The team behind iconic Barcelona bar Dry Martini are preparing to open Dry Martini London at Meliá White House Hotel, Regents Park, on 1 October. A veteran of the World’s 50 Best Bars list, the original Dry Martini cocktail bar is the work of Javier de las Muelas and has become synonymous with world-class cocktail culture since opening in 1978.
Replacing Longford’s Bar, Dry Martini will celebrate the art of the perfectly made Martini, with the highlight set to be a three-metre section of the bar dedicated entirely to creating the eponymous cocktail. As is tradition at the Barcelona original, the bar team will tally the number made and a stamped certificate will be issued to every drinker upon ordering one. With a choice of 80 gins, this will be the place to build your ultimate Martini.
The Grade-II listed hotel’s highly anticipated new addition has also been designed by Muelas and his team, and will be decorated with Spanish artwork, as well as Keith Haring oil paintings and portraits by Matias Krahn. There will also be a large work by fantastical photographer Eugenio Recuenco behind the bar, the copper top of which runs the full length of the room. At the end of the bar will be a glass antechamber where guests will be able to spy the bartenders at work on typically elaborate serves. The room will be clad in dark wood panelling and feature a chequerboard floor, plus brightly coloured chairs and sofas.
Elsewhere on the drinks menu, expect a range of classic and signature cocktails, including Muelas-style updates on traditional serves: The Scented Negroni, for instance, will be an herbaceous aperitivo-style cocktail, combining Tanqueray No. Ten, Martini Rosso, Campari and Dry Martini’s signature Droplets in Mediterranean Rosemary (Dry Martini’s Droplets are a range of essences created specifically for the bar). The menu’s ‘Excentric’ section will feature innovative techniques and ingredients as well as striking glassware: The Carnivore will be served in a frozen flower on a bed of moss and dry ice, combining pisco with strawberry, Szechuan pepper and passionfruit juice; The Pipe will include a bottle smoked with cherry tobacco, and The Jigger will be an updated take on the sharing element of Sangria (fresh seasonal fruit mixed with Zacapa 23 and Bacardi Superior).
Commenting on the news, Square Meal’s London bar expert Keith Barker-Main said: “Founded by Pedro Carbonell, the rightly revered Barcelona institution has been manna to Martini drinkers since 1978. That his successor, Javier de las Muelas, should choose London for the brand's first European bar outside of Spain is further proof that the UK’s capital is where the world’s very best barmen now aspire to showcase their craft.”
With the opening still three long weeks away, check out some of Keith’s recent London bar reviews for some libation inspiration:
London bar round-up June
London bar round-up July
London bar round-up August
This article was published 11 September 2015