London has a new hotel bar - and it's set in the iconic former US Embassy. Hamish Smith is at The Chancery Rosewood.
Welcome to Little America. You might know the area by the name Grosvenor Square in Mayfair, but it was here that the US’s first London diplomat lived in the 1700s, and during World War II it was General Eisenhower's headquarters, earning it its moniker. The Modernist US Embassy that opened on the square in 1960 was the grandest chancery in Europe, its imposing edifice garnished by a large gilded eagle made from a B-52 bomber - a symbol, if ever there was, of American mid-century omnipotence.
Then... well then the Americans moved to Wandsworth. And just like that, London got its latest, greatest, hotel: I give you The Chancery Rosewood. Of course, there were some intervening chapters. The site was sold during Barack Obama’s presidency to Qatari Diar (owner of 50% of the Savoy’s parent company) back in 2013, work began in 2017-8 and, with floors added and foundations replaced, The Chancery Rosewood is only just finished as the leaves start to fall on 2025. It’s quite a marvel, an inland iceberg, with its seven floors, underpinned by seven more that are subterranean.
There are many reasons to visit this storied Grade II-listed, David Chipperfield-restored, masterpiece, but one of them – as it was for me – is the supergroup of bar talent that has alighted at its flagship Eagle Bar. Liana Oster (formerly of Nomad London) is the hotel’s director of bars, Dan Garnell (ex-Seed Library) is the bar manager, while the assistant bar manager is Reuben Clark (ex-Silverleaf ). If bartenders had transfer fees, this lot would have cost a pretty penny.
Up on its terminus floor, Eagle Bar spreads its wings from a large, oblong indoor space out to a similarly-sized terrace, offering views of the eagle and everything in its gaze. The theme here is the “golden age of Americana”, which is picked up in the décor, the bourbon-lined back bar and a cocktail menu that draws its inspiration from moments of local American chronicles. Hotels are almost always goldmines of history and their bar themes should – as is the case here – look inwardly.
THE ARRIVAL
If my expectations were inflated, the puncture came quickly. This is no new observation, but the first minute you spend in a bar is the most important. Lose the guests there – we were wandering through unwelcomed, then loitering in the middle of the venue, like lost tourists asking passers-by for directions – and you leave yourselves a lot to recover. In mitigation, this was the bar’s second day following a two-week soft launch, so you can understand a little operational rawness. Equally, whether you come on day two or 202, four drinks here are still going to cost you £100 with service.
It turned out to be a brief misfiring of an otherwise finely-tuned engine. Once sitting, what came was warm, engaging hospitality, and once drinking we were soon into the swing of things. Hyde in Plain Sight (£22), named after summery frolics in the local park, sees Tapatio combining with Aperol strawberry and cucumber in an unexpectedly dry Brit-Mex picnic – perfectly drinkable, if not completely delicious.
Spring Break (£22), inspired by a Joe Tilson painting displayed in the hotel, sees Boatyard gin, Mastiha, basil and probably the best mixer in the world: Three Cents Fig Leaf Soda. A stunning refresher and easily the best long drink I have had since – the last time I said that. I don’t keep a diary.
Then a nutritional interlude: Drumettes (three chicken half-wing lollypops/£12) and Ruben Croquettes (three balls of pastrami and gruyere/ £14) – a warming reminder of how good hotel bar food can be, and how expensive. Before long came Midnight Lace (£25), a homage to the film of the same name that features Grosvenor Square, and a fat-washed Old Fashioned with Michter’s bourbon, quince, brown butter and tonka.
Forever Young (£23) meanwhile, inspired by Dorian Gray, who Oscar Wilde described as living on the square, was a sprightly, slightly-Manhattan but instead of whiskey two fortifieds: Cocchi Torino and oloroso. Tropicalised with banana, sweetened with maple verjus and finished with a waft of smoky Islay. To a glass, it’s all rather fine drinks making.
With Scarfes Bar as an elder sibling, Eagle Bar could easily be overshadowed. But up here, drinking with the eagle at the summit of a building imbued with such agency and historical significance, there aren’t too many more compelling drinking spots in London. It joins the likes of Great Scotland Yard, the Old War Office and The Bow Street Magistrates' Court in hospitality’s great repurposing.
ON THE SCORE BOARD
Hospitality 7/10
Drinks 9/10
Food 9/10
Atmosphere 8/10
Décor 7/10
Value 5/10