Soon you’ll be able to leave your umbrellas at home when shopping in The Mailbox, as they’re having a roof fitted over the shopping area.  That means there’s going to be a bit of disruption while works are carried out – in fact all but Harvey Nicholls (which over the next year will double in size) and Armani are going to be having a hiatus.  The bars and restaurants are staying put for the duration.

You’ll be able to swap those brollies for cocktail umbrellas as there’s a big push on cocktail culture for the summer.  So much so, in fact, that they’ve set up a bit of a competition for those of you who like to imbibe something handcrafted and special.  Whether your favourite is a Bellini or an Old Fashioned, a Vesper or a Mojito, there’s something in one of The Mailbox bars that will tickle your tastebuds – and there could be £100 in it for you to spend on cocktails at The Mailbox if you share your consumption on the world wide web.  Simply upload a photo of your Mailbox Cocktail to Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag “#MailboxCocktails” and you could be randomly selected to receive a prize.

We spend quite a lot of time in The Mailbox, and enjoy many of the venues.  Without a doubt though our favourite venue is still Bar Epernay – one of only two venues that opened with the complex 15 years ago that are still going today, the other is Estillos which we also enjoy.  Many times we’ve sat out for Friday Fizz (£20 for Epernay house Champagne, 3pm-7pm) by the canal and ended up staying for a bite to eat and more drinks until the wee hours…  Most of the other venues do cocktails too including Miller & Carter (an excellent Old Fashioned), The Mal Maison (try a Blackforest Martini), and Côte (have a Mimosa or Bloody Mary with breakfast).

So keep your eye on @mailboxlife tweets to see when the shops are moving out and coming back, and don’t forget to tweet and Facebook your cocktails with the hashtag “#MailboxCocktails” for a chance to win £100 of Cocktail spend.