Staying power: The bars and restaurants that stand the test of time

Here today, gone tomorrow, the bars have a reputation for short-term success. But some have the ability to manage the times and stay on top of the game.

Ten years ago, I was sitting at The Groucho Club one late summer night discussing with a now-known couture designer the new wave of drinking culture engulfing the capital, arguing that London had never really been so exciting. Until that point, the drinks were largely an afterthought to the overall experience: wine was simply white or red, beer came only in a pint glass, and vodka was whatever paint remover the bartender chose to serve. But in the 1990s we were on the cusp of a cocktail movement. New World wines were making Chardonnay and Shiraz as common as Bordeaux, while new concept drinks like Red Bull were seriously shaking up the market, broadening people’s beverage landscape and challenging us to think about drinking. like a lifestyle. Slowly, what was behind the bar seemed to be taking the spotlight of the night. People whispered rumors of late-night bars that stayed open until the wee hours of the morning, where glamorous celebrities rubbed shoulders with the international jet-setter with Manhattans and Martinis. They, along with The Groucho, were the places where everyone wanted to be seen and their popularity seemed untouchable to all but the most cynical.

Of course, everything has a shelf life, we cynically agreed: fashion is dead in a season, and a trendy bar, well, you wouldn’t want to bet the house on that, would you? We both came to the conclusion that fads just can’t last and those bars, which were the subject of meandering queues today, would quickly switch to yesterday’s news as would the drinks sipped inside. Of course, in most cases we don’t go far wrong. Mondo, Saint, Titanic, Riki Tik… they’ve all fallen by the wayside after once being celebrity favorites of their day. Many others have gone from exclusive A-list excellence to ghastly tourist tattoo. The Gin Sling became Sea Breeze became Bramble became Vanilla Mojito…

But not everything is pessimism. Today, another ten years from now, I find myself back on the same Groucho’s same leather couch and ordering a Red Bull off the menu, a drink whose ability to transcend fads and trends seems to symbolize the aspirations of nightlife culture. It has history and heritage and has achieved an almost timeless appeal. The fad works for a while, but all owners, managers and promoters hope and strive for one thing ultimately: to become the next classic. Because the classics, although small in number, exist on a much higher plane than fashion. Dotted among the sprawling community of unique wonders that populate the bar world, some classics have truly stood the test of time, riding the cyclical waves to achieve immortal credibility. The Groucho is one of those timeless classics. Through the years he has always been at the top of his game, his membership list includes the very names that populate the pages of the celebrity press along with the successful and powerful in the media world.

Today, the 80-year-old founding members sit comfortably alongside young achievers, and their long-term future seems set in stone. Embassy is another longtime winner, or more to the point, its ever-present Rock ‘n’ Roll owner Mark Fuller, who ran the original Embassy twenty years ago to equal success. This latest incarnation of one of London’s most famous clubs, now with a stylish restaurant that is among the best in the capital and a glitzy basement nightclub, is a rare constant in the swinging world of fashion. Another face that has long been associated with bar and club supremacy is Jake Panayiotou, who ran the original celebrity hangout, Browns, for a decade before moving on from his hayday. His last few years at the helm of the Wellington Club in Knightsbridge have seen the former members’ club reach new heights. But it’s not just member clubs that can fight through the centuries without taking damage. Music-led venues like Medicine Bar in Islington, Bar Rumba, The Cross, Bar Vinyl and The End have all proven their worth, while Hanover Grand, The Gardening Club and Iceni have all tumbled into the annuls of ‘hip’ history. . .

So, what is it that differentiates the one-hit-wonders from the immortals? What makes a classic? Three characteristics seem to pump through the veins of all long-term winners.

“Quality, choice and adaptability,” says Cas, The Groucho’s preeminent bar manager, as he deftly shakes cocktails behind the bar. “You have to offer a quality experience in drinks, music, food and people. You have to give the client what he wants and you have to adapt to the times ”. Subtly underlining the point, my Red Bull arrives silently at the table on his own tray, clad in a single neatly folded napkin.

Can staying power really be that simple to achieve? With twenty years of success behind him, El Groucho, the club is an authority on the matter, but it was Darwin who concluded that “the fittest win at the expense of their rivals because they know how to adapt to their environment.” Sounds pretty familiar to me, and let’s face it, you can’t argue with Darwin.

HERE TO STAY

Our selection of bars that we believe will continue to do so in ten years…

MAYFAIR: Embassy

A complete club for socialites, Embassy offers food on par with Michelin-starred restaurants, drinks that are as good as any great cocktail bar, a basement club, and a guest list that could double as who’s who. From london.

GARDEN OF THE CONVENT: The end and also known as

One of the most respected dance music venues in the capital, with Mr C behind its success. The music is always ahead of its time and the drinks are a world away from most dance music venues.

BRIDGE OF THE KNIGHTS: Wellington Club

With more than 100 years of history, The Wellington has been reborn as an exclusive meeting place for the hippest in the city. Lounge bar and club rolled into one and popular with newspapers and press alike.

WEST: Woody’s

On the banks of London’s longest canal, Woody’s has long been accepted as the music industry members’ bar. Three floors of food, drink and dance with a collection of the best music and cocktail mixologists in the country.

ISLINGTON: medicine bar

It was the bar that put Islington on the ‘credible’ map. One of the original DJ bars that became home to the clubbing community of the 1990s.

CAMDEN: vinyl bar

Supposedly London’s first DJ bar, Bar Vinyl combines a record shop with the only bar in Camden that’s really worth its salt. The bar is small, but the offer is huge and the future is vast.

COASTAL AREA: Home

One of the originators of the Shoreditch movement, Home made his mark before everyone else and continues to hold his own. It has grown from a shabby basement bar to a stylish yet funky restaurant and cocktail bar and continues to define the times.

SOHO: The grumpy

A favorite media hangout, The Groucho is like throwing a party in your own living room with the kind of people anyone would eat their own right arm to show up at their party for. Now with a more modern bar on the first floor to complement the classic leather and wood downstairs, it’s a members’ bar that suits everyone and is sure to look good in another twenty years.

HOXTON: Zigfried

A newcomer to the Hoxton set, there’s a good chance Zigfrid will be here in ten years. The brainchild of noted pub designer, Paul Daly, it attracts the most creative of Hoxtonians, and with the district being a hotbed of creativity, it’s proving quite popular.

FITZROVIA: Social

A collaboration between bar gurus The Breakfast Group and music gurus Heavenly Social, this concrete bunker of a bar offers the best of live and DJ-driven music. Now with sister venues in Islington and Nottingham, Social is poised for a great future.