Mayfair’s best bars for festive drinks
by Annabelle Spranklen
With the party season soon approaching, some of London’s finest watering holes are embracing the most wonderful time of the year with seasonal tipples and a roaring atmosphere to boot. Whether it’s a cosy date night or Christmas get-together with friends, these are the best Mayfair bars for festive drinks.
Mr Fogg's Apothecary
Step back to Victorian London at Mr Fogg’s Apothecary bar in Mayfair. This place is wonderfully eccentric at the best of times but really comes into itself at Christmas. Enjoy smoking mulled cocktails in the panelled Drawing Room, surrounded by grandfather clocks, quirky artefacts and extensive apothecary collection, all inspired by the Around the World in 80 Days adventurer Phileas J Fogg. Adopting a Clockwork Christmas theme for the festive period, the bar is being decorated with wreaths, garlands and a six-foot tree. From 17 November, Mr Fogg's is teaming up with Bacardi to offer five festive cocktails and mulled wine.
The Wine Bar at Farm Shop
Some of London’s best bars are secret and this one, beneath Mayfair’s favourite Farm Shop, is full of festive cheer. It’s a relaxed, easy-going kind of place, perfect for those feeling a little bit bah-humbug about the hurried pace of the Christmas season. Big wooden tables glow under the warmth of candle-light, where charcuterie boards and rotisserie chicken from the deli upstairs are washed down with carafes of wines from around the world - there’s 150 to choose from including ones created from grapes from the shop’s own estate in Bruton, Somerset.
The Barley Mow
There’s nothing quite like a festive pint in a proper Mayfair boozer and The Barley Mow pub is a top pick. Perched between Bond Street station and Grosvenor Square, this is the perfect pitstop after a busy day of Christmas shopping. Pull up a bar stool and take your pick from ales, beers, cocktails, wines and everything in between, with one of the best bar menus in town - steak frites, buttered haddock and chips, Welsh rarebits. Alternatively, the restaurant upstairs offers an even more tempting selection.
The Audley Public House
There’s a Christmas-in-Mayfair rom-com feeling to The Audley Public House, with its 200-year-old panelled walls, privy to many festive shenanigans. Despite its history, don’t be fooled into thinking this place is stuck in a time-warm, Artfarm was behind its revival so expect a mix of old world-meets-modern-fun, with a psychedelic ceiling by artist Phyllida Barlow and eye-popping pieces gracing the walls. This is a place for a pint, pie or half dozen oysters plus beer on offer from one of the oldest breweries in London.
Comptoir Café and Wine
Another one of our favourite lesser-known bars in Mayfair for a festive drink, Comptoir Café and Wine is a low-key watering hole that transforms into a wine bar come night. Wine is taken exceptionally seriously here since master sommelier Xavier Rousset is at the helm, formerly of Michelin-starred Texture, meaning you can both try and buy some brilliant bottles. Of course, no one expects a Christmas tipple to go down alone, the small plates here - think charcuterie boards and pulled pork buns - are another excuse to come.
Le Magritte Bar and Terrace
It’s not the festive season without a chance to dress up and having a tipple at Le Magritte Bar and Terrace at the Beaumont hotel is the perfect excuse for some Christmas razzle-dazzle. You’ll feel as if you’ve stepped back into the 1920s, with its handsome walnut-panelled interior, hung with an eclectic collection of early 20th-century paintings and photographs, not forgetting the slick cocktail menu - the classics are executed brilliantly but the sweet and spicy Pigrum is worth a try, washed down alongside a lobster roll.
The Connaught Bar
We adore The Connaught Bar at Christmas. The hotel is a winter wonderland come December, with a magnificent tree on Carlos Place and every corner twinkling brighter than the last. The bar too feels glamorous, with its ornate ceilings, beautiful panelling and plush leather seating, a space that seems to lure you in for a magical martini (rolled out and shaken up on a silver trolley) and make you never want to leave. This is most definitely the place to don your glad rags.
The Red Room at The Connaught
Hidden behind a velvet curtain from the hotel’s Champagne Room, The Red Room at The Connaught feels like the prettiest place to be for a festive drink. Bathed in a soft hue of pink and reds, with a majestic fireplace and pink onyx bar, it’s easy to while away a few hours sipping on vintage champagne (make that a pink glass of fizz, while you’re at it) with over 3,000 labels and 30,000 bottles of wine to choose from, you won’t be leaving in a hurry.
Brooks Mews Wine House
Those in the know keep this place a closely guarded secret but we’ll share (just this once) since Brooks Mews Wine Bar is a gorgeous little spot in Mayfair for a festive drink. Once a former carriage workshop, this two-floored wine shop and bar now stocks over 150 wines from across the globe. You can pick up your Christmas party supplies while stopping to try some of the good stuff in the mezzanine, with a tempting section of seasonal small plates to keep you going.
