London’s Shoreditch bar scene welcomes a new arrival with the opening of FlipDog, a method-driven cocktail bar that launched on March 14, 2026, just moments from Old Street Station. Founded by Ukrainian hospitality entrepreneurs Artem Skapenko and Alex Kostenyuk, the venue introduces a concept built around technique-led cocktails, contemporary design, and a food program designed to complement the drinks.
The space was created by internationally recognized design studio YOD Group, blending industrial textures with sculptural elements and warm lighting to create an environment that feels both immersive and refined. The bar unfolds across two distinct floors, each offering a different experience while maintaining a strong focus on precision, craft, and hospitality.
At street level, an intimate 12-seat highball bar welcomes guests from mid-afternoon. The menu centers on ten crisp highballs designed for approachable early-evening drinking. These drinks highlight clarity of flavor and balance, offering a lighter introduction to the bar’s broader technique-driven cocktail philosophy.
Downstairs, the larger 80-capacity basement cocktail bar delivers a more immersive experience where technique takes center stage. The drinks program expands to 22 signature cocktails presented through a dual-menu concept structured around method. Each drink explores how processes such as clarification, carbonation, fermentation, and fat-washinginfluence flavor, texture, and aroma.
A central feature of the program is the “Flip10” collection, a set of cocktails built around specific techniques and designed to evoke memory and nostalgia through flavor. Among the most distinctive methods used is the historic loggerhead technique, a 17th-century approach that uses a heated or chilled iron poker to transform the character of a drink.
Alongside these technique-driven creations, the second side of the menu offers modern interpretations of classic cocktails. Familiar foundations are reimagined through unexpected flavor pairings and precise execution, balancing innovation with recognizability and making the drinks both creative and accessible.
Complementing the cocktail program is a menu of shareable dishes inspired by Asian and Eastern European cuisines. Designed to pair naturally with the drinks, the food includes options such as a Chicken Katsu Sandwich, Thai-style beef tartare, Niçoise-style octopus skewer, and desserts like matcha trifle and lemon-yuzu posset.
Leading the drinks program is Head Bartender Igor Brovko, a Ukrainian bartender and hospitality consultant with more than a decade of international experience. Previously part of the team at the influential London bar Tayēr + Elementary, Brovko brings a technically focused approach to menu development and beverage strategy.
By combining technical cocktail methods, contemporary design, and globally influenced cuisine, FlipDog positions itself as a distinctive addition to London’s evolving cocktail landscape. The concept reflects a growing movement within modern bartending where technique, storytelling, and hospitality merge to create deeper and more memorable drinking experiences.
