Still rocking several years after it opened, the opulent light displays of the Light Bar still pulls in an A-list crowd, there to enjoy top notch cocktails from this bar without a bar.

The Venue
The Light Bar is located in the St Martins Lane Hotel, close to the heart of the West End and theatreland. At just a short walk from several underground stations (Charing Cross, Embankment, Leicester Square or Covent Garden), the hotel is easily identified from the outside with its bright white glass frontage and the throngs of paparazzi hanging around. Move through the light hotel lobby towards the anonymous door at the back, usually manned by a clipboard-bearing lady, who will show you through to the large bar with ample seating down either side and panels of brightly coloured pink, purple, orange and green light. Don’t look for the bar – it’s concealed behind a hidden panel wall, but there’s plenty to look at with vast black and white Jean Baptiste Mondino photographs of people pulling silly facial expressions adorning the walls.

The Atmosphere
The hostess here is rather too keen to remind her patrons how lucky they are to have made the guestlist, and insists that you request evening drinks reservations by 3pm in the afternoon, and the table service can be cold and overly formal. If you take a chance on turning up early in the week, you may be let in (though not until after a few tuts, a bit of eye rolling and a reminder that you really should have reserved), but at the weekends reserve as early as possible to gain entry. Those deemed worthy of admission have included celebrities such as Jude Law, Kelly Osbourne and Kate Moss, and any civilian visitors need to adopt an A-list attitude and wardrobe to look like they belong. At weekends, you can expect top name DJs to play chilled out dance or house music.

The Food
The Light Bar serves up sensational snacks from its hotel sister restaurant, Asia de Cuba, with temptations such as pan-seared tuna with cucumber, ginger and soy at £14, tempura king prawn skewers with sweet chilli at £15 and lemongrass chicken skewers with coconut, pineapple and lychee at £11.

The Drink
Serving up a premium bar menu, the Light Bar chooses top label spirits such as Ketel One and Grey Goose vodkas, Tanqueray gin and Johnnie Walker Gold Label whisky, as well as Cristal, Krug and Dom Perignon champagnes. There are around 80 cocktails to choose from, with highlights including the £10 heavy tasting Dark ‘n’ Stormy (a mix of black rum, lime wedges and Jamaican ginger beer), the sweet and warming Pear and Ginger at £10 (Wyborowa pear vodka, crushed pears, root ginger, lemon and honey) and the £13 sickly sweet lemon meringue champagne (vanilla vodka, lemon curd, vanilla syrup and champagne).

The Last Word
The Light Bar at the St Martins Lane Hotel has carved itself out an A-list corner of Central London that seems impenetrable – go if you can, and enjoy premium cocktails and the eye-popping decor. Just don’t let the overzealous staff put you off.

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