They call it the Dryathlon… we prefer Banuary… or the Winter Wagon. Anyway it involves keeping off the booze during January in order to a) recover from your Christmas excesses b) save money and C) maybe even donate a little to charity.

All very admirable if you’re into that kind of thing. Personally the thought of facing a cold, wet January with nothing to warm yourself with other than the box set of Mad Men, doesn’t sound very appealing.

For people like us, dedicated to downing one or more fine cocktails as often as possible, going not-so-wild-turkey would probably be too much of a shock for our systems to bear.

In fact, January is one of our favourite months for visiting bars. This is mainly because most of them are simply delighted to see you as their regular punters stay away in a desperate attempt to stick to their New Year’s resolutions for health, wealth and sobriety.

More than that, many bars actively encourage you to drop in for a drink or two with some seriously tempting offers and happy hours. And finally, many of the busiest, crowded bars have room to breath, find a seat, enjoy the surroundings and engage the staff in detailed conversation about weighty matters such as how to make the perfect Martini and whether Gin really does make you depressed.

However, in the interest of fairness, if you are embarking on the Dryathlon we thought we’d serve you up with our suggestions for the best alcohol free cocktails around.

1) – to start with, The Beaufort at the Savoy are taking the sting out of going on the wagon with their “Bees Buzz” cocktail, consisting of pressed apple juice, honey, ginger beer, essential almond oil and lime.

www.fairmont.com/savoy-london/dining/beaufortbar/

2) – Galvin at Windows, as well as having great views over London also has some great mocktails, amongst them the deliciously fruity Orion Orion. This full cup of mixed berry fruits, stirred with equal part of vanilla syrup and lemon and topped up with a generous splash of ginger ale certainly sweetens the alcohol free deal

www.galvinatwindows.com/bars-in-london/cocktails-london/ 

3) –  One of our favourite bars in town, the Zetter Town House is offering a deliciously refreshing Dandelion Lemonade made with dandelion tincture, sugar, lemon juice and lemonade. This is one dandelion which will blow you away and help you pass the time.

www.thezettertownhouse.com/cocktail-lounge/

4) – If you’re after a mocktail that takes you away from the cold, wet winter then head for the Bassoon bar at the Corinthia Hotel which is offering a tasty, tropical, alcohol free Maui made with Passion Fruit, Apple Juice, Rose Marmalade and Ginger Beer.

www.corinthia.com/hotels/london/dining-and-bars/bars/bassoon-bar

5) Everything seems to be about the cloud these days – so why shouldn’t your alcohol free cocktail be the same? All Star Lanes are offering their very own Cloudy Berry – a cheerful crimson combination of raspberry, cranberry, elderflower and lemon juice.

www.allstarlanes.co.uk/venues/holborn/food-drink/temperance/

So, enjoy your dryathlon if you can. In the meantime we are trying to coin a phrase for the drinking man’s January. So, far we’ve only come up with Dramuary, can you think of anything better?

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London is not just a city blessed with great bars. It’s a city brimming with clubs… from the old and esteemed such as Whites and Boodles, to the new and trendy such as Soho House and The Library. There are clubs for Ex Public School boys, artists, actors, writers, media types, motorists, bankers, directors, hipsters and heavy drinkers.

And there are still great, old established clubs that most people won’t know about, but which remain warm, welcoming and still very grand havens from the hustle and bustle of London life. The Lansdowne Club is one of these. Its delightful C18^th Robert Adam designed home close to Berkeley Square, was once owned by Gordon Selfridge, founder of the eponymous department store.

As a club with a penchant for the sporting world, one of its crowing glories, added shortly after it became a club in the 1930s, is an exquisite art deco basement swimming pool. Of course you ‘ll have to be lucky enough to have a friend who is a member – or to be a member yourself – to enjoy a plunge in their pool. If you do, you can then relax and reward yourself for your physical endeavours with a drink in their Aqua Bar.

