Cellar Bar

The Cellar Bar is a chilled vanilla dream just waiting to be tasted.

The Venue
Cool, calm and collected is probably the best way to describe The Cellar Bar (empty would be another, especially in the daytime during the week when there’s hardly any sign of its existence at street level). This air-conditioned oasis of silky cream serenity is tucked away under the Grey Street Hotel. You descend some steps from the lobby and enter a vanilla ice-cream coloured little box.

The small L-shaped bar, topped with dark sparkly marble, sits in a corner on the right and is lined with wooden stools. The ceiling is low and arched, and dotted around glass cocktail tables are a nest of rather edible looking low, cubic, cream armchairs with stub wooden legs.

There’s a raised area on the left with more of those Dulux paint advert armchairs and dark sofas all set off against the pine wood flooring. It's softly illuminated with floor and table lamps and is a great place to come and get away from the swelter of the city streets during the summer.

The People
It's part of the cute boutique Grey Street Hotel so it is mainly hotel guests who venture down to this secluded bar. It can feel a bit empty. This is perfect if you want somewhere to sip cocktails and have a private chat with your clique before heading into town. But it's not somewhere to down shots and shout 'up for it' at the barman, who's busy polishing glasses rather than serving customers (because there aren't any).

You could bring a date here, but best not make it a first date. If there's a gap in the conversation you'll have nothing else to look at, apart from the barman polishing glasses.

The Food and Drink
Despite its diminutive dimensions The Cellar Bar has a decent range of spirits. You could say it's a cocktail bar par excellence, and it serves up premium brands, such as a gin selection made of Plymouth, Tanqueray and Bombay Sapphire. Cocktails aren't too expensive at around £4.95 to £5.50 each. They include Old Fashioned, Cosmopolitan (which has seen a massive Sex and the City surge in sales), Margarita, Apple Mojito and Satin Manhattan, which is a mix of bourbon, Galliano and bitters (£5.50). Champagnes start at £20 (for a Veuve Saint Vincent Brut) and range up to the giddy heights of £169 for a Krug Grand Cuvee.

Wines cost between £16 and £39 a bottle and there are eight whites and eight reds, including an Arco Dei Giovi Sartori, which is half Pinot Grigio and half Chardonnay. On draught there’s just Amstel at £3.30 a pint and you’ve got Budvar, Peroni, Stella, Heineken, Old Speckled Hen, Guinness, Newcastle Brown, Woodpecker and Guinness in bottles. Food is available from the neighbouring Living Room restaurant. Dishes include moules marinere (£5.75), steak, ale and mushroom pie (£10.95), cheeseburger (£8.95), poached egg benedict (£6.95) and seafood and saffron risotto (£10.95).

The Last Word
The Cellar Bar is a cool (literally) place to hang out after a sweaty day at the office.

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