Barts — Restaurant in London

Barts is a well and truly hidden cocktail den, nestled within the portered Chelsea Cloisters apartments. It may be hidden, but it certainly isn't shy. Uncle Barts, as he likes to call himself, (your cool uncle, not the one who works for the council) is a late night West London speakeasy bar that injects a bit of joi de vivre into a part of town that has been known to take itself a little seriously.

A short trot from Sloane Avenue, and in through the apartment block doors; entrance is made via ringing a door bell. You wait for the little hatch to open up and a pair of inviting eyes suddenly appear to see if there's space to accommodate. Regulars and members, however, are rewarded with their own keys so they can pretty much call Barts their second home if they wish.

You walk in and can't help but notice (and steal a knowing smirk at) the quirky selections of antique ornaments. Vintage Mickey Mouse wallpaper meets a Thunderbirds graffiti mural and retro televisions show classic films such as ET and The Goonies to bring that nostalgia feeling to the punters who grew up in the seventies, eighties and early nineties. Old paintings, tin signs, stuffed animal heads and cuckoo clocks are merrily cluttered all over the walls.

The cocktail menu at Barts is as eccentric as the decor, without seeming to try too hard. Guests can opt to have their cocktails served in cigar boxes, vintage teapots and teacups. If you're a sharer then a must is to try their plethora of tipples for two or more, served in top hat vessels. The range is extensive, punctuated by the odd oddity like tobacco and herbs. In the food department, the Welsh rarebit and seasoned 'Jenga Jenga chips' are guaranteed to soak things up whilst you prepare for another round.

They keep things fresh with music, performances every week, and - of course - an old fashioned trunk filled with an array of costumes, wigs and hats. On the whole Bart's is a wonderful concept and offers something a little weird and a little different to the sometimes serious SW3 postcode. It flies the flag for the prohibition era, was doing it before everyone else was, and it's pretty clear why it is indeed 'London's Worst...

Racist to say the least. FYI we had been to this bar several times before. This time (we were celebrating our anniversary), we did not have a reservation, and there are no memberships at this bar. We approached the door and the bouncer said it was reservations only. We proceeded to call the bar to ask if they would let the two of us in for a drink, and whether we needed to reserve. They said we could go in without a reservation.

We went to the bouncer and he said he would not let us in and we needed a reservation still. The man who said we could come in, made his way outside and told us we could come in and tried to find out why the bouncer would not let us in. The bouncer informed us that it was at his discretion, potentially because more people with reservations would enter later. At the same time, 3 (white) women came up, and started to “queue”. The bouncer asked them whether they had reservations. They VERY CLEARLY said no, and with no hesitation, let them in. He made an excuse that he knew that they were members of Bart’s (when membership did not exist). I was appalled at this situation, I did not know what to say. I stopped the conversation between the bar man and my husband, asking them to pause and see what just happened. The bar man was also very confused to be fair. We were so upset at his constant refusal to let us in on no reasonable grounds, that I threatened to take his name (which was not even on his licence number). I have no words, and cannot believe my brown skin is being looked at to get into a bar in...

We really enjoyed the cocktails and the unique different experience of going for drinks at a speakeasy-esque location (hidden in a cute hotel) was fun. A lot of effort has been put into the cocktails and the El Patron was very delicious, so I personally ordered more than one! The food was nice. The overall vibe was interesting, however I feel as though the experience was made pleasurable due to the novelty factor and the company I was with.

I feel as though the venue could do with at least one more member of staff, and the staff present seemed extremely stretched as the evening went on. Despite this the bartender and the host were both very lovely and tried their best to make customers feel welcomed. However the one waitress on shift appeared to not be able to deal with the stress very well which stood out to me as she spoke to us twice in a very headteacher patronising style, and I witnessed her being very short with other customers on two other occasions.

I feel like the service let down the experience greatly as we had to ask for menus, ask to order drinks and then again with the food. Throughout the duration of our time, we were only asked “how is everything” ten minutes until our table was up, which was evidently a very poor attempt at reminding us that it was time to leave.

Despite all of this I would definitely visit again but only for the cocktails and uniqueness...