For Liana Oster, it all began with the understated allure of a Ruski Lemon — think an Australian Smirnoff Ice — that she marked her 18th birthday with. An inauspicious start, perhaps, but a start nevertheless. Other sorts follow, but these days, she’s moved onto more refined lemony drinks — Three Sheets’ bottled French 75 suits her best these days. Oster currently serves as bar director of the prestigious NoMad Hotel, located in the former Bow Street Magistrates' Court. It’s the same location where Oscar Wilde was once famously tried; and as Wilde once pronounced: “I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.” Spend enough time at the NoMad, it seems, and a bon vivant you shall become.
Oster’s appointment here is the culmination of a bar career that’s been nothing short of exceptional. The Australian’s career really got going while working for Melbourne’s now closed Bar Americano, where she was named rookie of the year in 2016 by Time Out. It was a platform she used to leap from Down Under to one of the world’s most celebrated cocktail bars, New York’s Dante.
She began working there as a bartender in 2017, eventually taking the reins as bar manager a couple of years later. And throughout her tenure, Dante swept up awards globally, being named America’s best restaurant bar in both 2017 and 2019 at the prestigious Tales of the Cocktail festival. In fact, 2019 was a stellar year, with the bar also claiming the top spot on the World's 50 Best Bars list.
After the pandemic provided a timely interruption to her routine life in New York, Oster found herself enchanted by London after a brief trip in 2021 and was intent on finding a way to work here. Luckily, New York’s NoMad hotel was expanding internationally, and Oster was invited to join the opening team of NoMad London, where she worked alongside bar legend Leo Robitschek to create the beverage programs for the hotel’s three distinct venues: NoMad Restaurant, the award-winning Side Hustle, and the subterranean cocktail bar, Common Decency. In 2022, Oster assumed the role of bar director, and now oversees the day-to-day operations of all of the bars.
It’s a big gig, and long way from her days of downing Ruski Lemons. But it’s this breadth of taste — from no-frills Midori cocktails to the exquisite cocktails that she helps develop and serve at the NoMad — that makes Oster’s pro-tips all the more exciting.
If you could only have one drink in London for the rest of your life, what would it be and where?
This would be a toss up between French 75 at Three Sheets (510b Kingsland Road, E8 4AB, threesheets-bar.com) and Tayer + Elementary's (152 Old Street, EC1V 9BW, tayer-elementary.com) One Sip Martini. The French 75 is just so well done! Delicious, a really cool serve from their bottles, and I like that if I'm really in need, I can buy it and take it home with me. As for the martini, it's small so it always stays cold; it's a tiny piece of heaven.
What was your most memorable meal in London and why?
None of the real memorable ones have occurred out; they've all been with friends and at home. The only one that comes to mind might be sad to say, but it was a meal for one — the very first time I sat at Kiln (58 Brewer Street, W1F 9TL, kilnsoho.com). It was on a holiday to London and one of the times I really fell in love with the city. It was a typical, cold winter day, and I got in early so I could get a spot. I sat in the corner seat by the record machine and just hung out; read a book while I ate delicious food and had some great wines. I’ve always liked to spend time in cities to get a feel for them before I move there, and I think on this day I was pretty intent on trying to find a way to get over here. I moved less than a year later.
Where is your favourite place to go for a nightcap, and what do you typically order?
It would be remiss of me not to say that the place I frequent the most for a nightcap is the Bow Street Tavern (37 Bow Street, WC2E 7AU, bowstreettavern.com), because it's literally next door to work, and no pint ever tastes as great as the one after a shift!
If I am already out and about, my favourite nightcap spot is typically Satan's Whiskers (343 Cambridge Heath Road, E2 9RA, satanswhiskers.com). The bar serves quality classic cocktails and there's always something for you. Typically, it's just a Pacifico and a shot of tequila for me and my nightcap, although I'm always partial to any variations of a Manhattan and love having a chat with the bartender to see what they recommend for me.
Where do you go to cure a hangover?
Usually my couch, with a one litre bottle of Rebel Coconut Water …but if I've made it out the door, that likely means I'm on the road to recovery. In which case, it would usually be a lunch somewhere that has pizza or pasta on their menu. Hopefully both. The main rule of recovery is to always be hydrating in threes: coffee, sparkling water and some form of low ABV beverage. Manteca (49-51 Curtain Road,EC2A 3PT, mantecarestaurant.co.uk) and Elliot's (SE1, E8, elliots.london) are my recommendations.
What is London's best bar crawl?
You need to start early here and take it slow, but Soho through to Covent Garden is such a lively part of the city. Everything is within walking distance and it covers all bases of bars, leaving room for more suggestions and stops as well. My choice is Bar Termini (7 Old Compton Street, W1D 5JE, bar-termini-soho.com) to start off, followed by Swift Soho (12 Old Compton Street, W1D 4TQ, barswift.com), Atelier Coupette (9 Moor Street, W1D 5ND, coupette.co.uk), Wacky Wombat (Manette Street, W1D 4AL, @wacky.wombath), Scarfes Bar (Rosewood London, 252 High Holborn, WC1V 7EN, scarfesbar.com), Side Hustle (28 Bow Street, WC2E 7AW, thenomadhotel.com) then Stereo (35 The Piazza,WC2E 8BE, stereocoventgarden.com).
What’s your guilty pleasure cocktail and why do you love it?
Anything with Midori, but to be specific, a Japanese Slipper is pretty delightful. I think it's nostalgic for me, as it's one of the first cocktails I remember learning to make when I was beginning my career.
Which London bar doesn't get nearly as much love as it should?
Homeboy (108 Essex Road, N1 8LX, homeboybar.com) not that it doesn't get recognition or isn't well known, I just think it should get more! Phenomenal service every time. They make you feel at home and that's why you keep coming back.
