Quick Thought

Salon D'Eté: Swing, Swing, Swing, and a Craque Bébé

BERNADINE BRÖCKER

After an excited invitation to a "viney, ritzy place near Selfridges," I make my way to 21 Duke street wearing a long black dress, pearls, and assorted costume jewellery, feeling anachronistic as I walk past the crowd before Moose, another new bar on Duke Street.

There are no signs on what you will encounter at Salon d'Ete, the pop-up venue above a late-night club called L'Equipe Anglais. Once you get past the security, a long dark hallway leads to closed doors; besides the people walking in wearing fedora's and retro hairstyles, the place is a mystery.

But as soon as those doors swing open, and your eyes adjust - it's like you walk into another time period. The smoky room is indeed overgrown by vines and plants, with a stage at the back and many tables of good-looking people who seem to have stepped out of another time save for the shorter skirts and stilettos.

Besides the live music, the swing is in the step of waitresses, in the gleeful cocktails and shots (Craque Bebé to name one), in the caned swing dangling in the foyer, and in the champagne served in the characteristic Perrier Jouet belle epoque flowered flutes. This is some "Swing, Swing, Swing" that Benny Goodman would have been proud of. I've come back with new friends since, and each time we leave with a twinkle in our eyes. "Do you imagine what it would have been like, living in the thirties?" Nope, but this summer salon gets darn close to what I dream it to be.

Salon d'Eté is open Fridays and Saturdays until 11 pm.

Strict door policy, and entree fees vary between 10 to 20 pounds.

Quick Thought

Artesian Bar at the Langham Hotel

BERNADINE BRÖCKER

When reading the drink menu at the Artesian, if you hadn't already noticed, its late 19th century origins become apparent. Drinks ranging from the classic so-called "centuries-old" mint julep to Ernest Hemingway's favorite daiquiri to a champagne cocktail using a bottle from 1865 (the hotel's founding year) to a fun cocktail named Alice in Wonderland to commemorate Lewis Carrol's novel to a lengthy list of non-boozy cocktails: incentives abound to try something new or to remember something classic.

But you really should have noticed the eccentric Victorian-inspired interior from the moment you walk in. The chinoiserie wooden bar that would have made Chippendale smile is stocked with bottles galore, and surrounding it are comfortable stuffed sofas, 'klismos'-style chairs with a studded purple leather twist, chandeliers and table cloths... it's eclecticism at its strongest. And also in keeping with the Victorian inspiration, there is not an empty space in sight, the floor is carpeted in a funky pattern, and the pallette surrounding you abounds in tones of browns, golds, and purples. Taking the parlor and giving it a sassy undertone, you can equally feel right playing dominoes with a cocktail or sipping tea with some cucumber sandwiches in this place; and perhaps that's what makes it feel strangely welcoming.

Designed by the David Collins Studio and staffed with excellent mixologists you'll have fun watching, this bar at the Langham hotel is definitely a fun spot to sit for a little while, and nicely situated smack-dab in the middle of Upper Regent Street across from the hard-to-miss BBC building.

Also open since June 15th is the fun Cigar Bar on the second floor of the hotel, with a smoker-friendly terrace and fine range of Cuban and Dominican cigars.

The Artesian is open M-F from 4 till midnight, and midday to midnight on weekends.

http://www.artesian-bar.co.uk