New bar in town

Dukes' new Louis Roederer Champagne bar is a little hidden gem, finds Richard Cree

Everyone who lives or works in a city as big as London needs a bolthole. A favourite quiet corner of the city where you can be guaranteed time to think and catch your breath. These days that often means splashing out on a club membership. But there are other ways to avoid the riff-raff. Perhaps the most satisfying is to stumble across a hidden gem; a little slice of the city that few others seem to have discovered.

This is exactly what's currently on offer at Dukes. It's a small, luxury hotel tucked away off a small alley just off St James's Street. The hotel claims to have been serving the cream of British society for over 100 years and its bar is well known as one of the best places in London to enjoy a decent martini. But if you slip quietly past the noise of people in the front bar and on towards the drawing room, you'll discover a lovely, quiet London nook.

Traditionally the place for afternoon teas, the drawing room at Dukes is all comfy English interiors, with a light and airy conservatory and gorgeous little courtyard garden (complete with a resident family of the most English of birds, the robin). Just inside the drawing room door, an ice bucket full of bottles offers the only clue that the hotel has added another string to its drinking bow; every weekday from 6pm, the drawing room is home to a Louis Roederer Champagne bar.

Louis Roederer is the champagne house with the best claim to have invented the idea of a prestige cuvée. The legend is that in 1876 the Tsar of Russia decided he would pick the best of Louis Roederer's wines to keep for himself. A demanding customer—at a time when the champagne market was somewhat less mainstream than it is now—he's reputed to have sent a member of staff to assist the French with making the stuff and later asked for the wine to be shipped in clear glass bottles, rather than the traditional darker ones, so he could enjoy looking at it. The result was the now popstar- and footballer-friendly champagne Cristal, with its signature outer wrapper.

While Cristal is on offer here—vintage 2002 at £225.00 a bottle—those feeling the crunch can still revel in the conservatory and (on the odd occasion when it's warm enough) the courtyard garden, with the very drinkable Louis Roederer Premier Brut NV at £12.00 a glass (£59.00 for a bottle) and refreshingly crisp Premier Brut Rosé 2004 at £19 a glass (£115.00 bottle). If there's a better way to unwind in London after a hard day at work, I've yet to discover it.

On Thursday 26th November 2009, Dukes is holding a special dinner, hosted by a representative of the House of Louis Roederer. Each one of four courses will be complemented with a carefully matched champagne or wine. Tickets cost £85.00 per person, plus a service charge.

For more information, email: dining@dukeshotel.com