Good Godfrey's Cocktail Bar (Bar, Restaurant, Hotel)

Best for: Cocktails, cocktails, cocktails in London’s West End.

Great: Mixologists, nibbles.

Once upon a time, hotel bars were, for the most part, the preserve of balding businessmen and their by-the-hour evening companions. Not places to be seen, so much, as places to avoid being spotted.

Derek (not his real name, obviously – we’ll protect his modesty. At least, what’s left of it…) would have left Marjory back in the ‘burbs and come into London for the annual work conference. After a dull day listening to CEO Jeremy and finance manager Ivan bore on about the future of micro-management, Derek would retreat to the hotel bar and leer over the waitresses until his ‘date’ for the evening arrived, all polyester stockings and cheap’n’spritzy eau de toilette. We’ll call her Destinee.

Derek and Destinee would sink a drink or two, whatever was necessary to adequately dull the senses, and then retreat to Derek’s room for the allotted hour’s action. The hotel bar was not the location of great romances so much as grimy gropes. Those that weren’t full of illicit encounters were still, altogether, a bit naff.

However, thanks to some smart marketing and seriously good upgrade work, one by one London’s best hotels have shaken off their dated air and are now deliberate destinations for the young and the beautiful looking for a boozy night out, supping cocktails and eyeing fellow patrons. Led by the likes of the Charlotte Street Hotel, London’s finest hoteliers have perfected the art of the classy cocktail bar and aren’t looking back.

The Waldorf Hilton on Aldwych, having celebrated its centenary in 2008, has happily found its place in the new millennium, and Good Godfrey’s, the chintzy cocktail bar on the ground floor, has recently enjoyed sympathetic renovations which make it a fab spot for slurping cocktails and watching culture vultures race to the West End theatres close by.

Rather than trying to shake off its history, Good Godfrey’s cocktail bar has embraced its old-fashioned, retro feel. Fabulous original features (mammoth dimpled silver doors, carefully crafted cornicing) lend a sense of class and decadence, and soft candlelight and crushed velvet furnishings sit beautifully against the wooden panelled-walls and glittering lights.

For all its history, though, what’s most exciting about Good Godfrey’s cocktail bar is the history it is making for itself. Head bartender Nelson, a Portuguese cocktail master, and his second-in-command Daniel (a fellow Portuguese mixologist whom Nelson discovered before moving to the UK) are world-class aficionados who travel the globe competing in competitions, and bring the very best and newest concoctions to Good Godfrey’s cocktail list.

Inspiration comes in many forms; from the hotel’s patron, William Waldorf Astor, whose namesake drink is a bourbon-based cocktail served in a chilled hipflask, to more playful offerings. A Refined Madam comprises Tanqueray, rose liqueur, lime juice, cardamom syrup and lavender bitters, and is served with an edible rose petal and a spritz of rosewater upon serving from a perfume bottle.

The cocktail list goes on for pages, spanning the originals to the classics, always including Nelson and Daniel’s latest creations. More convincing still, the staff are all friendly, eloquent and passionate about what they do; and boy do they know their stuff when it comes to cocktails.

The drinks aren’t cheap – spanning from around £12 for classic cocktails to £19 on the ‘heritage’ collection – but the selection of nibbles you can choose from are more affordably priced to help soak up the alcohol. We went for grilled tiger prawns, chicken satay skewers and duck spring rolls, all of which were beautifully presented and the perfect accompaniment to our decadent drinks.

And what if the fabulous cocktails and tasty nibbles aren’t enough to convince you to pop into Good Godfrey’s for a tipple? There was no ‘Derek’ in sight, so you’re safe to visit and avoid the unwanted attentions of his type while you sup your concoctions. He’s obviously been found out and is busily making it up to the long-suffering Marjory. Just call it his rightful destiny.

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