The Rivoli Bar

The Rivoli Bar is the Ritz's gilded jewel box, created in 2001 when Tessa Kennedy reimagined the hotel's original 1906 bar in the spirit of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. Walls of polished camphor wood are set with illuminated Lalique glass and gilded, hand-painted églomisé panels; gold leaf runs across the domed ceiling, a Tamara de Lempicka canvas presides over the room, and depictions of Leda and the Swan close each end. A small onyx bar anchors the centre, and leopard-print velvet seating gives the space its close, after-dark intimacy.

The cocktail list is the reason London keeps a table here. The bar is known for its champagne serves and gold-leafed signatures such as the Ritz 120, alongside classics poured with the precision the room implies; regulars will tell you the Negroni is among the best in the city. The menu rotates around a theme (a recent list drew on biodynamic and celestial ideas), and the bartenders will build to taste for anyone who asks.

The Rivoli Bar sits within The Ritz London, which is listed separately in the directory. It trades as a walk-in cocktail bar rather than a published event space, but the whole room can be taken privately by arrangement through the house. For a small, glamorous reception it is one of the most distinctive Art Deco rooms in London.