The balcony of the Lansdowne Aqua Bar overlooks the 25 metre pool and both have been scrupulously maintained with all their stunning original 1930s features. While the Aqua bar offers a simple food and drinks menu, the view of the amazing pool with keen types ploughing lengths up and down is truly invigorating.

If you want a wider selection of high quality cocktails you can retire to the Lansdowne’s Round Room and if you need some sustenance to soak it all up a formal gourmet experience is available in the dining room.

So, we heartily recommend you cultivate a friendship with a member and experience life in clubland. And, if you can spare the quite reasonable membership costs and meet the entrance criteria, you could even make it a home from home in the heart of the West End.

www.lansdowneclub.com

The Lansdowne Club is at
9 Fitzmaurice Place
Mayfair, London
W1J 5JD

Tags: aqua bar, bar reviews, best swims london, lansdowne club, london bars

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Commuting can be a chore at the best of times… And once upon a time, in a more, (or is that less) enlightened time, the custodians of our public transport knew that. They cared for us and wanted our journeys to be better, more enjoyable experiences.

So they did stuff like put bars on, or in, tube stations. Sloane Square had a lovely little pub on the westbound platform. Well, when I say lovely, I mean it had a pub on the west bound station, which while not being a on a par with the American Bar at the Savoy, did serve its purpose well… Allowing weary shoppers and workers to have a stiffener before heading home.

I suppose at some point health and safety stepped in with concerns about inebriated travellers stepping out of the platform and onto the live tracks. Or the bar simply wasn’t making enough money. Whatever. It’s gone now.

Of course train stations still know the power of a well timed drink…

Most of the big ones manage to pack in at least one or two bars. Some like the snazzy new St Pancras international are positively brimming with swish establishments. Others like Waterloo, which while surrounded by bars in the close environs, still relegate their own bar offering to a subterranean circle of hell down some dingy steps that gives you the impression that you’re descending to the gents loos.

To give Waterloo their credit though, they have made an effort to improve matters with a new mezzanine floor. But you get the feeling this isn’t about catering to the needs of travellers, and more about relieving them of lots of their cash before they embark on their overpriced train journeys.

My advice? First and foremost it’s don’t drink pints before getting on the train… it ends in tears! Or a forced exit in search of a loo, or a long walk through a crowded train on the hunt for the one loo, which, if it is working fills you with the dread that the door will open at any time and expose you to the derision of other passengers.

Other than that, it’s every man and woman for themselves!

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In that 1980s ode to excess that is Pretty Woman, Richard Gere’s character, before taking prostitute-with-a-heart-of-gold Vivienne to the Opera, spins her some line about people either loving or hating the Opera the first time they see it. Fair enough, you just better hope your first opera isn’t Tosca, an opera of monumental sadness even within a genre that specialises in tragedy.

But one thing I can safely say about the opera is that if you visit the Paul Hamlyn Hall Champagne Bar at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden you will love it forever. It is simply stunning… and what’s more stunning is that so few people actually know that Joe Public doesn’t have to book a ticket to the Opera to enjoy it.

So, why the song and dance about the bar? Well, it’s in an amazing space. An enormous, towering atrium protected and illuminated by a vaulted glass ceiling high overhead. The bar itself sits at one end of this impressive space beneath a vast, optical illusion inducing mirror. Not only does this seem to double the already generous space, but high above, it gives the impression that the pod like amphitheatre bar is suspended in mid air with no discernible means of entry other than a pair of wings.

This is a champagne bar and in this glorious space, within one of London’s cultural powerhouses, that is only appropriate. Fine fizz of all types is available by the glass or bottle. If you have an appetite for food as well as champagne and culture, surrounding the bar on the mezzanine floor is the excellent Amphitheatre Restaurant and Bar.

If you’ve never been, make sure this is on your to-do list. It’s a magical, memorable place for a drink… with or without the opera thrown in. And while you raise a glass, you should also offer a toast in memory of the late publisher Paul Hamlyn, who gifted the Royal Opera House £10 million to refurbish this breathtakingly beautiful space.

