London - 4
Since Mandarin Oriental Mayfair’s GM Hemal Jain was away working the world the very able Austrian Helmut Roessler, above, was in charge of this art-with-an-edge hotel.
It's not often that a bar menu becomes a work of art. Many institutions think theirs are worthy of the Royal Academy summer exhibition, but that's not true. However, the Hanover bar atop Mandarin Oriental Mayfair is just stunning. Leather cover and inside is handmade paper with the various drinks. Go ahead, of course, had to have a Hanover cocktail. Yes, just sit down just a minute. Had to have a Hanover named after Hanover Square. It's plum-infused Jameson Black Barrel whiskey, umeshu saké, vanilla amontillado sherry, maple syrup, and chocolate bitter. My favorite. The menu is divine. It is illustrated by Memo Press by Alice Edwards and designed overall by No Branding.
What a treat it was to design one’s own prime dining dinner (when did Girlahead last have room service?) Since the main restaurant is closed on Mondays, it seemed like a good alternative to the lovely upstairs Hanover bar. A Frenchman took the order. It would be 25 minutes, and sure enough, it was. Crisp white linens were set with thin white china, Pietboon by Serax. Cutlery was Studio William and curved, difficult to hold it straight, and the knives, frankly, do not cut. Wooden Peugeot mills, miniature white carnations in a small white pot. three Tiptree sauces and mayonnaises, and one fourth little pot, Tracklements, smooth Dijon mustard. There was no bread, there was no water, but neither was needed. The meal was a superbly dressed lettuce salad with baby tomatoes, chunks of avocado, and big squares of beetroot, topped with the addition of chicken breast, and the piece de resistance of the meal, a cocotte of mashed Maris Piper. Yum, yum.
There are a myriad of rare-to-find touchpoints about this room. Say the folded pyjamas and the folded white towelling robes. There's a big noughts and crosses set. There's an easy-work lighted magnifying mirror with stool in the closet. The closet, by the way, has delicious wallpaper, looks leather but probably is not, painted with scrolling greenery and birds (see below). Also there is a copy of The Mayfair Edit, a bi-monthly A3-sized, two-fold, shiny paper. In the current issue, we've got cocktails and art in Hanover Bar (‘Sip on Wimbledon-inspired serve, a fresh and elegant homage to strawberries and long afternoons on centre court, before shifting gear’).
Another story says Mandarin Oriental Mayfair has a pop-up of Sophos Brain Gym, a new neuroscience-led residency from performance psychologist Natalia Ramsden it's a really good publication. It covers the summer exhibition at the nearby Royal Academy, Wimbledon, and Memo Press.
Breakfast is a stately occasion. Proceed down the 27 green glass spiral stairs from the arrival ground floor level down to Somssi. Tables are set with linens and there's an elegant buffet with a subsidiary buffet for cold cuts. The meal is £45, including one a la carte dish. There are two sorts of yogurts, Jam Lady and Ann Forthauds, Wood Percho's excellent coffee. A very enjoyable meal with suitable soft music.
Who’s this hotel ideal for? Editors and fashion journos from New York, Paris, Milan, Dubai, Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo, kids under five, solos of both sexes and Very Top Execs.
