Words by Hannah Tan-Gillies
A respectful homage to old-world glamour, The Beaumont is a five-star hotel occupying a grand Art Deco building in the heart of Mayfair. The Beaumont recently completed a gentle refurbishment of its bars and restaurants, seeing the addition of a new lounge and al-fresco dining terrace.
Designed by Thierry Despont, The Beaumont’s food and beverage offering is a captivating return to classic style, and a welcome retreat from the often overly-modernist approach to fine dining today.
At the far left end of the hotel lobby is Le Magritte Bar and Terrace, the hotel’s snazzy walnut-panelled bar, which pays tribute to the works of Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte. Magritte’s influences can be felt throughout the space, from the punchy paintings on the walls, to the eclectically-crafted cocktail menu.
A recreation of the artist’s famous ‘Teacher 1954’ is the main focal point of the bar, which is the first thing you see when entering Le Magritte. The bar/lounge is decorated in the style of suave American speakeasies in the 1920s, complete with deep velvet armchairs, and a fascinating collection of paintings and photographic prints. Imagine Cuban cigars, and the clink of whisky glasses amongst handsome tuxedo-donning gentlemen, and that is exactly the atmosphere at Le Magritte.
A private, covered terrace adjoins the bar. It features breezy rattan armchairs and café tables, surrounded by lush greenery. The terrace, which serves an all-day menu of light dishes, is so secluded you’d forget you were just a stone’s throw away from busy Bond Street.
The menu too is filled with Magritte’s influence. Each cocktail is named after a Magritte painting, with the ingredients chosen to match that specific painting’s colour palette. We sampled the Oasis 1925, a light, floral concoction of gin d’azur and jasmine verte. The Central Story 1927 is another excellent choice. An earthy, bitter orange cocktail made with Roku Gin, Grand Marnier and Campari certainly packs a punch. Both cocktails serve as the perfect aperitifs before dinner at The Colony Grill.
The Colony Grill is a Mayfair institution. The walls are covered in vibrant painted landscapes, while the generously-sized restaurant is sub-divided by classic leather banquettes and centred around a vast skylight. The Art Deco influence is certainly felt here, as entering the restaurant feels like stepping into the era of Hemingway and Sinatra, with guests being serenaded by the soft, gentle tunes of the restaurant’s grand piano.
The fantastic menu features all the transatlantic classics, done with a twist. For starters, the seared Orkney scallop was a standout favourite and offered just the right flavour and texture combination. The oysters, available as either Jersey Rock or Cornish Native, were dressed in seaweed mignonette and were an absolute taste revelation. The Colony Cobb salad too, a favourite amongst Mayfair ladies who lunch, was appropriately delicious and comprised of organic chicken, smoked bacon, and Cacklebean boiled egg.
For mains, the Roast Cornish lamb, which is served with barbecued aubergine and piquillo peppers was deliciously tender and fabulously seasoned, while the Monkfish Wellington offered a brilliant twist to the traditional British beef Wellington.
Staying true to its name, the star of The Colony Grill are the grill dishes. The grill menu offered native bred beef, farm-raised pork from Blythburgh Farm and Wagyu beef from Suffolk. All of the restaurant’s meat is hand-selected and matured in a salt maturing chamber for a minimum of 42 days and cooked over English charcoal and oak, resulting in a distinctive flavour unlike anything else in London’s restaurant scene.
In addition, the Colony Grill has a compact but curated wine list, which embraces all the world’s top wine regions. It also has a Fine and Rare Wine selection that will impress even the most discerning wine connoisseur. With 53 wines by the glass on offer and helmed by head sommelier Giorgio Scavarelli, there is something delicious for all kinds of wine enthusiasts here.
With a new trendy restaurant seemingly popping up all over London every other fortnight, Le Magritte Bar and Terrace and The Colony Grill stand out as true classics. Wonderfully old fashioned, elegant and with an understanding of true luxury, it is no wonder why both places have remained favourites of the Mayfair crowd for so long – and will remain so in the decades to come.
Factbox
Address: The Beaumont, 8 Balderton St, Brown Hart Gardens, London W1K 6TF
Phone: 020 7499 9499
Website: thebeaumont.com
