Noir – Cocktails and Small Plates in Marylebone

This spring has seen a solid addition to London’s rostra of cocktail and wine bars. Noir was born, rebranded from its predecessor, Après Bar, on Duke Street near Tottenham Court Road. Après was known for cocktails, finger food and a downstairs club rammed with undulating youths Friday-Saturdays. Noir has emerged, the more mature and sophisticated older sister of Après, decked out in cool blacks, quirky lighting and with a sleek downstairs bar. It feels classier and much cooler.

 

I’m hardly the poster child for ‘cool’ so it was their new food and drinks offering that drew me to visit. I’d reviewed Après before and been pleased with the cocktails but less wowed by the food which was all decidedly unmemorable. The new cocktail menu for Noir is shorter; a bare two pages compared to the old 10 page tome. Each cocktail is inspired by an old film, for example the Coquette of rum, strawberry and lychee, crowned with puff of candy floss, or the Femme Fetale with coffee and smoked cream. This latter was extraordinary – I’d not tried smoked cream before and, besides being delicious, it paired well with the rich, dark coffee martini. 

As a mezcal enthusiast, I was always going to order the Conflicted Hero; a blend of mescal, tequila, vermouth and smoke. Although a little on the bitter side for me, the smoke was a great touch and made for a bit of a wow when it was served, smoke wafting up. Other cocktail highlights include a Glitterati of tea infused gin, garnished with glitter, and their Blue Dahlia, a tremendously pretty cup of gin shaken with maraschino, peach and violet, topped with a flower. 

 

Beyond everything, the food impressed me. Quite frankly I expected to be lukewarm about it. I figured that cocktails were their thing, that the food would have been an afterthought. 

Not so. For a start, the menu was far more refined than I anticipated. Oxtail, truffle, confits, purees and far flung sounding spices all graced it. Moreover, all was well executed. A beef Carpaccio melted upon the merest chew, as did eye-rollingly creamy burrata served with roasted vegetables and pesto. The lamb chops were the best – genuinely perfectly cooked with pink, juicy insides, atop of confit garlic, parsnip puree and just the most ridiculous sauce. Truffle mac ‘n’ cheese also made an appearance. Not a long one, mind you, before it was rapidly scoffed.  Their steak sandwich was also cracking – good bread, rare steak, sautéed shallots, truffle ketchup and a blue cheese butter. You don’t really get better than that. I was genuinely impressed. 

Thoroughly fed and watered we retired downstairs to their ‘Frolic Room’. Contrary to reasonable assumption, this alarming sounding area is nothing more sinister than an elegant drinks lounge with low flung sofas, a marble bar and live music. Over a glass of wine and a decent cheese board we enjoyed their DJ playing lounge music alongside a live saxophonist.

 

 

One of Noir’s new claims to fame is that they are the first bar in the UK to offer something called an ‘Airdiem’. How to describe what one of these is? It’s sort of a cross between a shisha pipe and a meal out. It is a new device that can transform any food or flavour into a vapour that can be inhaled, unleashing untold possibilities for pairings – vapour, food and drink matching! Moreover, it’s totally tobacco free. Ever inhaled the essence of white truffle or pure orange? I got pretty excited about this. At the time of my visit the menu was under development (although they did give me a sneak peek of their homage to a cosmopolitan; frosted orange and Cointreau vapour, alongside a white grape cocktail) – I’ll be back soon to explore this more.

 

 

7/10
www.noirw1.com

31 Duke St, Mayfair, London W1U 1LG
020 7224 3452