14 New London Street,
The City,
London,
EC3R 7NA
(020) 7264 1910
The ViewLondon Review
A colourful bar with quirky touches in an ideal position for City workers with plenty of room for groups of all sizes – Gilt London could become a guilty pleasure.
The Venue
Traverse the staircase and you’ll find yourself in between the two rooms that make up Gilt: one is a large space that opens later on in the evening, with seating just around the edges and colourful lighting, and the other a room with more seating – booths to the edges and table and chairs in the centre. The first is a place to seek out for a dance later on, while the second lends itself to groups of all sizes getting together for drinks. Bright colours run throughout, with quirky touches such as different sized lampshades and chains hanging from a ceiling that change colour. The two rooms have separate bars, the second with views into the kitchen.
The Atmosphere
Situated next to Fenchurch Street station and just a short walk from Tower Hill, this bar is well placed for City crowds looking for a drink after work. The doorman and host with clipboard in hand at the entrance makes Gilt seem exclusive and it’s likely that if you’re not wearing the desired attire, you’re not coming in. The colourful interior and quirky touches have something quite appealing about them, but are narrowly verging on tacky. Weeknights are likely to see a mainly male-based clientele, which explains the all-female table waitresses in skimpy dresses. Staff are friendly and attentive, but lack a little in terms of knowledge of drinks – hopefully this will improve with time.
The Food
A small selection of nibbles and sharing platters is offered to accompany the drinks from the bar, aimed at those who are looking for something to quash hunger pangs. Nibbles include nachos (£5), a generous plate of tortilla chips with a little melted cheese and salsa, sour cream and guacamole, and calamari (£5) served in a bowl with aioli, which are impossible to differentiate by sight from the onion rings that come on the vegetarian mezze platter (£10.95): a huge rectangular plate loaded with falafel, mozzarella-stuffed jalepenos, breaded mushrooms, onion rings, marinated mixed olives, focaccia bread and dips. Most of the above is deep-fried or oven-baked – it will definitely soak up the alcohol, but it’s certainly not going to win any awards.
The Drink
Gilt promotes itself as a rum bar, with the menu titled ‘rum, cocktail and rum cocktail list’. There’s a good list of rums, starting from £3.80 a measure, including the all-rounder Havana Club Especial and the more impressive Ron Zacapa 23-year-old. Unfortunately the knowledge of rum cocktails falls short, with the daiquiri on the menu listed not as the classic blend of rum, lime and sugar, but as a rum drink with strawberries – ask for the classic and you will have to explain what you mean; a shame in a bar pushing rum. House white is a South African chenin colombard and house red is a sangiovese, both priced at £4.95 for 175ml, £6.60 for 250ml and £16.50 for a bottle.
The Last Word
Gilt is ideally placed for a glass of wine in the City after work, but like its fairly standard food and drink offering, it serves a purpose rather than excelling.
Gilt London has been reviewed by 8 users