Lyaness

Lyaness is Ryan Chetiyawardana's cocktail bar on the ground floor of Sea Containers London, the riverside hotel on the South Bank. It opened in 2019 in the room that had been Dandelyan, the bar Mr Lyan closed the year it was named the world's best. The green marble counter was kept; almost everything around it was reimagined.

Jacu Strauss and the Lore Design team set the room in electric blue, with panelled walls, brass detailing, a faceted octagonal mirror and a pleated gold ceiling above the bar. Velvet banquettes and lounge chairs run toward tall windows that look across the water to St Paul's. The drinks list is built around a short roster of house ingredients rather than a conventional menu, an approach that has kept Lyaness in the international bar conversation and earned it the first three-PIN rating from The Pinnacle Guide.

For private events the bar takes drinks receptions and parties of up to 150, or 85 seated, with the option to hire it exclusively for the evening. A late licence on Fridays and Saturdays, a dedicated events team and the run of the whole room make it a strong fit for a launch, a celebration or a DJ-led reception on the river. Enquiries are handled through the house.