Disclaimer: Flight Club Oxford have in no way sponsored this article. In the name of transparency, however, The Oxford Blue would like to disclose that we were invited to the Flight Club in Bloom launch party for free. This will not influence our review.
Spring has well and truly sprung, and nothing says Spring better than a fruity cocktail. Having launched their limited edition summer cocktail menu, Flight Club Oxford invited The Oxford Blue to an exclusive launch party.
The Darts
Flight Club are known for their “social darts”. Full disclosure, I didn’t actually get to play darts at the launch party, having been distracted by the new drinks menu. Luckily, I visited Flight Club at the end of April, and got to experience their darts then.
I am by no means a darts player. My hand-to-eye coordination is, frankly, shocking. Yet there was something very wonderful about Flight Club’s six different ways to play darts. The games I played involved being assigned a specific number to hit: this is a challenge for anyone already bad at darts. To oversimplify: hitting your own number advances you; hitting someone else’s puts them behind.
Despite my ineptitude for darts, it was a lot of fun, and a particularly good alternative to purely going to a bar. The blend of the social darts area and regular bar area, as well as the gorgeous terrace, makes Flight Club a particularly good date night spot, as well as a good team-building outing or fun day out with friends. Goodness knows there are precious few places like that in Oxford.
The Drinks
As guests of Flight Club, we were handed drinks on arrival to the launch party: a particularly good sparkling white wine that was delightfully sweet, and that I wish I’d gotten the name of.
We started with the Mango No. 5, a fruity, but very boozy cocktail. With Patrón Silver, peach liqueur, lime and mango, and topped with White Claw Mango, this cocktail packed a very tropical punch. For my own tastes, it was slightly too strong. That said, I tend to prefer a much fruitier cocktail: I’m sure this would be perfect for many. 7/10.
Next was by far my favourite drink of the night: the Love Wins cocktail. For each Love Wins cocktail sold, £1 is donated to MindOut, a charity which provides mental health support and advice to LGBTQ+ communities. This was my kind of cocktail. With Stonewall Dry Gin, Midori, passion fruit, orange and lemon, the cocktail was very light and fruity, refreshing, and not too strong. It was completely perfect for a hot summer night, and tasted like a holiday. 10/10
Then came the Amalfi Nights cocktail. For each Amalfi Nights sold, the gin brand, Monkey 47, has pledged to donate 47p to WWF. With Aperol, Monkey 47 gin, almond and lemon, and topped with lemonade, the Amalfi Nights tasted and looked pretty similar to an Aperol Spritz. I managed to forget that I dislike Aperol, but was lucky to have other members of The Blue there to inform me that it was a pretty good cocktail. Personally, it’s a 3/10, but objectively it’s probably an 8/10.
We also tried the Just Peachy cocktail, which contained Patrón Reposado, peach liqueur, grenadine, and pineapple. Another fruity cocktail, to my delight, but this time significantly stronger. I had an essay due, so my aim was not to get drunk, but if it had been this would have been my cocktail of choice: clearly quite boozy, but very easy to drink. 9/10
The night ended with a Hugo Spritz. I’m a much bigger fan of elderflower than Aperol, so I ended up quite enjoying this one, though it’s not part of the limited edition menu. That said, I was pretty tipsy by this point. I give it a very solid 6/10.
Overall, the cocktails were very full – so full I spilled one – pretty strong on the whole, and pretty delicious. I’m also taking it as a good sign that I didn’t have a hangover the next morning.
The Food
Genuinely, the food at Flight Club is better than food at any bar I’ve ever been to. Pure excellence.
We started with some pizza. I will say that the thin crust meant that the pizza was not especially filling – which was useful for my purposes, but worth bearing in mind.
We started out with a good old Classic Margherita, with tomato sauce, mozzarella and fresh basil. When I want pizza in Oxford I tend to buy the 85p Co-op snack pizzas, so to say this was a major upgrade for me would be an understatement. This was only the worst pizza of the night by comparison, but I always say that you can’t go wrong with a classic. 8/10
Next came what was hands-down the best pizza I’ve ever eaten, the Four Cheese. With tomato sauce, mozzarella, ricotta, goat’s cheese, smoked applewood cheddar, oregano and caramelised red onions, this pizza was heaven-sent. I think they should start serving this at formals. Goat’s cheese is something I had never tried before uni, but it has changed my life when used in the right contexts – this was one of them. The caramelised red onion sent this over the top. I will be dreaming about this pizza for the rest of my life. By far my favourite part of the entire evening. 10/10
Then came the Chargrilled Vegetable pizza, with tomato sauce, mozzarella, pesto, chargrilled peppers, olives and red onions. I wish pesto didn’t work so well on pizza, but it does. I tend to be wary of vegetables on pizza – why ruin a perfectly good thing? No one eats pizza to be healthy. Yet this pizza convinced me. 9/10
The last pizza slice of the night was the Gorgonzola Portobello. With tomato sauce, mozzarella, grilled portobello mushrooms and white truffle oil, this was a fan favourite among The Blue. It is secondary to the Four Cheese, but I admit, this pizza was incredibly good, and truffle oil makes me feel fancy. 10/10
Next came appetizers. From the sharing platter came tomato and avocado bruschetta. Normally, I’m a big fan of bruschetta. Yet this did disappoint me a little. The avocado did not seem very fresh, there was no balsamic glaze, and the red onion drowned out most of the rest of the flavours. 2/10
Flight Club redeemed themselves with their spiced cauliflower wings. Crunchy, hot, well-seasoned, these might be a new favourite bar snack for me. 9/10
Last came some Padrón peppers. I was sceptical at first, but these were not at all spicy, which my palate was grateful for (although others might disagree). These were not showstopping, but they were very more-ish, and I felt that they would complement a variety of cocktails quite well. 7/10
Finally, dessert. We were treated to vegan, lactose free and gluten free brownies and cheesecake. I love a little sweet treat. The brownies were slightly too dense, but very chocolate-y, and the cheesecake tasted like Biscoff. It was not great as a cheesecake, being quite mini, but it still tasted great. 8/10.
The Overall Review
With lovely staff, gorgeous views, good music, great food and wonderful cocktails, I was genuinely surprised by how impressed I was by Flight Club. I had been sceptical at first, but it was a lovely atmosphere. A place that would work equally well for an anniversary, a work do, a friend’s birthday or a first date is rare, but Flight Club’s variety and adaptability were what shone through for me. They also gave us wristbands which contained seeds which could be planted – a wonderful reminder of a wonderful night.