Picture your classic hotel bar. It’s probably got dark wood panelling, a wall of leather-bound books to rival an Oxbridge library, low lighting, squidgy arm chairs, and maybe a jazz band playing smoothly in the background. This is Scarfes Bar, an elite embodiment of the quintessential hotel watering hole. This is the kind of place where you might find Gossip Girl’s Chuck Bass moodily sipping a Scotch alone at the bar. The crowd gives an equally sophisticated vibe; millennial couples on date night, people who look like they have important jobs and cash to spend, and fashionistas dressed all in black. The name is not an ode to having a warm neck, but to the cartoonist Gerald Scarfe, whose jaunty drawings line the walls. They’re probably not to everyone’s taste – think a giant-nosed caricature of King Charles, and an ultra flamboyant David Bowie – but they certainly add a unique flavour to décor that could otherwise be seen as identikit.
Order this
The gimlet on the vine was my winner of the evening, a trendy riff on a gimlet, with a base of Bombay Premier Cru. But instead of lime-y sweetness, this savoury delight tastes just like a ripe cherry tomato, and a saltiness is supplied by a pleasingly massive floating caper.
Time Out tip
Get down earlyish, because after 8pm there was already a line at the door. Plus you’ll want to have ample time to have a bash at the 20-strong list of inventive, complex drinks (hello Smoky Maria, a concoction of tequila, smoked clamato juice and Marmite).