A cocoon-like cocktail bar shielding drinkers from the outside world, deVigne Bar is located in the Mandeville Hotel, a plush, luxurious place to stay at the Bond Street-end of Marylebone.

The Venue
The Mandeville Hotel occupies a grand building roughly half-way between the two Bs - James Brown’s hair salon and Brown’s designer bridal shop - and, as you enter the hotel foyer, the bar is immediately to your left (it is also accessible through its own frosted automatic doors via the street). Dimly lit in the evening, deVigne’s most impressive feature is its luminous damask-print bar that glows and fades between hot neon colours after dark. Another feature that grabs the eye is the wall of Elizabethan-era female portraits framed in decorative faux-glass which, if you look closely enough, have modern embellishments like glossy lip stick and vivid painted nails. Very cute.

The Atmosphere
The combo of hazy lighting and melodic house music makes for a very chilled vibe, ideal for taking a break from shopping or to get away from the human traffic along Oxford Street. Not just for the enjoyment of hotel residents this bar is evidently popular with pretty young things who grab stools at the bar, as well as groups of thirtysomething ladies who put the world to rights over a few martinis, and couples who cosy up in one of the discreet corners.

The Food
A selection of three mini burgers (£12), a club sandwich (£12), mozzarella and tomato and a carpacccio of beef are the sort of dishes on offer from a concise bar menu. The hotel’s restaurant offers more complex cooking and formal sittings if required. The club sandwich is plentiful and it is served in triple-decker triangles skewered by a cocktail stick. The ingredients - chicken, salad, egg and mayo - are fresh, enjoyable and, overall, the food, while nothing out of the ordinary, is what you’d expect from a highly regarded hotel bar.

The Drink
Cocktails are definitely a house speciality and plenty of time is invested into making sure your concoction is up to high standards. Martinis are particularly worth making a beeline for, the Pina Passion (£11.25) is an exotic, invigorating blend containing passion fruit, pineapple, sugar and ginger, with other not-quite-as-remarkable-but-still-respectable options on offer like the rum-based Devigne Cooler and the Passion Time (vanilla vodka, passion fruit and blackberry). Prices are high-end - £10-plus.

The Last Word
With its hushed surroundings, meticulously prepared cocktails and chilled-out clientele, deVigne Bar is a welcome retreat from the chaotic scenes you can find within a couple of minutes of its front door.

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