Origins is a love letter to New York without pretending we are in New York. A city built
by people who arrived from somewhere else, bringing their food, flavours, rituals and
culture with them.
Each drink takes us into a different NYC neighbourhood and the community that helped shape
it — from China and Italy to Greece, the Dominican Republic and beyond.
We take an ingredient rooted in that culture and bring it back to Britain, pairing it with
locally sourced spirits and ingredients grown, found or foraged closer to home.
Two places, two ingredients, one drink.
SignedMr. UngarnishedCato Team
01
Jackson HeightsIndia
Origin
Spice, fragrance and colour run through Jackson Heights. Curry leaf is part of that rhythm — green, citrusy, unmistakably South Indian. Here, it meets Scottish wild rose. Two botanicals, two places. A gimlet somewhere between Kerala and Queens.
Cocktail
Curry Leaf + Rose
Botanist Distiller’s Strength gin, Keralan curry leaves, Scottish wild rose, English rose vermouth, pickled silverskin onion.
17.00
Notes
Aromatic
Vibrant
Balanced
02
NolitaAustralia
Origin
Australian café culture found a natural home in Nolita — laid-back, design-conscious and distinctly downtown. Little Australia, as it became known. Beyond the flat white, Manuka brings another taste of home: dark, herbal honey softened with wild British elderflower. Sydney by way of Spring Street.
Smoke and slow heat have shaped the flavour of Sunset Park. Mexican kitchens — many with roots in Puebla — brought ancho, chipotle and the depth of dried chilli to Brooklyn. Kentish apricot cuts through it: ripe, bright, preserved. A Toreador with one foot in each place.
Cocktail
Chipotle + Apricot
Lost Explorer Espadín mezcal, dry sherry, macerated Kentish apricots, chipotle nectar, mole aromatic bitters, Mexican chilli oil.
17.00
Notes
Spicy
Fruity
Dry
04
WoodsideThailand
Origin
Sweet, green and aromatic, pandan runs quietly through Woodside. A signature of Southeast Asian kitchens, its flavour sits somewhere between vanilla, grass and toasted rice. Here, Kentish cherry takes it darker. Bangkok meets Queens, in the shape of a Martinez.
Cacao brings the darker side of Venezuela to Roosevelt Avenue. Toasted, bitter and intensely aromatic, it meets the deep fruit of wild British currants. Rum underneath. English brandy alongside. Caracas to Queens to London — with the structure of a Negroni.
Cocktail
Cocoa + Currant
Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva rum, Venezuelan toasted cocoa, Burnt Faith English brandy, foraged redcurrants, black + redcurrant jam, Sipello bittersweet aperitif.
18.00
Notes
Bittersweet
Jammy
Silky
06
AstoriaGreece
Origin
Dill, yoghurt, cucumber and olive are woven into the
Greek tables of Astoria. We keep the flavours and
lose the plate. Tsipouro, wild dill pollen and yoghurt
whey meet British vodka, cold and clean. Tzatziki
after dark. Martini by design.
Coffee and cachaça once spilled out across West 46th Street — New York’s Little Brazil. They remain the backbone here. London fig leaf shifts the drink somewhere greener, with its strange natural note of coconut. Brazilian at heart. London around the edges.
Rum, coconut and Dominican culture run through Washington Heights. We keep the warmth, then introduce something distinctly British: green walnuts, picked young and turned into nocino. Rich, herbal, bittersweet. The Caribbean, with an English shadow.
Smoke, sesame, tea and roasted richness lead us through Flushing. Peking duck is the reference, pulled apart and reconstructed: baijiu, duck fat, toasted sesame and lapsang. Kentish chestnut brings the sweetness. Dinner in Queens. An Old Fashioned at cato.
Citrus and green aromatics cut through the Japanese kitchens of the East Village. Sudachi brings the sharpness; shiso, the perfume. The same flavours find new ground in Britain, with Norfolk shiso and fermented gooseberry. Tokyo precision. New York energy. British soil.
Coffee, cacao and something sweet have long been part of Bensonhurst’s Italian rhythm. Tiramisù sets the tone: mascarpone, Marsala, coffee and cacao. Then Scotch and wild chicory pull it somewhere less familiar. Italian roots. Brooklyn attitude. Dessert after dark.
Fermentation, chilli and umami run east along Northern Boulevard. Kimchi gives the drink its pulse; preserved Isle of Wight tomato mirrors it from Britain — savoury, acidic, concentrated. Vodka and tequila sharpen the edges. Korea through Queens. Margarita by way of cato.
Cocktail
Kimchi + Tomato
Ramsbury Single Estate vodka, Ocho tequila blanco, traditional kimchi, preserved Isle of Wight tomatoes, sesame seeds, house spice mix.
17.00
Notes
Spicy
Savoury
Umami
*Available as a non-alcoholic serve for £12
A discretionary 12.5% service charge is added to your bill, shared fully with the team.
