Mewsing around Mayfair

I first encountered Mews of Mayfair when a good friend of mine had her 21st in the private dining room (unfortunately) a good many years ago now. Although we stuck to a (delicious) set menu and didn't spend much time in the main bar, I was struck by the location of the venue, hidden away in a narrow little side street Mews just off the elegant hurly-burly of New Bond St. I felt like I was entering a tiny little segment of Victorian London and have been back on a few occasions since to visit their sumptuous ground floor cocktail bar.

Having never before visited the main dining room, I was excited when a Toptable Spotlight offer dropped into my inbox advertising a £50 food voucher in return for a mere £20 of my hard earned cash. I eagerly booked in for my birthday dinner and told my boyfriend that my contribution was made, and that he could spring for the rest (well, £50 towards your own birthday dinner is pretty generous isn't it?)

After a drink in the dark, opulence of the ground-floor bar (more on that later) we moved up the first floor dining room, which was a soothing yet chic haven of crisp white linen and leather banquettes. Although the tables are really close together (the space is quite small, but the staff are very attentive about getting people out from behind their tables in a pretty ladylike fashion!) the space still felt luxurious and the service was impeccable. Having splurged our 'free' £50 on a bottle of champagne we settled down for the serious business of ordering. I had the Dressed Crab and Avocado, whilst the boy had Organic Gravadlax with Grain Mustard Dressing (both £8.50). The portions were a bit on the small side but presented beautifully and absolutely delicious. Perfect to whet our appetites for the main course of Chateaubriand, Snail Bearnaise and Portobello Mushroom with a healthy side portions of chips and Spinach (£55 for two people). Pairing the bearnaise with snail was an inspired idea, and the flavour and texture of the portobello mushroom complimented it perfectly. The meat itself was done rare, just as we like it, and was melt-in-your-mouth gorgeous. If the starters were small, they whet our appetites for a fairly sizeable maincourse, which made the price seem more than reasonable.

A note also about the service: our waitress was brilliant. She judged us perfectly, and indulged our (usually terribly) jokes, whilst being terribly good-natured without being obtrusive.

Having enjoyed a really first-rate meal we moved down to the ground floor bar. I absolutely adore this venue. At the centre of the low-ceiling is a huge chandalier, and the banquettes and chaise-longues are oversized and opulent in their dark purple velvet. I felt like I was in a hidden Victorian opium den (in the best way possible). The outdoor seating along the narrow mews road adds a lot of character also and the bar is always buzzing. The cocktail list is extensive and imaginative. On this occasion we drank the Rose and Grape, and the Mutiny Mews. On previous occasions I've also had the Mews Berry - which remains my firm favourite of their selection.

It sounds a silly point to labour (and I have indeed had a Twitter conversation with Mews about this - said I know) but the toilets are great as well. Honestly, the best smelling loos in all of London. Decorated rather nicely too...

Anyhow, the whole experience makes for a really great evening. It feels luxurious - a mixture of elegance and opulence - without costing a fortune. An evening spent hopping from restaurant to cocktail bar to downstairs lounge makes for a very pleasant evening indeed.

Mews of Mayfair

10 Lancashire Court, New Bond St, London W1S 1EY

10/10

All images taken from the Press Office Section on the Mews of Mayfair website

A Rose Amongst The Thorns

Excuse the hair... at work that day I had to stand in for a 16yr old model on our ad shoot - it wasn't a look that suited me!

Both Sarah and I walk past The Rose every day on the way to and from work, so although it’s not one of our more local pubs, we were looking for an excuse to make the trip up the Wandsworth Bridge Road to check it out. The occasion? Live music every second Tuesday of the month. We thought it could be the perfect double whammy... checking out a new pub, and Fulham’s hottest new musical talent, all in one evening.

I had never been into The Rose and when we arrived our reactions were mixed. Unlike other local pubs, the space was quite big and the tables were by no means squashed together, giving the pub a more relaxed feel, whilst also feeling that little bit more luxurious (personal space comes at a premium in central London!). However, we were hoping that the place would have a bit more of a buzz to it, and there were just a few other tables of people. Luckily for us, one of those other tables was filled with a group of old school friends of mine, which was a lovely surprise, without which the evening might have been that little bit more sterile. Indeed, my current at work hangover would most likely have been averted, and we may have even made it to Mao Tai, which we were also intending to review that evening... Never mind eh?

We settled in with some white wine spritzers (fairly reasonable at under £4 each) and turned our attention to the first act – a saxophonist. While this guy was undoubtedly talented, I’m not sure whether it set the right tone for an informal evening in a pub. However, act number two was absolutely brilliant, and I only regret that these two girls travelled all the way from North London to play to such a small crowd! Either way, one girl played guitar and provided backing vocals, whilst the other sang, and they produced a really great repertoire of low-key covers from Britney Spears’ ‘Toxic’ to Adele. Without meaning to take words from the mouth of the everyone’s favourite Irish madman – Louis Walsh – they did really manage to make the songs ‘their own’ and both girls had really gorgeous singing voices. Despite the mild aberration with the saxophone, the soulful, acoustic pop of the second act seemed well matched to a Fulham pub crowd – (as much as I hate to admit it) not hugely musically sophisticated, but a really pleasant, easy listen which you could happily tune into for a few hours, or treat as high calibre background music while enjoying a few glasses of vino at your local. As much as those two aspiring musicians from North London would hate to read the above – I really do mean it as a compliment! The girls were really good, and will hopefully be back – from our brief conversation with the owner he seemed really pleased with them, and several of the punters made the effort to go up to them after their set and let them know how much they enjoyed it.

