Taking pride of place within the stylishly renovated and newly named Crowne Plaza Hotel, Traffic brings fantastic cocktails and expert service to Kensington.

The Venue
The whole of the hotel has been transformed from a slightly lifeless Holiday Inn into an infinitely more salubrious, high-tech and really rather fancy new place that’s more suited to Kensington. The hotel bar has benefited no end, enjoying a move from stuck down in the basement to up the stairs and just by the lobby, getting a brand new name in the process. Thus Traffic was born, taking up a small, yet prominent and perfectly comfortable space that leads through to one of the best outdoor drinking spots in London – a huge garden with decking, flora and most probably fauna too. A hatched bar immediately catches the eye on arrival, with a nicely illuminated selection of carefully chosen spirits contrasting nicely with the more sedate and atmospheric bar area that boasts three partitioned rooms offering comfy leather seating in which to settle back and relax.

The Atmosphere
More often than not, hotel bars are relatively depressing places, frequented by those who would rather be somewhere else, usually putting another drink on a limited expenses account as they pass the time before another inconsequential meeting. Happily, Traffic has more than enough about it to make it somewhere the residents will enjoy as well as those who’ve made the trip especially. Its relaxing atmosphere - fostered by friendly and informed staff that are as competent in conversation as they are in recognising when to leave you to yourselves - makes it worth a trip alone, especially when the prices and the quality of the drinks compare very favourably with the area.

The Drink
With prices for superbly crafted cocktails ranging from between £6 and £10, Traffic’s affordability means it could easily become a good destination venue, but when there’s such friendly expertise behind the bar you can expect to get a veritable booze master class thrown in for free. Whether it’s root ingredients, matching flavours, manufacturing processes, histories, the Queen’s favourite Champagne or the inadequacies of Sailor Jerry’s, the bar staff really do know their stuff and are enthusiastic enough to take joy in imparting it. Consequently, the drinks are very impressive indeed, all carefully constructed and given amusingly self-referential introductory tag lines on the menu, from the Margaritas (‘what part of princess do you not understand?’), through to mojitos (‘veni, vidi, visa’) and Manhattans (‘no rich man is ugly’).

Particular highlights on a well thought out list are the Godfather (£8), a simple 50-50 mix of Amoretto and Jack Daniels that takes the edge off the whisky and a little of the sweetness from the Amoretto to create a really good sipping drink; and the classic - and here perfectly vodka heavy – Zubrowka and apple juice (£7) served elegantly in a Martini glass with an apple garnish. The Purple Rain (£7) is excellent too, a simple mix of creme de cassis and triple sec that marries orange, raspberry and sweetness deliciously. The Strawberry Tanqueray (£8) is perhaps the best though, with the superbly versatile gin combining perfectly with fresh muddled strawberries, sugar syrup and cranberry juice in what’s a fruity, very drinkable concoction.

The Last Word
Great for passers by and even better for the hotel’s residents, Traffic will no doubt have plenty of people parking up and switching into neutral for some very good cocktails served by some very, very good staff.

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