily didn’t last long.

They have non alcoholic options for those that don’t want to get boozy and the whole experience makes for a perfect date. It would also suit larger groups too and would be a perfect hen activity!

ABQ London – the price

The first option is £36 per person and gets you 1h45m hours in the RV/RV extension which includes cooking/infusing of 2 cocktails! + a welcome drink. You can also get more food and drinks once your time in the RV is up.

The second option is walk in which is free to book and gets you a table for 1h45m. You can then pay as you go for drinks and pizza. But you’re not guaranteed a table so I’d suggest going for the package above.

Tips for ABQ London

• Wear layers as it gets super hot in those suits
• Pick cocktails with lots of elements – the more extra the better
• Scoop a photo outside the RV – it makes for a pretty darn cool backdrop

Grab tix here: www.abqlondon.com/abq-london

*I was kindly invited to review this event – where we were gifted complimentary tickets and drinks. I was under no obligation to post and all thoughts are my own.