The talented ladies of North London

As for food and drinks. We did have supper before we came out, but I couldn’t resist trying the ‘scotch egg’ advertised on their bar menu to see how it compared to that of The Sands End. Whilst the Sands’ Scotch Egg really is out of this world, the Roses’ offering wasn’t too bad either. Although it was almost a pound more expensive, the egg didn’t have that lovely warm, running interior that you get at The Sands End. Yet, they add an interesting twist by serving it with a mild curried mayonnaise – a pairing that I was a little suspicious of but actually really enjoyed.

The Rose's Scotch Egg with curry mayo.... nomnomnom

We also asked after cocktails, and got a fairly confused response. There is no cocktail list per se – in fact one of the newer barmen thought they didn’t serve them – but when we repeated our request to the owner he was more than happy to offer us a small selection, including the house signature cocktail, which they call ‘The Rosebud’. Admittedly, not the most sophisticated of concoctions - The Rosebud is a mix of vodka, cranberry, soda water and Amaretto – it drew a mixed reaction from this pair of SW6ers. Sarah – the resident die hard G&T junkie, found it far too sweet and thought it stuck to the roof of her mouth. I thought it was really nice though. It is sweet, but I didn’t find it sticky or cloying and it’s quite a nice ‘relaxing’ cocktail that goes down the hatch pretty easily. But then, I’m one of the view that the more juices and bright colours you can cram in a cocktail the better (oooh the sophistication!), I’ve got a really sweet tooth and I have to say I was slightly taken in by the name – ‘The Rosebud’ does sound cute doesn’t it?

The Rosebud - The Rose's Signature Cocktail

All in all, a more than pleasant evening. I’d definitely return to The Rose for a chilled out glass of wine, and having a mid-week live music night is a really great idea to add something a little bit different to what otherwise is usually a fairly unremarkable evening (Big Fat Gypsy Weddings on Channel 4 aside!). I’d really like to return on a slightly busier evening too – I can imagine that at the weekends there’d be a bit more of a party atmosphere, whilst the larger space would hopefully stop it ever becoming a sweaty mosh-pit. For smokers, there is a decently-sized garden out the back, and the main courses I saw emerging from the kitchen looked pretty generous, hearty (if not quite standard) pub fare. On Tuesday, they do steak and chips for two with a bottle of wine for £30 – combine this with live-music and I think you’d have yourself a pretty decent mid-week supper.

February Wish List - hitting SW6 this month

So we are officially over January, everyone's most depressing month... hurrah! So in the brighter light of the latter end of Winter, here are the things we'll (hopefully) be getting up to in February...

1. Hitting The Rose for Tuesday night open-mic sessions... who knows, we could find Fulham's next hot talent (musically, or looks-wise... either will do!).

2. Absolutely rinsing my recently acquired TasteCard - essential to keep those blogposts flowing whilst avoiding bankruptcy. First up, we'll be sampling as much local sushi as we can muster, from Ukai in Clapham Junction, to Me <3 Sushi at Imperial Wharf. We'll let you know what we think.

3. Still on the Asian theme - we're turning into veritable little Geishas this month - we're desperate to try the oriental-inspired cocktail and dim-sum menu at up-scale eatery Mao Tai on the New Kings Road. Already licking my lips at the sound of This Side of Paradise... Champagne, dark rum, lime and maraschino... sparkling, refreshing and decadent.

4.. Checking out our much acclaimed local theatre, the quirky and independent Finborough. With tickets from £9 to £15, and top young British writers, it would be criminal not to sample some more refined SW6 culture. As much as we kid ourselves, trying out the latest cocktail additions at Embargo's is not going to enrich our souls much - just our toxin levels.

5. Who knew we had a Michelin-starred local? Tables at The Harwood are notoriously hard to come by, but when your greedy taste-buds are calling out for something that bad... Well, you'll do a lot to get it. Let's see how it goes.

Sounds good right?! What have you got planned for the next month?

Janets Bar - Janet can keep it

So, I get what this place is and isn’t trying to be. It’s definitely unpretentious, and the free popcorn and live music was a nice touch. However, it’s really not to my taste. It’s a long, thin place absolutely full to brimming with people, with a real international vibe. In fact, it really reminded me of my Erasmus year abroad. The walls were covered in print-out posters and photographs, the clientele very dressed down, and the bar very well stocked. It looks kinda cheap, but kinda fun. Remembering that there are loads of foreign students based around South Ken I eagerly attacked the bar thinking I’d get myself a cocktail in central London at a decent price. And this was what totally ruined it for me. I don’t mind if something is unpretentious and low key. In fact I commend such a place for existing just round the corner from somewhere like Boujis which prides itself on extorting money from the banker crowd.

What I do object to, is NINE BLOODY POUNDS FIFTY for a really standard drink, in a pretty tiny glass. I could get myself a beautifully presented, well mixed and brilliantly thought out cocktail for that amount in a many other neighbouring bars. I was really looking forward to my Appletini – and it did taste fairly good – but I was disappointed that it was served in a tiny little tumbler, and that the tumbler was barely half full.

The rest of my party did kind of enjoy themselves – the place is laid back, open late, and probably perfect if you’ve already had a few too many, as most of us had – but the common consensus was that the drinks really weren’t worth the prices paid. It’s almost all we could talk about in the brief time we were there.

I will not be going back. Especially as just the briefest bit of Googling shows the Janet bar-staff up for a pretty nasty bunch. I would urge any of you considering going to ponder the response of the bar to these reviews posted to independent website ViewLondon http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/pubsandbars/janets-bar-userreview-14416.html

If you can’t take criticism – sort your act out or ignore it. But don’t start laying into your paying customers. Especially when your customers are paying through the nose.

All in all, not too bad, but not as polished as I would personally have liked. Horrendously over-priced. I won’t be going back.

Janets Bar

Nearest tube: South Kensington

30 Old Brompton Road

Pictures from Thursday Club and RBKC council website