Green Bar

Tucked off Regent Street with its own entrance on Glasshouse Street, the Green Bar is Hotel Café Royal's emerald cocktail room, a low-lit lair of gunmetal, dark velvet and a curved riveted bar. The design leans into the venue's bohemian past: a portrait of Oscar Wilde hangs by the door, a nod to the writer who drank absinthe on this site after the original Café Royal opened in 1865 and where he first met Lord Alfred Douglas. Wilde, Whistler, Aubrey Beardsley and George Bernard Shaw all held court here, and the bar keeps their green fairy alive with a set of Art Nouveau absinthe fountains served tableside.

Relaunched in September 2023 in its current green-focused form, the drinks list reaches back to the Café Royal Cocktail Book of 1937 for its signature classics alongside a rare-absinthe selection and a roster of Champagnes and wines. Light bites and small plates accompany the drinking. In summer the bar spills out onto a planted terrace off the Regent Street quadrant, an al fresco corner of olive trees, grasses and Georgian stone.

Open from late afternoon until 1am, the Green Bar suits an intimate cocktail reception, a birthday or a launch held in confidence within the hotel. It seats a small, well-heeled crowd rather than a large party; a full buyout is arranged through the house. As with the hotel's other rooms, private hire is handled by one events team across the property.