Open for special events or book for afternoon tea

The Champagne bar at the Royal Opera House is at

Royal Opera House
Bow Street
Covent Garden
London
WC2E 9DD

 www.roh.org.uk/visit/restaurants-and-bars

Tags: bars in Covent Garden, Bars London, Best Bars London, Paul Hamlyn bar, royal opera house

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St Pancras International Station –

What better way to prepare yourself for a trip to Paris than taking on board a few glasses of champagne? And what better place to do that than the stunningly appointed Searcy’s champagne bar? Occupying a prime position overlooking the grandly refurbished St Pancras International Station this polished establishment proudly boasts the longest bar in Europe at a horizon-busting 98m.

When we visited on a Friday afternoon the bar was surprisingly quiet. We had expected to see a throng of weekend wanderers ready to set off for Paris for romantic assignations… or at least a contingent of French tax exiles making their way back home for a few days to remind themselves what proper cheese tastes like. Perhaps it’s that long bar… anywhere else and the number of people might have constituted a crowd. Here, with its endless bar and the cathedral like glazed roof overhead, the drinkers seemed few and far between.

But hey, I love champagne… And having room to breath while I drink… And somewhere to sit… And an amazing view whichever way you look… And a special offer on decent champagne at £6 a glass. So, even if you’re not travelling it’s well worth a visit. You can always imagine yourself about to set off on an exciting journey into the heart of Europe, even if the only trip beckoning is the one home to Walthamstow on the Victoria Line.

This bar is to all intents and purposes, outside… even though the massive vaulted canopy overhead lulls you into thinking otherwise. So, when the weather gets cold, it won’t just be your champagne that gets chilled. However, the clever people at Searcy’s have thought of this and provide fan heaters and blankets to keep the temperature as warm as the ambience.

Just one word of warning. Large quantities of champagne can alter the fabric of space/time and it can be all too easy to miss your evening train to Paris or the last tube to Pimlico.

Searcys Champagne Bar
Grand Terrace
Upper Concourse
St Pancras International Station
London
N1C 4QL

searcys.co.uk/venues/st-pancras-grand

Tags: Bars in N1, Best Bars London, Champagne Bar, london bars, Searcys champagne Bar, St Pancreas Bars

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Today I was accosted by one of those annoying banner ads that we all suffer in return for the wonder of the Internet. It proclaimed the delights of Royal Caribbean Cruises, and in particular their latest innovation, the robotic barman.

Imagine… your drinks served by a faultless technological marvel. The perfect pour every time, the perfect measure, all in perfect proportion.

Will wonders never start?

Because for me the very idea of a robotic barman, which basically comprises the kind of bionic arm you would normally associate with a car factory, is a nightmare akin to prohibition.

No barman! That means no Moe from The Simpsons, no Sam or Woody from Cheers, no Rick Blaine from Ricks Café American for god’s sake…

A robot… I mean really. Will it know the names of your kids? Will it help you drown your sorrows when you’ve been dumped? Will it tell you when you’ve had enough? Will it know what your usual is? Will it every take a drink as a tip?

Robots arms… great for bomb disposal, lunar explorers, hazardous waste and Steve Austin, the bionic man. For a bar? Forget it.

If you want technology in your bar, you’d be better off pursuing other avenues. Like the clever guys at Lick Me I’m Delicious are doing. Their crazy inventions are really pushing the boundaries of wild and wacky food engineering.

To start with they’ve developed the Edible Mist machine, which looks like something out of a science fiction film… with a neon light shining out from beneath a domed metal ‘head’. You wouldn’t be surprised if it said ‘Take me to your leader’.

It uses ultrasonic vaporization to create a micro-mist infused with the flavour of just about anything you fancy – including gin, whisky, vermouth, rum, brandy and lots more. It’s a really smoking invention… the only drawback being the booze flavours are just that – flavours and don’t actually contain alcohol.

But don’t panic. They have also created the amazing Levitron, which, as the name suggests, levitates tiny droplets of real drinks, such as a gin and tonic, into the air ready for you to pluck out and drink, like a spaceman in zero gravity.

