The current owner of Nebula bar + pizza joint on Hackney Road – which will open a new branch at London City Island later this year – as well as canned cocktail company Easy Social Cocktail Co., Brown is excited to be bringing his latest venture to the Island this spring.

The concept of Soda & Friends is to showcase the depth and variety of the highball serve, offering an impressive and curated menu of rare and fine spirits, flavoured sodas and homemade ingredients and liqueurs, along with curated beer and even a loose-leaf tea menu. Every highball serve is expertly mixed with house-made cordials, liqueurs and ferments, which are lengthened with a range of sodas and seltzers.

Highlights include the Soda House Highball (pear, apple and plum with whiskey and soda), and the Irish Air Con, made from cantaloupe melon, pommes, Irish gin and cucumber soda. Soaking up all the fizz is a selection of Japanese-inspired bar snacks, including dumplings, pickled miso quail eggs and fried chicken or vegan bites.

Brown describes Soda & Friends as a ‘delightful neighbourhood cocktail bar. Somewhere to unwind, indulge, relax and feel at home’. The minimalist interiors take inspiration from Nordic and Japanese design, and are centred around a striking green bar made from recycled plastics and glass.

‘We want Soda & Friends to be the perfect chill hangout for the residents of London City Island and the local area,’ he continues. ‘London City Island is a neighbourhood and that’s so rare in London; it’s both private enough to create that village feel, while having such great links to the rest of London. It’s literally the best of both worlds.’

The beauty of the highball, meanwhile, is its versatility. There’s a version of the beverage to suit every taste, whether you have a sweet tooth or prefer sour flavours. But the best way to enjoy a highball serve, Brown insists, is with a ‘quality spirit, among friends’.

‘For us, the highball serve positions the drink as an accompaniment to your evening, not the reason for it. It’s more enjoyable and better value. This is the future of drinking.’