"Walk five minutes away from purgatory—Old Street roundabout—and you’ll find Tayēr + Elementary. The sceney, walk-in-only front bar has the look of an izakaya built from Apollo 11’s scrap parts, including a nifty Negroni tap and sound system playing European hip hop to bop. It’s perfect for spontaneous midweek things, people-watching, and mini martinis. The back bar, open from Thursday to Saturday, is a moodily lit date den with its own separate cocktail list and vaguely illicit, Blade Runner vibe." - heidi lauth beasley, jake missing, daisy meager, sinead cranna