The super-expensive, super-stylish new No1 hotel in Mayfair deserves the kind of statement bar that not only caters to its wealthy and discerning clientele, but can also hold its own amongst the mega-exclusive likes of the Rivoli Bar at the Ritz, the fearsome martinis at Duke’s and whatever oddities are found in the nearby Sexy Fish. Tom Sellers is the man in charge of the restaurant, and his influence can be seen all over Dover Yard’s cocktails, which are divided into several different categories – “Seed & Roots; Plants; Leaves & Flowers and Fruit”.
Yet Sellers himself isn’t the man responsible for these envelope-pushing concoctions, which were instead conceived by the Head of Bars, Marco Grisafi and the Director of Bars, Giulio Guarini. I’m sure that if you wanted to have a traditional Martini (espresso or otherwise) then you’d be catered for, but their more dramatic offerings are the things to go for, and we happily embraced the challenge.
What works, and what doesn’t? We ranged widely across the various sections to have as comprehensive an experience as possible. From the ‘Plants’ section, I opt for a Sunrise Paloma, which is the most conventionally delicious thing that I drink all night, being as good a Paloma as you’ll have anywhere in London at the moment. Well, for £21, you’d hope so, wouldn’t you? My friend’s Verdant Martini is a fascinating combination of elements – everything from gin and champagne vermouth to eau de vie and ‘coconut aminos’ (better that than coconut animosity, which nobody wants) – but I can’t help wondering if it’s an over-complicated concoction.
We then opt for the Gooseberry Collins – it was a close-run thing between that and the exciting-sounding Rhubarb Mojito – and the Lemon Nettle Mule. I cannot say, in all conscience, that the Mule is something that I’d drink again; I didn’t order it, it was my friend’s choice, and her description of it as “like something that you would drink in a hedgerow after being offered it by a gentleman of the road” will linger long in my mind. But the Gooseberry Collins, more of a sour, is very fine indeed; fluffy and astringent in equal measure, like the drink-related offspring of Gyles Brandreth and Maggie Smith.
There’s a comprehensive food menu, which looks excellent, but as dinner elsewhere is booked, we opt only for half a dozen (sublime, and properly shucked) oysters before we head off. However, there’s still time for one last cocktail, and we decide that the ‘Seeds and Roots’ section is the one to end with.
My ‘Lakeside Old Fashioned’ is another winner, a fine concoction of tobacco bitters and maple syrup creating a fine balance between sweetness and tartness, and my friend calls her Unperfect Manhattan wrong named; it’s pretty much perfect in all regards, a creative riot of everything from some very fine whisky to sherry and Amaranto.
So we leave Dover Yard with heads held high and our curiosity and thirst alike sated. This is going to be one of the most talked-about openings in London in 2024, a combination of creativity and cool that will rightly attract patrons by the thousand. Prepare yourself for something different, and you’ll love it.
Dover Yard at 1 Hotel, Mayfair, 3 Berkeley Street, London W1J 8DL. For more information, including details of Sips & Beats evenings, and to book a table, please visit www.1hotels.com.
