The incredible Barbican Centre bar with naughty, late-night energy
Our Toast the City Awards will celebrate the City’s top spots and takes place this October. This week: the Martini Bar at the Barbican.
Think of the Barbican Centre and Brutalist architecture and great sprawling public spaces come to mind. Inside and out, it is more about scope than intimacy, except for the Martini Bar.
Tucked away on the first floor of the main building, it is a dark and atmospheric space. Ninety percent of the conversations are about what people have seen that day, be that art or theatre. You can go in the afternoon but savouring a late-night drink is best.
There are sofas with views over the lobby spaces, or out to the lakeside, but sit at the bar. More like being at an American venue, the bartenders know it’s half of their job to talk to guests and the other half to shake cocktails.
The Barbican Centre is known for its size – but one bar is scaling things back
After an evening show, it feels loose and unpredictable. Strangers talk to one another. Sometimes they disagree, sharing contrarian takes on shows. Sat next to people at a bar encourages the sort of exciting and unpredictable new experiences many Londoners crave, and with the show you’ve just seen to talk about, there’s an easy way to make connections.
During happy hour between 5 and 6pm there are two cocktails for £17. Order a martini, obviously. But Barbican mixologist Harvey Macaraig, who uses small batch spirits where he can, has devised treats more in-keeping with the surrounds: The Brutalist and Brutal or Beautiful cocktails, two stand outs from the menu, both feature bourbon, and are special creations in homage to the majesty of the building.
Created in 2012 as a place for visitors of the Designing 007 exhibition, the Barbican Martini Bar has stayed long beyond expectation. We’d love to see it open later, as last orders are at 10.30pm, especially now the Barbican is running occasional club nights into the early hours of the morning. The capital needs more atmospheric late-night venues, and perhaps the Barbican expansion may lead to more opportunities for late-night opening when the £191million construction project begins in 2027.
Still, it’s some consolation that in the Barbican’s Martini Bar, it feels like midnight way earlier.