A Cocktail menu to satisfy your ever-changing passions at Bar Antoine
Bar Antoine is a bar with very much its own identity, yes it’s the bar for Chef Yannick Alleno Michelin-starred Pavyllon, and it is situated in the Four Seasons hotel, but this is no restaurant or hotel bar; this bar is designed to be a stand-alone bar with a story to tell.
If you’re as curious as I was, don’t worry – everything will become clear in the next ten paragraphs or so. I’m here to try out the new Ikigai cocktail menu, created by the head of drinks, Michele Lombardi. I also look forward to exploring the extensive food menu while sipping some delicious cocktails.
As I mentioned before, Bar Antoine is situated in the Four Seasons hotel, but we entered by the separate entrance on Hamilton Place, which the bar shares with Pavyllon. Hence, it is only when you reach the time of night that you need to pay a visit to the bathrooms that you realise you are actually in a hotel. Not that I have anything against Hotels, and the Four Seasons is a lovely hotel, but I only mention it because a lot of thought, time and money has been put in to create the Bars own identity.
Decor
On entering the bar area is the stunning centrepiece surrounded by seating, and with its wood-panelled walls, it does feel cosy and relaxing, but you are left with no doubt the furnishings are plush and to my untrained eye, expensive. There was a large outdoor terrace looks perfect for warm summer nights; as it was a cold, wet February night, I took the word of the waiter on how nice it was; however, from the comfort of my seat, it did look nice.
Ikigai Cocktail
Before our visit, I had no idea what an Ikigai stood for or how an Ikigai cocktail menu would work, but now I’m fully up to speed, so for those of you like me who are new to the concept I shall do my best to explain.
Ikigai is a Japanese concept that means your ‘reason for being. ‘ ‘Iki’ in Japanese means ‘life,’ and ‘gai’ describes value or worth. The four cornerstones of the concept are Love, Passion, Mission and Profession.
So how does this translate into cocktails, and just as importantly, why?
Firstly, the cocktails, and here I lean on Yannick and Michele’s interpretation of the Ikigai concept.
Love, showcasing visually enticing cocktails with delicate notes to evoke the feeling of love.
Passion, featuring bold flavours to ignite emotions.
Purpose, demonstrating the craftsmanship of the bar team.
Mission, highlighting the bar’s most sustainable cocktails, giving new life to excess ingredients that would otherwise go to waste.
The why is born out of the sad loss of Yannik’s son Antoine (the bar takes his name), and his thirst for life. This is a positive concept, and the 12 strong cocktails showcase the four strong elements of Ikigai.
Obviously, if you are reading this while eating your cornflakes, it might be a little too early to view the cocktail menu; on the other hand, however, it might not be; who am I to judge? But in any case, reading the menu will give you a better insight into the concept and cocktail choices.
Cocktails & Food
A lot of time has been spent in creating the menu and it can be a little daunting to digest all the information quickly (especially if you are eager to order), so a little tip: do lean on the front-of-house team, they are very helpful and have a full knowledge of the drinks and food menus, we did rely on them for advice and so pleased we did.
As I mentioned before, there are 12 cocktails on the menu, there is also a full drinks menu to choose from, but we are going from the Ikigai cocktail menu tonight, which thankfully is far more interesting than hearing I ordered a bottle of Peroni.
So my first choice was from the Love section with the fantastically named “Boulevard of Desire “, which contained;
Angel’s Envy Bourbon, Bombay Sapphire Gin, Nocciola Hazelnut Quaglia, Enoki Mushrooms White Port, and Campari
You can see I was not messing about. The cocktail looked fantastic and gave me that warm glow that a good cocktail does; it was a big hit with me.
Leigh decided on a cocktail with a savoury notes from the Mission section of the Menu called “The Pursuit.”
Haku Vodka , Green Shiso Ilegal Joven Mezcal, Sudachi, Muyu Vetiver Pineapple Extraction ® ,Rinomato Americano Bianco
We ordered a couple of starter dishes to go with the cocktails, all cocktails on the list are paired with Sushi, but we decided to go off the small bites menu with Crab cakes and the Not-so-classic prawn cocktail off the starter menu.
Both proved to be excellent choices; the crab cakes were a sensation, a perfect sphere filled with white crab meat, so delicate and was enhanced with the spicy mayo, this was a good dish.
As you can see from the picture, it was a deconstructed Prawn cocktail, and I have to confess I’m a little wary of deconstructed dishes and Ifall into the “if it aint broke, don’t fix it” camp; having said that, the prawns were so good, and the little spots of mayo and deep tomato sauce, along with parmesan and fennel took you to a different place from a traditional prawn cocktail.
We were enjoying ourselves and decided to go again with different cocktails.
Leigh went to the Love section for her next choice, a cocktail called “Soulful Sip”
Soulful SIp, Matcha, No. 3 Gin,Muyu Jasmine, Grapefruit & Sudachi Mancino Sakura Vermouth, Almond and Rice Milk
It was my turn, and after a consultation with our waiter, and went for “Hutsukoi” from the passion list of cocktails; Hutsukoi is Japanese for first love
Hutsukoi,Seventy-one Gin,La Tomato, Cacao Blanc, Coriander Bitter Amontillado, Sparkling Tomato Extraction ®
Leigh loved the Soulful Sip and thought it was lovely, fruity, and fresh. My cocktail had an umami flavours, ideal for the main course we ordered to share.
On our main course, we decided to order our hat trick of fish dishes with steamed cod, mussels, seaweed, and a beurre blanc sauce. We added Green vegetables with miso & sesame and French fries to go with it. We were advised to go with mashed potatoes. However, we spotted the fries on the next table, and that was that.
As expected, the cod was perfectly cooked, and the dish was delightful. The vegetables of Mange tout and broccoli were good additions, ok the fries coated in sweet paprika might not have been the classic accompaniment, but we cleared the lot.
As previously mentioned, the food menu offered everything from light snacks to a 3-course meal; as you would expect from Chef Yannick Alleno the food was not going to be a side show is this bar. Everything we are was beautifully presented and full of flavour.
Between us, we tasted a third of the cocktail selection. Leigh was in raptures about the “ Soulful Sip”, and for me “, Boulevard of Desire” was stunning. The Ikigai cocktails we tasted were a taste explosion using bold flavours and offering a different perspective to the commonplace cocktail menu. Pre-warn your taste buds that they will need to work overtime but will be well rewarded.
With plenty of food menu to explore, including the sushi pairings, there are plenty of reasons to revisit a treat ourselves at Bar Antoine. Have they achieved a stand-alone bar in this corner of the Four Seasons hotel? The answer is most definitely yes.
What’s on
In one of the many conversations with the team looking after us, it was mentioned that the bar will be putting on various live music nights and bar takeovers by mixologists from across the globe. Check out the website for updates on events.
During our journey home, we reflected on our evening at Bar Antoine; we both enjoyed being taken out of our comfort zones with the choice of cocktails and the story behind them. The food matched the excellence of the drinks, and as always, the sign of a good evening is when the time flew by, so much so we had to increase our leisurely stroll to a brisk walk to catch our train home.
For us, it does fall in the special category of a night out, and it won’t be the cheapest evening, but one you will remember and talk about for a long time.
Bar Antoine
Hamilton Place, London W1J 7DR
