Blue is the new Red at the Zetter in London
May 3, 2017
It may be a gray day in London, but it’s blue in room 503 at the Zetter hotel.
And that’s a good thing, because blue is the new red. Loyal readers may recall room 503 used to be red. A complete makeover has occurred making the room cozier and even more modern seeming.
But what’s best is that room 503 was waiting for us when we arrived at 10:15 in the morning after a flight across the pond (about more which see this Delta Does Business posting). So nice to be recognized and taken care of properly. Wonder why the Zetter is better? Well, that’s one reason. Thanks Fabian.
Blue 503 skylight highlight
The Zetter room 503 comfy bed
Zetter sitting now featuring carpet and a modern bar
About the only thing that has not changed is the bathroom which remains nice but small and does feature a tub/shower combo thingy. Tell no one.
The shower is nothing to write home (or blog) about, but it sure feels good after a long flight
The best feature of room 503 is the bank of windows overlooking London. You can see both the gerkin and the shard from bed.
Looking out
Looking in
503 features a fantastic balcony
So all is well at the Zetter. Now we must now manage to stay up all day somehow. Sleep is for the weak.
Stay awake by walking around London in a daze
Lunch at St John is an excellent option.
Real bread at St John
The Tate
As always the Tate is a great place to while away some time. This trip, NPS discovered an entirely new wing?!
Tate Modern
First Iris in London
A sushi dinner at Sosharu was passable. Sosharu is trying to make sushi appealing too close to a train station. Skip it.
Fortunately, a cocktail or two at the Zetter Townhouse was in order. Funny how every time NPS shows up here we have to teach them to make a Liberal all over again. At least they still have the Amer Picon on hand. Back bar fernet with Guy was something that happened.
Amer Picon in the Zetter Townhouse
Also of note during our Zetter time in London:
Dinner at Texture (not as impressive as it should have been).
Brunch at Chiltern Firehouse
A fire at the Chiltern Firehouse in May
A visit to the Artesian bar at the Langham (after tea was ditched in favor of cocktails).
Artesian
Cocktail whose name escapes us
The British Museum
Cocktails at the Aemrican Bar in the Savoy.
The American Bar (wingspan)
A Spinning Jenny is presented on its own little pedestal. Spinning Jenny
45 ml bombay sapphire
15 ml cocchi americano
10 ml pear eau de vie (williams)
15 ml Yerba Mate
15 ml grenadine
soda
Stir. Fizz. Collins rocks. Pedestal.
A new blue five showerheads for the Zetter.
#LondonCulling
April 16, 2016
Well it seemed like a good idea at the time.
How many fabulous cocktails bars can you visit in 12 or so hours (without rushing)? Who will be left standing (or wobbling) at the end of the day? And most importantly, who will be culled?
We began at the Hutong restaurant at the Shard. The view was fantastic, the food was good, and the company was superb, but the most ridiculous part was the urinals (with a view over the city).
Our supposedly quick tube ride over to the Savoy was thwarted by British public transportation ridiculousness. Tried to buy three day cards on the underground. One was printed, my card was charged for three and a cryptic error message that was entirely unhelpful was displayed. After 15 minutes trying to solve the problem and get a supervisor to give us a refund, we decided the process was not worth completing. So you owe me 24 pounds London underground!
The best part? We used the tickets once.
We started at the American Bar in the Savoy which has a fancy new menu as of January. As always, the drinks were as pretty as they were delicious.
savoy american
The best drink we had was no longer on the menu—the wingspan. A recipe can be found in this NPS entry.
Wingspan: American Bar: Savoy: London
We had attempted to head down to the Beaufort bar around 4:15 until we discovered that it was not open until 5. That left us time for a wingspan. Then we had our bill transferred down.
The beaufort has an entirely different jibe.
The Pan American Highway
20 ml bacardi 8
15 ml zacapa 23
15 ml diplomatico
10 ml amer picon
2.5 ml fernet branca menta
10 ml roasted coffee maple syrup
3 dashes chocolate bitters
Stir down. Strain. Serve in coupe with an interesting piece of ice.
A few light snacks of gruyere and foie gras were not quite satisfying us at this point. So it was off to find some light dinner.
We ended up at Blind as a Pig where our very cute waitress was happy to play along with our silly shenanigans. Emergency clothes pins were distributed.
Our emergency clothes pin supplier was remiss to be photographed
We did some napkin art as follows, which seemed entirely clever at the time.
Sated with mac and cheese, fish and chips, and other finger food, and protected by our large supply of emergency clothes pins, we were off.
Next up was the posh Connaught Bar. Connaught is run by Sardinians, who would dearly like to have some fun but who are not really sure whether they are allowed to.
We introduced the Connaught to the Liberal.
Then it was midnight and time for the great cull. What happened? Everybody dropped out but NPS! Lol. I believe it might have been wiser to stop myself.
In memorium of those who left us during the great cull #londonculling
Instead, it was off to visit the Dandelyon Bar at the Mondrian again. By now it seems that we know everybody, but it was a special treat when Iain Griffiths was in the house. Iain helps Mr Lyan create new properties. The planet is small.
Could this really be a good idea?
Finally, all energy was gone and it was up the lift to crash. Candles on the porch were a special touch.
London Cocktails of the Posh Past
May 15, 2015
The American Bar and the Beaufort Bar at the Savoy have some serious cocktail history. We finally visited.
The Silver Bullet
50 ml Sipsmith gin
25 ml lemon juice
25 ml Kummel
Stir. Serve up.
The Beaufort
Oh, and the plumbing in the gents at the Savoy is a complete UK riot.
Rahther
UK Urinal: Savoy
Then there was The Bar at the Dorchester where we had Harry’s cocktail. Simply fantastic.
Harry’s cocktail from the bar
Dinner across the hall at the grill was not good at all. Skip it.
We ended with the Liberal.
Anyway much fun. Rolling blackouts. The usual. Hard to get up to catch the plane home.
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