With more flowers than Elton John’s downstairs loo, South Place Hotel have gone big on the blooms this summer, and we’re absolutely all over it.
First up: Michelin-starred Angler, atop the South Place Hotel, which remains one of our all-time favourite restaurants, with its famed seafood, one of the city’s best rooftop terraces and, now, another blooming great reason to head down thanks to flowers and gin.
Collaborating with Cambridge Distillery the restaurant’s iconic bar will bring a taste of the countryside into London’s most densely built up region, whisking guests from the glass plated streets of the Square Mile to the fenland meadows of Cambridgeshire. Cambridge Distillery is the work of husband and wife team William and Lucy Lowe. They founded the startup by creating a full-on laboratory in their sitting room, creating gins that are inspired by their walks through the meadows surrounding Cambridge and Granchester and capturing the fresh botanical tastes of the English seasons. Alongside a bespoke menu created by Angler’s Executive Chef, Gary Foulkes, with nostalgic English bar snacks, all created to perfectly pair with the refreshing, gin-based drinks. Cuttlefish fritters with chip shop curry sauce, anyone? Crispy pork brawn with Gentleman’s relish? You bet!
Descend seven floors and you’re in the Secret Garden, welcome to The Rosé Riviera. A partnership with Minuty, a family owned Provencal vineyard on the Saint-Tropez peninsula, the Secret Garden, in South Place Hotel’s Chophouse restaurant, recreates a vineyard with creeping vines and brightens the courtyard with flowers a-plenty, not to mention the sun. The suntrap is the perfect place for a summer drink and not to worry if the English weather plays one of its jokers, because the joke’s on it thanks to the retractable roof.
Of course an oasis of sun and flowers, not to mention the mini waterfalls and tropical palms, is all well and good, but the main star here is the rosé and the Chateau Minuty selection is superb. As are the gins, cocktails and Champagnes that serve to make this a must-visit London floral spot.
Planning a post-work jaunt, a weekend extravagance or just at a loose end? Head to South Place Hotel.
