I have always questioned why hotel bars aren’t more readily frequented. Granted, there’s usually a small hike in the price of a drink, but offset that against free and plentiful bar snacks, professional staff and luxurious surroundings. Perhaps people think they’ll be stopped at the entrance for not being a resident, like some kind of imposter. But the greeting I received at Flemings, a boutique hotel just around the corner from Green Park, was quite the opposite – more like the red-carpet treatment.
‘Manetta’s, sir? Down the stairs and someone will show you.’ And so they did: I was led down a small corridor to a long thin room with subdued lighting, chestnut panelling and a convex mirror at both ends. Dark leather and velvet furniture was sprinkled with the occasional hotel guest, and rose gold seemed to fill any other available space.
Behind the bar, a young man standing to attention got to work piling up our free olive stash after he’d presented us with the menu. Most drinks, it seems, are extremely fruity – the Portrait of a Young Man included pear, apple, passionfruit, lemon and cherry in one long drink. The initial sweet hit was followed by a strong bolt of alcohol (the kind that makes your mouth gape into a ‘wow’ shape) before easing back into a fruity after-taste. More mature was the Endless Night, a drink made from cognac, red wine and cherry bitters.
Cocktails start at £16, but a £2 service charge is then added to each drink. Although they were really enjoyable, they weren’t life-changing enough to justify that cost. So, in the case of Manetta’s Bar, that steeper-than-average price hike is probably the answer to my initial question.