Nothing says festive celebration quite like a chilled glass of excellently poured fizz at one of London’s opulent Champagne bars.
Undoubtedly, the most magical way to inaugurate a crisp London night – pre or post Christmas shopping – is by taking a seat at one of London’s suave Champagne bars and listening to the subtle pop and hiss of the bartender opening a crisp bottle of bubbles. So, call up a girlfriend, and allow the Champagne connoisseurs, Champagne Bureau UK, to show you the most stylish spots for sipping around the capital.
In partnership with Champagne Bureau UK.
Cake & Bubbles, Hotel Café Royal
Cake & Bubbles, it’s hard to think of a more enticing combination than Michelin-starred chef Albert Adrià’s spot at London’s Hotel Café Royal. The world-renowned pastry chef has collaborated with Veuve Clicquot for an elegant serving of, quite frankly, the most spectacular cakes and sweet treats – including coffee, raspberry, and hazelnut sponge cakes shaped as Champagne corks – to enjoy alongside a glass or two of the Champagne brand’s famous Brut. You’ll find 50 Champagnes and fine sparkling wines on the menu, which the resident Sommelier is on hand to talk you through. So, top off an evening of Christmas shopping along Regent’s Street by popping a bottle of Veuve Clicquot’s Brut served with a Christmas Plum Cake Slice, all enjoyed from a spot on the bar’s winter terrace, overlooking the bustling, festive crowds below. Cake & Bubbles also offer a takeout service – a vintage bottle paired with beautifully boxed assortment of red and white striped Christmas Chocolate Bars and Giant Gingerbread Men makes for an excellent party favour. Perhaps one of the fanciest takeouts in London?!
Beaufort Bar, The Savoy
Stroll past The Savoy’s winter wonderland – snow-dusted Alpine chalets and pine trees included – to the hotel’s decadent and historic Beaufort Bar. Dimly lit and drenched in sensual decor of dark velvets, gold dome enclaves, and glass chandeliers, opt for a spot at the lavish light-panelled bar and browse the poetically-detailed Champagne menu, with rare vintages to match the bar’s luxurious energy. The Beaufort Bar’s menu Nocturne indulges in a flirtatious journey, narrating the seduction the night brings with a line of Champagne from the Montmorency-Beaufort estate from the Champagne region in France. Fan of the chic French 75 Champagne cocktail? Spin the Champagne Wheel of Fortune which will decide which ingredient is to complement your Roulette 75. Or, enjoy a bottle of Grand Siècle, a unique prestige cuvée in Champagne made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes and then aged for at least ten years. The dress code reads “dress to impress” – the Beaufort Bar coupled with the finest flute of fine-aged Champagne isn’t the place to be a wallflower.
Kettner's Champagne Bar
Kettner’s by Soho House, originally founded by Napoleon III’s chef Auguste Kettner, is known for its French classic focus from the bedrooms to the restaurant, and fortunately it boasts the Champagne bar to match. A circular bar complete with lounge seating affords an Art Deco vibe complete with dusty-red lampshades, framed sketch artworks and curved glass shelving. As for the Champagne menu, you’ll find the fine Ruinart Sparkling Sazerac amongst newer contenders, to drink alone or in a selection of Champagne-based cocktails. Wash a bottle down with friends and a selection of the fresh oysters served with a classic mignonette sauce.
The Library Bar, The Ned
The Ned is a firm favourite for a post-work celebratory tipple, and the intimate Champagne and martini bar tucked away behind a curtain, The Library Bar, is our favourite spot to head to. An assortment of colourful wingback and vintage armchairs scatter towards the oak bar where iced buckets of Champagne tease the classic, curated menu. The Champagne menu starts strong with a crisp Drappier ‘Zero Dosage’ Brut Nature, with no added sugar and sulphur-free offering a nose of pear and apple, followed by Thienot Rose, Perrier Jouet, Louis Roderer, Jacquesson Cuvée, and Belle Epoque.
Artists' Bar, The Dorchester
Leave it up to The Dorchester to fashion a bar that bears the same extravagance stepping into the Gatsby house of the roaring twenties would. Gold panelling and Lalique crystal gleams into the eye no matter where you look, including the elegantly-curved bar that lives up to its creative name. The Champagne list glitters just as much with the names of big Champagne houses, including Veuve Clicquot, Bollinger, and Ruinart. The menu offers a list of Champagne cocktails too, including one of the oldest Champagne cocktails to ever be made. Simply titled Champagne Cocktail, this drink infuses a white sugar cube (believed to balance the acidity in Champagne) doused in Angostura bitters, Hennessy Very Special Cognac and Grand Marnier with Veuve Cliquot Yellow Label.
Champagne + Fromage
Champagne + Fromage prides itself on being ‘a journey through the heart of France’s culinary traditions’ and so of course, cheese and Champagne take centre stage here. Each of the brand’s spots, including the restaurant and bar in Covent Garden, champion France’s illustrious reputation for artisanal producers by spotlighting independent labels and brands across their menus. For Champagne producers, this means a focus on the ‘terroir’ to ensure incredible tasting and excellent quality Champagne. The menu is divided between Classic Bruts including LaCroix La Grand Réserve with Meunier, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay grapes for a well-balanced and biscuity flavour, and Vintage Champagnes, boasting M. Furdyna La Loge 2011 fashioned from pinot noir grapes for a delicate finish. Enjoy what you’re drinking? Champagne + Fromage offer bottles to buy too, to keep the bubbles flowing from Christmas to New Year, and beyond.
45 Park Lane
Vivid and sparkling, a seat at Bar 45 at 45 Park Lane is always packed with festivities, no matter the time of year, but especially throughout December. A mid-century colour palette shakes hands with an Art Deco-feeling era amongst the interiors, with subdued yellow seating, block-coloured carpeting, and an ochre-toned panel adorning the dark bar. This sophistication carries through to the drinks menu with a short but precise selection of Champagne, including the extravagant Barons de Rothschild Brut and Dom Pérignon 2013 Brut. We’ll take a glass of each and a cosy corner spot please.
Champagne Bar, Harrods
Harrods is home to Moët & Chandon’s largest standalone bar in Europe, with a Champagne list that recalls each of the drink’s golden ages. Harrods is known for its grand displays and elegant attention to detail, so it comes as no surprise that even the bar is moulded to represent the terroir of where the Champagne is grown and produced, the Épernay Champagne region. Toast to a glass of one of the world’s most popular Champagnes – Moët & Chandon’s Brut Impérial Magnum Serve – or perhaps the Rosé variety for a pink twist, with a variety of vintages available to order by the bottle from the Cellar Master Selection, including the 6-year aged Grand Vintage 2016. Spoilt for choice? Try the champagne pyramid for an expertly-curated selection of fizz, and opt for the carefully considered menu of food pairings to help enhance the palette of each glass. The Champagne bar at Harrods takes sipping back to its historic splendour – special occasion or not, a glass of fizz here feels one of a kind.
Lead image: The Library Bar, The Ned
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