What to drink at May Fair Bar
Amelie Maurice-Jones eats and drinks round the world at the May Fair Hotel in London: Japan and Italy are first up in the restaurant’s dual menu, before she heads to the bar and tours a globally-inspired cocktail menu. Head mixologist Pierpaolo Schirru says he wants to “transport guests somewhere else – even just for a few seconds.”
The sky is blue! In central London! And it’s sort of sunny too; enough for sunglasses but not enough to ditch a jacket. Early afternoon in Mayfair is a whir of confused tourists and fast-paced corporate types, skittishly spending their lunch hour in search of the finest offerings from Pret and M&S.
Walking into the May Fair Hotel on Stratton Street, you wouldn’t know it though. Curtains (and good sound-proofing, probably) give no clue of outside hubbub. The restaurant menu is split down the middle: half Italian, half Japanese. Inspired by Japan’s izakaya eateries, the Japanese side modernises traditional moriawase, omakase, sashimi, tempura and robata dishes, while the Italian menu takes a trip through regional Italy through grilled meat, fresh pasta and stone-baked pizza.
The sensory quiet means there’s no distraction from the rich, varied and vibrant flavours that arrive in a variety of small plates. Standouts include crispy, meaty king prawns paired with a tangy, wasabi mayonnaise, and a trio of crunchy tacos topped with contrastingly mellow, melt-in-your-mouth yellowtail, jalapeno and ponzu. From the Italian half we opt for thick Bucatini pasta with ‘nduja, San Marzano tomatoes and pecorino, and aged ribeye steak which comes with indulgent Gorgonzola Dolce creme. In both dishes, simple, premium ingredients sing: it’s Italian cuisine at its best.
The decor, however, feels somewhat Nordic: Two slabs of polished oak are ornately set with chopsticks and wine glasses, and a copper network of bulbs drips from the ceiling. So, when we head through the lounge, past a pair of plush golden poodles and statues of haughty Egyptian cats in the lounge, to the May Fair Bar, the international cocktail menu is not a surprise.
Trip round the globe
“I’ve assigned each country a traditional, classic cocktail, creating my own version of it, and trying to be as real as possible with the storytelling, glassware and choices of ingredient, and then I applied different bartending techniques, depending on what I wanted to achieve,” May Fair Kitchen’s head mixologist Pierpaolo Schirru later tells the drinks business.
Italy, Vietnam and Scotland are among the locations featured on the cocktail menu, with the latter celebrating the legacy of Robert Burns in a drink called Lomond, which combines two types of whiskey with lemon peel, white pepper, mead and, curiously, edible poetry. Then, Saudi Arabia gets a non-alcoholic pick, Souk, which blends flavours from Diriyah markets: think sweet dates, raisins, tart hibiscus tea and Jallab syrup. And the bar’s Day Menu also takes a world tour, playing with flavours spanning from the Mediterranean, to Parisian bakeries to Goa’s shaded palm groves.
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One reason Schirru went global with his menu is the pandemic. “Everyone got stuck for quite a while, and when you travel, you always see different things, expand your knowledge, taste new food and drink, and bring something back from the place with you.
Best-selling drinks
“A lot of people perhaps cannot travel, so I wanted to give this experience in a bar scenario, transporting guests somewhere else – even just for a few seconds. You can choose exactly where you want to go and what you want to drink, exactly like when you travel for real.”
So, Londoners may gain an alcoholic passport to the world’s wonders when entering into May Fair. But, welcoming guests since 1927, I’m sure many of those staying in the five-star hotel’s 400 rooms are fairly acquainted with international travel. Sometimes, maybe the excitement is less with exploration, more with spotting your country on the list.
“Cocktail wise, there’re three best sellers,” Schirru continues. There’s Muerto – a spicy passion fruit Margherita with red and yellow pepper juice – inspired by Mexico. Then, there’s Rivera, influenced by the glamour of the French Riviera. With Chardonnay grape juice, St-Germain liquor and Natasha vodka, it mimics rosé Champagne: “it’s served in a flute, no garnish, pink, sparkling, touches of strawberries and lavender.” In third place comes Exuberance – a mango and curry leaf tipple inspired by India’s Holi festival of colour. “It’s a surprise, curry in cocktail is flying,” says Schirru.
Picks from the wine list
According to Schirru, the wine list balances “experimental and classic”. “Gavi is a popular choice as we don’t do Pinot Grigios and those types of wines, and Chablis is also very popular,” he says. “In terms of red wine, Pinot Noir and a full body Malbec are the go-to, and there’s the wine of the year which is Whispering Angel.”
But, for Schirru who’s Italian, there should be no drink without food. His pick from the wine list is a Domaine de Montille Chassagne-Montrachet, and he’d pair it with beef sliders from the bar’s food menu. “You freeze gorgonzola then put breadcrumbs on it, like a milanesa, then when you deep-fry it, you have an explosion of the cheese. It’s like a mini hash brown made out of gorgonzola and habanero mayo. Such a beautiful and expensive wine with a little treat like a mini burger is very good.”
After several hours on this global culinary expedition I leave and am once again back in London. I’m met by the whir of a coach and 6pm post-work chatter. Miraculously, the sky is still blue!
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