Now’s that’s totally terrific technology. So, move over Martinis made by Metal Mickey, let’s give some love to Lick Me I’m Delicious.

Check out Lickmeimdelicious at

www.lickmeimdelicious.com

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The answer is you – because what really makes a bar great is how you’re feeling and what you’re looking for on any particular evening.

You could find yourself in a dark, dingy, sweaty dive where the cocktails are as monumentally bad as they are expensive…but if you meet the love of your life there then you’ll always remember it with a warm glow.

You could be in a friendly, stylish bar, surrounded by interesting, exciting people, sipping one of the very best cocktails in town…but if you get jilted there it’s never going to make it onto your list of best bars.

But given an even playing field, not tainted by the vagaries of fate and relationships, what makes a great bar? Well, it’s still different strokes for different folks. Me? I like bars with sophistication and intrigue. I like friendly, welcoming bars. I like bars where you’re treated with just the right amount of relaxed respect by the staff.

The cocktails have got to made by someone who knows what flavours work well together – not by an amateur throwing together an unholy mixture of radioactive ingredients with a name that should be in a porn mag.

That barman (and he is a barman, not a mixologist or some such twaddle) is knowledgeable, friendly without being familiar and preferably from somewhere you can’t quite put your finger on (I’m thinking more Napoli than Nuneaton).

Of course, in your best bar you don’t just have to drink cocktails. Malt whisky or real bourbon is just fine. Absinth will do nicely. Champagne is acceptable. But wine? Well, wine goes with food and a bar should not be a restaurant, in the same way that a wolf shouldn’t be a shepherd.

And I’m afraid beer is out… now, I like it just as much as the next bloke, even more perhaps, but a pint of bitter, or even imported lager, just doesn’t sit comfortably in a bar. It’s a pub drink. And here in London a pub is a pub and a bar is a bar.

In my best bar there are always beautiful and mysterious women and handsome, men lurking around. There are no wannabe wags, pretend playboys, lager-fueled lads, subnormal sloanes or boorish bankers.

People don’t get drunk. Because real men and classy women know how to take their drink, and when they do take it, they get interesting, enticing, funny and flirtatious.

The lighting is dim, the seating sumptuous, and yes, you can always find a little alcove or booth to settle into, because my best bar is always buzzing, but never too busy.

So, in my book, that’s what makes the best best bar, and I’ve got to say it’s just my own opinion. You, on the other hand, might like a wild, raucous, fun-filled, Coyote Ugly type bar…or a secluded, intimate and sexy spot where a romantic encounter can be conducted incognito. The truth is, you might like them all at different times – depending on whether you’re with your best mates, your soul mate or a first date.

But the perfect bar? There’s only one place you’ll find that…in your imagination.

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It seems this could be the last night of our Indian summer. So, before wending my weary way home, what better place to stop off at than a small, crowded, candlelit, subterranean wine bar just a stone’s throw from Embankment Tube and Charing Cross Station?

The word institution is bandied around a lot when referring to any bar establishment that has been in business more than a couple of years. I do it myself quite regularly in fact. But Gordon’s is a real institution, proudly proclaiming itself as London oldest wine bar, having served generations of customers since 1890.

It has a fascinating history, with amongst others Rudyard Kipling living and writing in the same building. But a bar cannot exist on history alone and Gordon’s is a firm favourite with Londoners thanks to its extensive, award winning wine list and its equally impressive and renowned cheese board.

Both menus stretch almost as far as the tables that line Watergate Walk outside the bar. This is where the many, many patrons who don’t want to – or cannot – crowd into the tight space inside the bar – take their excellent wines to while away a few hours before either heading home or out for a night on the town.

Remember, this is not the place for lager, beer or spirits. If you want something with bubbles it will have to be champagne or sparkling wine. If you want something stronger then you can choose Port, Sherry or Madeira from the barrel or the bottle.

Gordons Wine bar

47 Villiers Street
London
WC2N 6NE

www.gordonswinebar.com

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