Claridge’s Has Opened Its First Ever Café

World-famous Mayfair hotel Claridge’s has seen a number of new openings recently – from a glamorous new spa to pretty art deco bar The Painter’s Room. The latest? An oh-so-pretty café. Open now, with its own dedicated entrance on Brook’s Mews, Claridge’s ArtSpace Café has been designed by the renowned John Pawson, serving breakfast, lunch and cakes galore.

Crêpes are a menu staple, freshly made in front of diners’ eyes throughout the day, with a range of sweet and savoury toppings on offer. Guests can keep it classic with the traditional lemon and sugar, or go all out with a native lobster dish, which sees Claridge’s iconic Seafood Cocktail dish transformed into crêpe form, made with white crab meat, lettuce and quail’s egg and topped with caviar.

There will also be an array of pastries on offer in the mornings, plus dishes like coconut chia pudding, homemade granola and baked eggs with ratatouille. Come lunchtime, guests can tuck into croissant sandwiches, or the Claridge’s croque madame: a combination of sourdough, oozing mozzarella, Dorrington ham and a three-cheese béchamel, with a fried egg on top. A lot of effort, too, has gone into creating the perfect veggie sandwich, which takes a full two days to make: aubergine is brined, marinated for 12 hours in soy, deep fried and dehydrated, then topped with sauerkraut and served in rye bread.

Whatever you choose, it will be near-impossible to resist picking up a sweet treat from the central glass counter, which will display rows of patisserie from Executive Pastry Chef Thibault Hauchard. Highlights include the Claridge’s Crest Cake, a replica of the hotel’s historical coat of arms, and The Mega Mayfair Madeleine, a supersized version of the French delicacy made of citrus sponge with a gooey caramel centre.

All this can be paired with artisan coffee from Cornwall-born Origin Coffee – or, if you’re feeling particularly sweet-toothed, a cup of the Cafe’s signature hot chocolate. Giving the café that extra luxurious edge (this is Claridge’s after all), champagne will also be poured from dawn through to dusk.

On the interiors front, Claridge’s ArtSpace Café features Pawson’s signature minimalist aesthetic, with white walls and a pale terrazzo floor, jazzed up with leather banquettes, ash wood custom furniture and black and white photographs lining the walls. 

The café will sit alongside Claridge’s ArtSpace, the hotel’s gallery which offers a rotating roster of exhibitions – but it will be a creative hub in its own right, too. Pots filled with pens and pencils, plus art paper pads, will be dotted around so visitors who are so inclined can have a doodle while they eat and drink. A central communal table seating ten, meanwhile, is designed as a space for creative gatherings.

Speaking about the launch, Culinary Director Dmitri Magi said: ‘This is a new kind of dining for Claridge’s – an informal style which will focus on building community, both locally and in the art world. Claridge’s ArtSpace Café is our contribution – with more to come – to making Brook’s Mews a London destination of the future.’

claridges.co.uk