There's a new local in town, and it's located in the glamorous and rather famous Art Deco Park Lane Hotel, which was a purpose built hotel for London's huge influx of American tourists in the 1920s.
The hotel is currently undergoing a huge refurb, however they've re-done the bar first so people can still use it, and I have to say, we were pretty impressed by the new Smith & Whistle! Edd and I hadn't seen each other for a while, we kept missing each other due to busy schedules and holidays, so we were well overdue for a catch up. And let's be honest, I'd missed Edd and his man bag (*cough* it's a clutch bag...).
As we entered the bar we were surprised at how elegant it is, after all, the bar’s name takes inspiration from the fictional story of Detective Inspector Smith and his pursuit of legendary high-class criminal Mr. Whistle, set in 1920's Mayfair. And usually themed bars are not the most elegant.
Usually with themed bars they can be a bit over-the-top and tacky, and sometimes it works (a la Barts), and sometimes it doesn't. Smith & Whistle definitely works though, and it was a refreshing change to have the little design touches and nods to the theme, without being garish.
We found a spare table, and while I started with sparkling wine, Edd opted for beer. We caught up on what we'd been up to over the past few weeks, and soon the canapes started to come round.
Then we moved on to the cocktails. Half way through the evening we decided to move to the bar to increase our chances of getting more canapes (we noticed that people sat at the bar were being given the most, and, let's face it, we were hungry).
I had the Piccadilly Hold Up (above) and the Sticky Fingers (below).
See that postcard above? Well while I was busy taking photos, Edd wrote me a message...
Oops.
Edd went for the William Whistle (not pictured - it looked too boring), and the Detective Inspector Smith (below).
Edd went for the William Whistle (not pictured - it looked too boring), and the Detective Inspector Smith (below).
At a very reasonable £10 each, the cocktails are deliciously potent. So potent that after one glass of wine and two cocktails, we rolled out of the bar and down Park Lane. We spotted people standing in the window of one of the big old buildings, so went to take a closer look.
As I got closer I realized they were wax models, so me with my mannequin phobia ran as fast as I could down the road all the way to the tube station. Edd finally caught up with me and was completely flabergasted 'I've never seen you run before! What on earth is the matter!?' 'They were wax models!'. It turns out that after three years of friendship he had no idea about my extreme fear of them. Now he knows.
Anyhow, I digress. Top notch cocktails, and even better food. The canapes were delicious, and I had far too many of the mini banoffee tarts (I say too many, I had all four of them as Edd doesn't do bananas), and then had to fight him for the mini fish and chips (I won, obvs).
We had such a great evening at Smith & Whistle, sadly the lighting in the bar is quite yellowy/orange, which isn't the best for photos nor face (so probably not the best place for a date, thank goodness it was just Edd and he's seen me at my worst already). However the cocktails and food made up for this, and let's face it, only narcissistic bloggers care about how the lighting makes them look.
If you're in the Mayfair area and in need of a classy bar, go and check out Smith & Whistle. You won't regret it. I'm just gonna leave you here with a little GIF from the evening...
*Our drinks and food were complimentary as part of the launch evening