Searcy’s Champagne Bar –
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