Not to be confused with the American Bar at The Savoy, the Stafford Hotel’s version has just as much history etched into its walls. From being a hangout for pilots and officers during the second world war to playing host to some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry, it’s nothing short of an institution.

The Venue
The 5-star Stafford Hotel is tucked away off St James’s, around the corner from the Duke’s Hotel, and is unmissable thanks to the huge Union Jack and American flags at its entrance. To access it from this end you need to walk through the prim and proper Lyttleton restaurant, where you emerge into the bar itself, a space with forest green walls and glossy wood panelling poking out in between the vast amount of photos and memorabilia hung on the walls. An impressive collection of American baseball caps dangle from the ceiling in one part and there’s even a Tommy Cooper-style red fez to add an old-school British touch. It almost feels like the members’ bar at a posh golf club, or a country club, but it also has something that sets it apart from most high-end hotels – a spacious outdoor courtyard area with plenty of seating, surrounded by converted stables which are named after famous race horses like Red Rum.

The Atmosphere
Unlike some stuffy luxury hotel bars, there’s a real buzz here, as a moneyed, international, largely middle-aged crowd gather after-work to chew over the day’s events. You might struggle to get a seat on a busy evening but staff will do their best to find you one even when it’s heaving. On balmier days, the seats in the courtyard are highly coveted.

The Food
Comfort food at premium prices is the order of the day. Steaks, fish and chips (£17.75), hamburgers (£19) and a selection of English cheese (£12.50) help maintain Anglo-American relations.

The Drink
A long cocktail list using premium ingredients and inventive flourishes is usually par for the course at luxury hotel bars. Not so the American Bar where they’ll happily knock up classics for £16 – and that’s it. Ask for a perfect Manhattan and you will get an ever-so slightly sweet but well-balanced version of the drink, with Woodforde Reserve bourbon the sort of quality spirit you can ask for as a base. A glass of Bollinger rose champagne (around £14.50) is also available and the wine list is impressive, as it should be given there are hundreds of metres of the hotel’s very own wine cellars running underfoot. Looking around glasses of vino are everywhere, and there’s the more surprising sight of dimpled pint glasses filled with Thwaites bitter (£6) – a throwback to the days when Thwaites actually owned this hotel.

The Last Word
Feeling more like the 19th hole at a private golf club than a hotel bar minutes away from the busiest part of the West End, the American Bar has a long and fascinating history that it wears with pride across every inch of its walls. A true London legend.

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