![\"lobby](\"http:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/img\/One-martini-glass-web.jpg\")
The name \u2018lobby bar\u2019 might give the impression that this is something of an after-thought. Perhaps a venue through which to pass. A prequel to the main event. That couldn\u2019t be further from the truth. It now has a trolley!<\/p>\nThe name \u2018lobby bar\u2019 might give the impression that this is something of an after-thought. Perhaps a venue through which to pass. A prequel to the main event. That couldn\u2019t be further from the truth. It now has a trolley!<\/p>\n
One Aldwych and its Lobby Bar occupy one of the most important Edwardian buildings in London. One doesn\u2019t have to have a degree in architecture to be impressed by this hotel. One might remark that it has a hint of Paris about it and indeed it does. In 1889 it was decided to create a link between Holborn and the Strand. The new road was called Kingsway and at the spot where it joined the Strand a sweeping crescent was built, and that is Aldwych. One Aldwych, as the address would imply, stands at the corner. In 1905 celebrated Anglo-French architects Mewes and Davis designed the building we see today.<\/p>\n
The Lobby Bar is spacious and retains many of its original features. High ceilings stand testament to its grand past as newspaper offices at the turn of the last century. The windows are original and are a striking feature. If one looks up to the left of the bar one might notice a glass door in a state of suspended animation: that was originally an entrance.<\/p>\n
But in truth, unless you happen to have that aforementioned degree in architecture, it\u2019s likely you will be more interested in the bar than the door. It\u2019s a well-stocked and well-staffed affair which offers both classic and contemporary cocktails to its loyal followers. This isn\u2019t just any old cocktail bar. The Lobby Bar at One Aldwych has been recognised as one of the finest. The bartenders are award winners and the Manager is also something of an innovator and inventor too!<\/p>\n
![\"lobby](\"http:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/img\/one-trolley-web.jpg\")
Pablo Paulo has created that veritable beverage chariot. It\u2019s the Old-Fashioned Cocktail Trolley. No, the trolley isn\u2019told-fashioned in its design but in its delivery. It\u2019s been made to create the classic Old-Fashioned cocktail at the guest\u2019s table. It does indeed add a touch of tasteful theatre to the experience but it also engages visitors and educates them as well.<\/p>\n
This moving bar was launched at the start of 2017. Each Old-Fashioned cocktail is blended to the guest\u2019s personal taste and is prepared at the tableside by one of The Lobby Bar\u2019s skilled bartenders. The permutations are endless; but what actually is an Old Fashioned cocktail?<\/p>\n
The first documented use of the word \u2018cocktail\u2019 was in response to a reader\u2019s letter asking to define the word in a May 1806 issue of The Balance and Columbian Repository in New York. Later that same month the paper\u2019s editor wrote that it was a \u201cpotent concoction of spirits, bitters, water, and sugar.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first use of the name \u2018Old Fashioned\u2019 for a Bourbon whiskey cocktail was said to have been at the Pendennis Club, a gentlemen\u2019s club in Louisville, Kentucky. The Lobby Bar offers as one of its possible components Woodford Reserve American Whiskey. Distillation began on the site of what is now the Woodford Reserve distillery in 1812. It\u2019s the oldest operating distillery in Kentucky and their spirits are considered some of the best of their genre, and the indispensable spirit for the classic Old-Fashioned.<\/p>\n
![\"lobby](\"http:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/img\/one-old-2-web.jpg\")
Patr\u00f3n Silver tequila is a less usual spirit for an Old-Fashioned but, in combination with bitters and flavoured simple syrup, it\u2019s perfect and very different from the classic. This is an ultra-premium white spirit and crystal clear. It\u2019s made using only the finest 100 percent Weber blue agave in Mexico and has a clean fresh taste but still very distinctive.<\/p>\n
Rum is another option from the trolley. Pedro has chosen Bacardi\u2019s 8-year-old Rum. This is a refined rum for the discerning palate. It makes a unique Old Fashioned but one which, I feel sure, will become one of the most requested from the trolley.<\/p>\n
Monday \u2013 Friday: 8.00am – midnight
\nSaturday: 9.00am – midnight
\nSunday: 9.00am – 10.30pm<\/p>\n
The Lobby Bar
\nOne Aldwych
\n1 Aldwych
\nLondon WC2B 4BZ<\/p>\n
Phone: +44 (0)20 7300 1000<\/p>\n