Latest opening: The Caviar Bar
What: A small yet opulent caviar bar and seafood restaurant that’s opened within the recently created Medici Courtyard in Hanover Square in London’s Mayfair.
Who: The Caviar Bar is being led by operations manager Andrea Secchi, who has worked in London’s hospitality scene for more than a decade. His CV includes stints as a chef, working for the likes of Marcus Wareing. However, most recently he’s moved into operations, previously leading operations for The Sea, The Sea, which has sites in Hackney and Chelsea.
The food: As you would expect, the menu includes an extensive caviar selection of Royal Beluga, Oscietra, Imperial, and Royal Baerii, which are all available to order by the tin (30g – 250g) and come served with blinis, potato and créme fraiche. Prices start at £57 for a 30g tin of Royal Baerii, and go as high as £1,300 for a 250g tin of Royal Beluga. The menu also features a range of hot and cold sharing plates including a smoked salmon platter (£16); sea bream and mango ceviche (£13.50); black cod and miso dressing (£25.50); and lobster tail and shellfish sauce (£35). Diners are encouraged to add a10g tin of Royal Baerii Caviar to certain dishes for an extra £15. Desserts include a pistachio panna cotta (£8.50); and a British cheese selection (£12.50).
To drink: The drinks list includes a wide selection fine wines and Champagne, with an emphasis on white wine pairings. Prices are suitably Mayfair. The cheapest bottle of white – a 2021 encruzado and malvasia blend from Portugal – starts at £42, and the list tops out at £550 for a bottle of Puligny-Montrachet from 2020. The menu also includes an extensive selection of premium spirits including vodka and whiskey, as well as a range of sakes. Cocktails include a seaweed rum Old Fashioned (£12); a Bloody Mary with caviar (£15); and a sake martini (£11).
The vibe: Spread over two levels, the 700sq ft site features a bijou centrepiece bar on the ground floor alongside a retail area, with a dining room upstairs holding a handful of tables. Intended to create a ‘luxury feel’ throughout, onyx and mirrors feature heavily in the design.
And another thing: The Caviar Bar bills itself as being ‘both a supplier and retailer’ of caviar, with the business also operating as an importer and wholesaler. Although The Caviar Bar does not have its own farm, it imports caviar from many countries around the world, including Italy and France, but mainly from China, where the sturgeons are farmed in a lake that ‘replicates the wild environment’.
4 Medici Courtyard, Hanover square, London, W1S 1BR
https://caviarbaruk.com/
