American Bar at The Savoy

Photography by American Bar

Words by Simon Difford

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Address: The Savoy, Strand, London, WC2R 0EU, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7420 2117
Email: savoy@fairmont.com
Website: view American Bar at The Savoy’s website
Hours: Mon-Tue 12:00-00:00, Wed-Fri 16:00-00:00, Sat 12:00-00:00, Sun 12:00-22:00
Style: Hotel bar
Established: 1893

Review

Perhaps the most famous hotel in the world, The Savoy reopened in 2010 after a three-year, £100m+ refurbishment. While the rest of the hotel now sparkles with the polish of a Las Vegas casino, to the relief of bar aficionados the American Bar was merely given a lick of paint and a new carpet and looks practically unchanged from its last makeover.

It claims to be the oldest surviving cocktail bar in England, having opened in 1893 in the original riverside part of the hotel, moving to this location in 1904.

The black and white photos on the walls and in glass cases attest to the American Bar's place in history - not only was this Frank Sinatra's home from home when he was in the country, this was the home of world-renowned bartenders, from Ada Coleman and Harry Craddock, author of The Savoy Cocktail Book, published in 1930, to Joe Gilmore, Peter Dorelli, Erik Lorincz and present Head Bartender, Chelsie Bailey.

Watch our short American Bar documentary filmed in 2017.

{image3}Head Bartender, Chelsie Bailey

{image2}Head Bartenders from left to right: Peter Dorelli; Erik Lorincz, Maxim Schulte, Salim Khoury, and Victor Gower.

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