Bar crawl, Tom Kerridge goes big on Georgie's Bar (and martinis)

The new Georgie's Bar, which is quite a bit bigger than the old version. 

So what is Georgie's Bar

Put simply, it's Tom Kerridge's new London bar. However, it's not quite as simple as that.

Essentially, the chef's main London restaurant (which opened in 2018) is Kerridge's in Whitehall. That space has always had a small bar, but the split was about 75% restaurant/25% bar. Now it's essentially gone in the opposite direction, with a much bigger bar and a smaller area for the restaurant. And as part of that changeover, the bar has been given its own identity as "Georgie's Bar". 

So where actually is this?

If you've never been, it's attached to the Corinthia London hotel (itself a pretty good place for star spotting). You can either head through the hotel or directly through the main Kerridge's entrance on Whitehall Place. 

What's the new set-up like?

As mentioned, the bar is now the main attraction, and it's also now clearly separated from the restaurant (by a large floor-to-ceiling velvet curtain). There's a lot more space to pop in for a drink if you're in the area, with the prime spots being the new semi-circular booths in the middle of the room. And that big golden sculpture that used to be in Kerridge's (and incidentally is by his wife, the sculptor Beth Cullen-Kerridge) - it's now in the middle of Georgie's bar. 

What about the menu?

In its previous guise, the food in the bar was all about small snacks. And even though the food menu has increased a fair bit, it's all still very much about bar food. So, with a few key exceptions (like the burger or roll), it's primarily about sharing dishes and portions are smaller than you'll find in the main restaurant. In some ways, the menu is surprisingly short, so we found it quite easy to work our way through the bulk of it.

Here are what we think are the highlights:

These are most of the smaller snacks available, including olives, beef jerky, truffled nuts and frickles (all £6.50). All are good, but we strongly recommend the deep-fried frickles, which come with ketchup for dipping. 

Crab nachos (£24) - one of the priciest items on the menu, but we note that every single nacho in this bowl seems to have been dressed separately before being assembled. So there's no issue with the nachos right at the bottom not getting any of the toppings. We would never have the patience to do this at home. 

Every proper bar should have a scotch egg. This properly jammy one is made with harissa lamb (£10)

Pink shellfish brioche roll (£17) - essentially their version of a lobster roll

Very crunchy haddock fritters with a great curried Matson sauce dip (£14).

Anything sweet on the menu? 

Just two dishes, and frankly we'd recommend them both: 

Churros with coffee cream (£9)

Ice cream with pistachios and olive oil (£9) - this was actually billed as vanilla ice cream but we got an oreo version which was frankly a much better take. This is a great lighter option and goes a little further than many of the ice cream + olive oil combos we've had elsewhere. 

And drinks?

The main focus here, as it is in most new bars in London these days, is around martinis. There are four key martinis on the menu (all served either as gin or vodka) and they're advertised as ice-cold and served straight from the freezer. The martinis are decent, but to be frank, they needed to be a little colder given they're really touting the "freezer-cold" aspect. We've had freezer martinis at Hawksmoor and 45 Jermyn Street, which were properly ice-cold and these didn't quite match. Still, decent martinis and £15 each isn't bad at all inside a five-star hotel. 

The "Proper Dirty" martini with house pickle brine and the "Proper Steak", which comes with a garnish of steak and smoked onion (both £15)

Outside of the martinis, there's a list of classics at £17 each. The Cosmopolitan was well-balanced, and that's something that other bars which really tout their Cosmos surprisingly don't seem able to do, so that was a big plus. If you're more of a wine drinker, be aware that the entry bottle here is a £65 Pinot Grigio, pricey but not an unheard-of level in London's top tier hotels. 

Overall thoughts

Bigging up the bar in Kerridge's and creating its own identity is a smart move for the hotel, and it now feels like a genuinely useful bar in the Whitehall area. The martinis might need to be a little colder, but the snacks are decent, particularly the crab nachos, and it's a very comfortable space.