When we picture A-list celebrity haunts, an unassuming little gin shop on Stonegate isn’t exactly the first thing that springs to mind.
Joining popular shops and bars such as The Botanist and Jo Malone on the Medieval street that’s popular with tourists, the quaint Evil Eye gin shop stocks over 1,000 different gins – a fact that gained the shop its very own Guinness World Record and the adoration of A-list actor and household name, Johnny Depp.
But it’s actually behind the gin shop where the magic happens. Hiding behind the shop’s facade lies a quirky little cocktail speakeasy, oozing cool dive bar vibes that are only amplified by the hidden bar’s easygoing soundtrack of rock n roll.
I imagine it’s the result you’d get after time-travelling members of Nirvana to the prohibition era – except with far less drugs, and far more fancy cocktails.
Offering a (seemingly) endless menu of cocktails, guests are sure to find a tipple of their choice when drinking in the back of the Evil Eye – with all the classics on the menu (36 to be precise), a dedicated menu of mojitos, and page after page of Evil Eye’s very own concoctions made with a variety of spirits.
So, is that what attracted Depp to the likes of a little old bar in York? Rumour has it the actor strolled in a few times while filming Charlie and the Chocolate Factory nearby, not only signing a photo of himself during one of his visits, but also adding it to his list of favourite places in the UK, too. It’s said the actor absolutely loved absinthe, a spirit Evil Eye stocks among many others behind its secret bar.
Visitors can check out Depp’s autograph when visiting still today, and maybe even find a punter or two who knows a little about his visit (we definitely asked during our last drink there!).
[Featured image: Evil Eye]
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