Early autumn is a time when the silken belles and spiffing chaps find their way back to our grand old London, sharp of wit and ready for festivities. We decided to call together a few exquisites for Michaelmas Drinks and, dedicated as we are to elegant people in elegant places”, we thought Black Tie would suit the mood. As usual.
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But what about the place? Our Wonderland City Directory now counts some 32 (!) places for proper potables where topping scenery meets a sense of history and occasion. One on the list that wed not previously graced with our presence, save for a fleeting sharpener, was Fitz’s Bar, in the Kimpton Fitzroy Hotel (former Russel Hotel). The splendidly renovated interiors lead, through a couple of acres of polished marble, to a drinking den inspired by the decadent, opulent side of Edwardian decor.
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Many Sheridanites were in attendance, as well as a leavening of other friends of our ilk. It is your reporter’s duty to recount that, following a dispiriting trend among high-end bars, the management of Fitz’s has seen fit to invent a plethora of unnecessary, craic-slaying rules. Guests must be seated to order; ‘large’ groups must pay as one; etc., etc. Positively pernicious, no?
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In the end, our polite but granitic insistence and the helpful staff’s better instincts prevailed so that, as the evening progressed, we had buried all the nonsense underneath a cascade of cocktails (well made) and champagne (aggressively priced). A fine night, we would say, made all the sweeter by roughly half of the revellers moving on for a nightcap at the nearby, and appealingly louche, L’Oscar.
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