One thing slightly fabulous has been happening on the iconic Blue Bar on the Berkeley Lodge, and it began with the arrival of Bar Supervisor Marcello Cauda. Since taking up the highest spot in August final yr, he and the workforce have been busily making modifications that befit a bar with 23 years of fabulousness below its belt – a bar that has entertained all method of friends, starting from leisure royalty akin to Madonna to cocktail lovers like, effectively, us.
However again to the transformation bit. After we say ‘change’, we don’t imply something that messes with the signature Lutyens’s blue partitions and legendary imaginative and prescient lovingly dreamed up and dropped at life by David Collins Studio when it first opened in 2000. Sacré bleu! The tweaks have principally been centered on the brand new menu.
Referred to as ‘Blue Transfer’, the good-looking, cleverly conceived version dropped earlier this month and after a latest go to to search out out extra about it (and style the outcomes, natch) we are able to say, hand on coronary heart that workforce Blue Bar have executed themselves and the legacy proud.
Comprising of 12 signatures, the checklist takes in an array of flavours and types, working from fruity and fabulous to dry and scrumptious, and showcased on the menu from the lightest to the heaviest drinks. “The unique thought got here to me after a go to to a museum store. I noticed a e-book known as Moirémotion by Takahiro Kurashima, and I knew that it was a base that I wanted to construct an idea round,” Marcello explains.
You’ll see that half mirrored within the visible narrative of the menu however other than the placing optical phantasm cowl, the appear and feel takes its cues from an old style vinyl sleeve. “It’s a nod to the music that performs an integral half within the room,” Marcello continues. There’s one other essential component to the design. “The general look is predicated on the mirrors within the bar”, he says proudly. “They’ve witnessed each second that’s occurred right here for the previous 23 years.”
Little doubt these mirrors will proceed to be aware about many a cheerful scene as friends get acquainted with the gorgeous number of drinks. “We begin by figuring out the 12 most identified cocktails – the drinks that individuals recognise,” Marcello tells us when requested how the workforce went about curating the menu. “Each visitor is totally different in fact, and so they all have totally different tastes however as a rule they need to see one thing recognisable to information them into making a selection. As soon as we had our 12 classics, we checked out how we may create totally different style profiles in addition to discovering a connection of neighborhood and the inspiration behind the drink.”
A working example is the signature Mirror Martini: “Right here we’ve two collaborations, the primary is with John Jenkins glassware the place we took considered one of their current designs then painted it so it seems like a mirror and you may see a mirrored image of your self. The opposite is a collaboration with Barney Wilczak at Capreolus Distillery.” With that he pulls out a slim bottle of The Blue Bar Orchard Eau de Vie, which stars within the cocktail and can also be in the stores within the bar.
“We visited Barney’s distillery and sampled a few of his wonderful eau de vies, we then blended perry pear, apple, apple, raspberry, damson and Bacchus to create our personal Orchard – it’s like a Martinez or Gin & It, as a result of it’s pink-tinged.”
One other John Jenkins glass collab seems within the Nitromisu, “That is our Espresso Martini-style drink the place we’ve labored with The Odd Espresso Firm, a super-sustainable espresso firm that grew throughout COVID. We infuse the espresso for twenty-four hours with Macallan 12 Double Oak and Bacardi mix, carob, vanilla, Marsala, hazelnut and Cadello 88 then put it by the nitro and serve it in a shorter Highball glass.”
These are simply two examples of some very spectacular drinks, together with Roadrunner (Patrón Reposado tequila, Montelobos Espadin mezcal, Ancho Reyes chile liqueur, lacto mango & orange, corn, tajin, Mole bitters); Pop Connection (Toffee popcorn Appleton 12 yr previous rum, cassis, cherry, poached pear, Lauren-Perrier Brut Champagne), and Bees & Love (Aberfeldy 12 whisky, Avallen Calvados, Beesou aperitif, distilled almond, turmeric, pineapple, honey, clarified lactose-free milk).
To maintain them firm, there’s an equally scrumptious number of bar meals. We’re nonetheless salivating over the destined-to-be-best-selling beef tartare crumpets: supermodel-sized bites of juicy Angus steak, topped with confit egg yolk and pickled shallots. Warning: they’re verging on harmful, they’re sooooo good. There are a lot extra must-tastes the place they got here from, together with the likes of churros with shaved Manchego cheese and truffle, a luxurious five-star tackle the common-or-garden scorching canine and Dorset crab tacos, pickled cucumber and lemon drizzle. When you’re feeling further boujie, there’s caviar (Beluga at an additional value) served with blinis, bitter cream and all of the trimmings. And, get this: on the stroke of 11pm, out come silver trays, piled excessive with crisp-as-you-like French fries served from tongs to friends, utterly freed from cost.
However it’s not simply in regards to the meals and drinks. The Blue Bar’s glass pavilion has been given a superb rejig and is now a platform for DJs to carry out unique vinyl-only units, full with new state-of-the-art decks and dramatic assertion floor-to-ceiling blue tassel backdrop. Now if that doesn’t seal the deal for causes to go to the Blue Bar, we don’t know what does. See you all there.
