Everything screams for attention at the Haymarket Hotel’s bright, almost brash bar, though the kaleidoscope of pink and red, patterned with geometrics on the bar stools and florals on the sofas, may not be to everyone’s taste. The upscale class of the hotel, part of Tim and Kit Kemp’s Firmdale group, brings in a relaxed crowd.
The cocktail menu steers a course through standards and new creations: a Haymarket Cosmo (£11), for instance, adds limoncello, mint and crushed ice to the expected vodka and cranberry.
The fine staff balance friendliness and professionalism.