When it comes to bars, Dubai doesn't do ‘class act’. The city likes to think it does, but it doesn't — and trust me, I’ve searched long and hard. Reason is that I am from London, a city that is teeming with high-end bars that are exquisitely constructed, beautifully fitted-out and offering a drinks menu that treads a very, very fine and truly difficult line between cocktails that are old classics with a ton of history, and local libations that are not silly, just superb. I have been pining to find such a place out here.
Located just to the right of the lobby at the new St. Regis Dubai in the Al Habtoor City complex in Business Bay, the St. Regis Bar is one of the latest of a bloodline that stretches all the way to the King Cole Bar at the St. Regis hotel in New York City. At the King Cole, the Bloody Mary cocktail (there known as the Red Snapper) — and here it depends on which version of the tale you wish to believe — was either introduced to the United States from Europe for the first time or conceived there initially, becoming one of the world’s most famous cocktails (and for the hungover, one of the most valued). Nowadays every St. Regis hotel has such a venue, serving the original Red Snapper, as well a few variations, including at least one curated for the locale of the hotel you happen to be visiting.
Just walking into the St. Regis Bar in Dubai will transport you to a different era and aura; no bar in town will make you feel more disconnected to Dubai, and I mean that in a very, very good way. You’re greeted at the door and escorted to your table. As you walk, you notice all the little details that scream ‘gentleman’s club’ way more than ‘drinking establishment in Dubai’. We’re talking about classical sketches and sculptures of horses, bookshelves, a full-on display cabinet of glassware, not to mention the muted décor of deep pastels, dark woodwork and riveted leather. On a recent Friday evening, this bar was half-empty when most around town are full, but who the hell cares about that? The room is dotted with small, smart groups and couples… they’re quiet, the only sounds in the bar being the hushed murmur of voices, the bartenders deftly executing their creations and soft jazz playing from the speakers hidden somewhere above. We are asked whether we would like cigars, available in a sealed area at the rear of the bar; however we take a Chesterfield sofa behind a coffee table with a chunky noughts-and-crosses board and a metal sculpture of a B-17 next to it. We’re attended to immediately by smart, well-spoken waiters in waistcoats. We are promptly brought a finger-tray of stuffed olives, mixed nuts and cheese and pepper crackers. There is a separate bar bites menu too but we were here for the hooch.
The drinks menu is extravagant but it’s easy to cut through the fluff to find fantastic creations. From the Bloody Mary section, The European selected the classic Red Snapper, made as you might expect, from the usual suspects; celery, Worcestershire Sauce, salt, pepper, etcetera. It’s as good a Bloody Mary as you’ll get – by far and away the best I have tasted. On a previous visit we were goaded – to the point of being given a free sample – to try the local variant, called the Golden Mary, though sadly on that occasion we had a dinner engagement so had to run. This time, we tried it, and it is indeed glorious; made with rose-infused Stoli, yellow tomato juice, date paste and pickled jalapeños. What you have is a spicier drink, bursting with umami and a little sweetness at the back of your mouth, just where it’s needed.
I tried a couple of drinks off the ‘Signature’ selection; a 55th & 5 is a bourbon martini with Antica vermouth and cherry bitters. Like the bar, it’s dark, deep and very grown-up. I liked it, but preferred my second round; a New York Autumn, made with Ardbeg, Pyrat XO rum, pêche de vigne, homemade maple syrup and lemon juice. The dark rum and the peatiness of the Ardbeg give this drink a hard-hitting smokiness that could almost be too much if it wasn’t for the muted sweetness of peach and maple syrup. It’s something else, and I will be back for this alone. It almost made me rise and head to the sealed cigar section to feel even more like Ernest Hemingway.
After two rounds we couldn’t really afford to keep drinking here (for a couple of cocktails, you’re not going to see change from a two hundred Dirham note), so we reluctantly left. Thing is, with a bar like this I don’t care about the price as you get what you pay for. And what exactly is that? Well in part, it’s the drinks as I can confidently say that they are the best in town, but to enjoy them in such a grand yet non-ostentatious setting, where for once the noise of patrons is drowned by the ambience – quiet music, the shaking of ice and the clinking of glasses – and not the other way round, well, in this very non St. Regis town, it’s an experience that is next to priceless and makes me yearning more than ever for home. Very highly recommended indeed. Perfect for pre or post-meal drinks.
Make a reservation
Order online
Find the best restaurant in دُبي
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes