The Malt Lounge and Bar — Restaurant in London

I went to The Malt Lounge and Bar inside the Prince Akatoki hotel for the Koto afternoon tea with high expectations to celebrate my friend’s birthday. Unfortunately, the experience was disappointing and isn’t worth the full price (£70pp + service charge). I had understood that there would be a live music performance by a Japanese musician. However what was not mentioned anywhere online is a note stating customers should stay quiet because of the music. When we first arrived inside, we were surprised to be told by the waitress that if we wanted to talk, we should keep the volume down, or we shouldn’t talk at all to not disturb the musician who was playing Koto - there were two other tables having tea without speaking a word, which didn’t bring a pleasant atmosphere. We found it strange to not being able to speak in a bar/restaurant - customers should be free to converse with each other when having tea, while still being able to enjoy the background music. A few minutes later after we ordered tea, the waitress asked us to move to the main restaurant of the hotel (Tokii) if we wanted to continue talking, even though we were not loud. We agreed to move to make everyone comfortable, but we missed the live music which was a part of the experience. The main restaurant was nearly empty, but staff was nowhere to be seen and we had to wait to get someone’s attention and request for napkins and water which were missing from the table. My friend also asked another waitress for soy sauce on the side, but she looked at her very confused as to why she wanted sauce. No one really came to check on us until we basically finished. We also realised later that we didn’t get offered sake and umeshu which were originally included in the menu. We ended up asking for the service charge to be removed from the bill, and they kindly offered us an extra discount on top which was a nice gesture. Overall while food was delicious (the nigiri and beef tataki sando particularly were excellent, scones were warm and fresh), service and atmosphere were very much subpar for a venue located in a...

A cute gem hidden inside a London hotel! Location wise, it’s pretty much almost in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by other hotels and businesses, but a quick walk to Bond Street.

Absolutely loved the afternoon tea experience, though I wish we went for the one with live music too! The staff were very courteous and friendly, and we went on a weekday so it was pretty much empty and we almost had the whole room to ourselves! It was very cosy and they even had a fireplace, though we didn’t need it to be switched on.

It felt very relaxing all around and the decor and walls gave it a very Japanese-esque feel to accompany our afternoon tea platter. This came with an abundance of treats from two savoury and three sweet tiers, followed by some warmly baked scones, clotted cream and jam. We were also able to pick from a selection of tea’s that were available on the menu.

As a party of two, we ended up leaving with our bellies full and delighted by this experience. Would be amazing if you paired this with a spa experience at the hotel too, after all you should treat yourself...

We travelled across the pond too tired to do much in the way of nightlife, so we found our way down from our room at The Prince Akatoki to The Malt bar where Mario held forth as the creator extraordinaire of our cocktails making recommendations and the reasons behind them.

The Sesame was wonderful - rich and delicious and adorned with a sweet sesame chip.

The Rice was also wonderful and fresh for a summer day.

Mario also made beetroot cocktails, one with mezcal, and his piece de resistance for us was sharing his own cocktail creation — now in competition in a London based cocktail “shake-off” — which we’re taking home with us via recipe and calling “The Mario Bond”.

Stop by for some of the best and most inventive cocktails from a bartender who truly cares...