Bar Boulud SW1

Bar Boulud, London SW1

London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Central London: Kensington, Chelsea and Earls Court

Restaurant, bar (Boulud)
66 Knightsbridge SW1X 7LA
T 020 7201 3899 w www.barboulud.com
Open 1200-0100 (2400 Sun). Children welcome until early evening.
Cask beer None, Other beer 8 keg, 6 bottles, Also Cocktails, specialist spirits, wines.
Food Charcuterie, cheese, French & US comfort food. Disabled toilet.
Tastings, bridge society.

Hopefully it will soon no longer be unusual to find great beer wherever quality drinks are sold, but as things stand the swish upmarket bar with a fine beer list remains a rarity. So it’s pleasantly surprising to find a decent range of beer options among the cocktails and fine wines in a corner of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, just down the road from Harrods, especially since the bar was created by a Frenchman. But then Daniel Boulud also has a similarly named joint in New York City, where craft beer has a more prestigious image, and he’s clearly got good taste.

Smartly dressed head bartender Fabio is as enthusiastic about the beers dispensed from the shining zinc counter top as you’d expect the landlord of a good real ale pub to be – they include decent British lager Cotswold, BrewDog Punk IPA, Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted and classic Bavarian wheat beer Schneider Weisse on tap, plus choices from London’s Redchurch brewery and Harviestoun’s cask aged Ola Dubh in bottle.

The beers are attracting increasing attention so the list may well grow further. Expect to pay at least double pub prices, however, to enjoy them in a stylish and relaxed bistro-style environment with attentive staff and a mix of seating creating numerous attractive spaces. Non-dining drinkers are welcome at the bar, though the simple, high quality food is better value than you might expect, with a reasonable three course prix fixe deal and tempting tasting plates of gourmet cheese and charcuterie from the UK, France and Italy. Note there’s a smart casual dress code.

Underground Knightsbridge Cycling LCN+5, Hyde Park paths Walking Jubilee Greenway, Princess Diana Memorial Walk