Hotel Mont Blanc - Bar Review

The interior is very grand, with high ceilings and beautiful furnishings. The building is over 100 years old and has a wonderful historic feel to it, with a touch of Gatsby-style glamour. The ambience is not at all stuffy though and you would feel equally at home in a down jacket and winter boots as in a slinky dress and skyscraper heels. Make sure you have a little wander round to check out the magnificent lobby and cosy snug.

We got there about 7:30pm and it was reasonably busy with a lively mix of people, most having a pre-dinner drink before heading into the restaurant or out into town. The music was great, loud enough that you could enjoy it but low-key enough that you could still have a chat. The pianist played a mix of jazz classics and some more contemporary songs, with excellent vocals. It set the mood just right for a chilled out evening with the girls.

My friend and I ordered a couple of cocktails between us - I had the Ginger Cosmo while she went for the Exotisme. The Ginger Cosmo was, funnily enough, a classic Cosmopolitan that had been livened up with a splash of ginger; I found it worked really well and took off the tart edge that a Cosmo can sometimes have. My friend was also impressed with her Exotisme - a delicious vodka concoction with mango, passion fruit and ginger. I overheard someone comment that the barman makes, and I quote, “the best Old Fashioned in the world” so, obviously, I had to try it. Now, I can’t claim to have tried all the Old Fashioneds in the world, but I can confirm that this one is really very good. I’m quite partial to a drop of whisky and it hit the spot perfectly with a great balance of Angostura bitters and sliver of lemon rind that enhanced rather than overpowered the Jura single malt. At 15€ each, we’d have to sell our grannies if we planned on drinking cocktails here every night, but as a treat we’re definitely going to keep coming back until we’ve sampled the rest of list. Just for research purposes, you know…

As well as cocktails they also serve a good choice of wines and champagne - all Taittinger, obviously! If you’re feeling peckish you can order light meals and snacks to eat in the bar, we didn't but they looked very good. There were a few people there with children and they are well catered for with fruit juices and alcohol-free cocktails.

The service is friendly and the barman was happy to chat to folks, the staff clearly know their stuff and can confidently advise on the drinks front. However, it could certainly be a bit quicker - I’m not saying you’ll die of dehydration but if you come in thirsty, don’t expect to be quenched toute suite. Each drink is prepared with care and beautifully presented, especially the cocktails, so I can understand why it takes a while but it really was noticeably slow. On looking around the room, we clearly weren’t the only people who had been waiting some time either - given that it’s February, you’d have thought they’d have put a few extra staff on. The barman was kept busy, he wasn’t standing around pondering the mysteries of the universe, he just could have done with a helping hand to speed things up a little.

That aside we had a lovely evening and will surely be back soon. They have live music most Saturdays from 7pm to 10pm, making it a great option for pre-dinner drinks or a quiet evening with friends.