Match was a pace-setting cocktail bar near London’s Oxford Circus, founded by entrepreneur Jonathan Downey in 1997. It was a key link between early mixology efforts of 1990s London and the cocktail boom that followed in the next decade. Downey, a Manchester native and corporate lawyer, opened Match in response to what he considered a wanting London bar scene. His aim was to offer quality cocktails in a relaxed atmosphere. The bar proved the cornerstone of what would become Downey’s small empire of cocktail dens. For the drinks program, he hired Dick Bradsell, then the most highly regarded cocktail bartender in London. Match helped spread Bradsell’s influence as a bartending mentor and increased his number of protégés. Additionally, the initial menu’s Matchnificant Seven cocktail list helped further popularize Bradsell creations such as the Bramble, Russian Spring Punch, and Vodka Espresso. Later on, Downey partnered with the equally notable American bartender Dale DeGroff. Downey’s demanding vision for Match encompassed every aspect of the bar, from drinks and food to bartender training and hospitality. The name of the bar evoked his then-innovative idea that the drinks were intended to pair with specific food. An instant success, the bar spawned a second Match in London as well as sister bars in Melbourne and Ibiza.
Bradsell, Dick; DeGroff, Dale; and Downey, Jonathan.Simonson, Robert. A Proper Drink. San Francisco: Ten Speed, 2016.
By: Robert Simonson