Kwãnt Mayfair (permanently closed)

Address: 52 Stratton Street, Green Park, London, W1J 8LN, United Kingdom
Website: view Kwãnt Mayfair’s website
Hours: Mon-Sun 16:00-00:00
Door: Open door/walk-ins
Style: Lounge bar, Cocktail bar
Established: 2023

You can take the boy out of the five-star hotel but you can't take the five-star hotel out of the boy! Erik Lorincz's bar, Kwãnt, operates to standards beyond five-star.

Review

Photoography is of the previous Kwãnt incarnation

One of the world's most highly regarded bartenders, Erik Lorincz perfected his craft at the Connaught Hotel and then for nearly eight years as the Head Bartender at the world-famous American Bar at The Savoy. In 2019, he opened the first incarnation of his Kwãnt bar concept in the loins of Momo restaurant on Heddon Street, a narrow cul-de-sac just off Regent Street. Sadly, Momo was a victim of the Covid pandemic, but Erik recreated his dream bar in this Green Park location in 2023.

Kwãnt, phonetically from 'quaint', is something unusual or old-fashioned. The word from old French, meaning clever and wise, so, as Erik says, "cleverly using ingredients and wisely enjoying cocktails."

Erik told me that when he walked into the Moroccan restaurant and down the narrow staircase into the basement that housed the original Kwãnt, "the first image I had in my head was the Casablanca movie." He set out to "create a twist on a classic bar that makes you feel like you're really somewhere else, not in London." He succeeded, and he has achieved the same in this second Kwãnt with an interior reminiscent of a colonial gentleman's club

The massive island bar is the altar-like centrepiece, with bartenders working around it on its three stations rather than standing behind it. The lucky drinkers who get to sit at this altar are ringside rather than in the audience. Like the original Kwãnt, a key feature is a glass corner cabinet filled with Erik's collection of vintage bottles.

The cocktails are all signature creations and contemporary in style, showcasing Erick's culinary approach to drink-making. They are presented in Erik's own designer range of glassware made by Rona, a high-end Slovak glass company renowned for its elegant stemware.

Erik, who grow up in western Slovakia, worked with Rona, to produce bespoke glasses, each shape named after the classic cocktail it is designed to hold.
Vieux Carré = rocks glass
Garibaldi = highball glass designed to hold 1 part spirits to 2 parts mixer.
Sazerac = a stemmed deep bowled coupe
Clover Club = a small but curvaceous coupe
Martinez = designed to hold a 4:1 Martini (60ml gin, 15ml vermouth = bitters and dilution)
Gabriel = Wine glasses named after their designer. These were not designed by Erik but are from the same maker and are universal, for white, red, rose and sparkling wines

The flavoursome micro herbs used for garnishing are hydroponically grown from seed in the bar. What, at first glance, is a back-bar fridge is, in fact, a virtual greenhouse. The Evogro cabinet is remotely monitored 24 hours a day to deliver 18 hours of artificial light followed by 4 hours of darkness. This produces around three-quarters of the bar's garnishes.

When you visit, be sure to try a Sea The Sea, my favourite cocktail on Kwãnt's menu.