Moët & Chandon’s bijou bar pops up at Selfridges London
Retail therapy just got even better thanks to this cocktail bar with an arty twist
Never mind that 6pm dinner booking, Moët & Chandon has created a champagne hideaway that requires no reservation. The London Calling pop-up at Selfridges on Oxford Street is a ten-seater bar situated in the heart of the store’s Beauty Workshop on the ground floor. Serving high-brow snacks and all things Moët, the minimalist space riffs of the design of a London phone box, only infinitely more chic and futuristic looking.
The bar also doubles as an art exhibition, with the walls adorned with photographs that capture key “Moët moments” in the English capital from the turn of the last century through to the 1990s. These images include a 1967 snap of singer Lulu pouring a glass of bubbly to toast her first US hit single, and another showing a group of Royal Toastmasters celebrating the birth of Princess Anne’s first baby outside the city’s St Mary’s Hospital in 1977.
The pop-up bar’s patrons can also drink in an image shot by late US photographer and Magnum legend Burt Glinn that shows young socialites arriving at The Savoy Hotel on a Saturday night in 1957 (below). The photo captures the buzzy energy of London; an energy that, thanks to fun endeavours such as this new attraction at Selfridges, will slowly but surely come to the fore once again despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Small but perfectly formed, there is indeed much to learn at this bijou bar. For example, did you know that in 1893 Moët & Chandon became an official supplier to Queen Victoria? Or that the first recorded delivery of Moët & Chandon to England was 270 years ago, in 1750?
The drinks menu is an education in itself, featuring recipes from top London cocktail bars including Soho’s Disrepute: the members’ bar is represented by “Feline Fugitive”, a zingy mix of fruit-infused gin, lemon juice, mint, teapot bitters and Moët & Chandon Impérial champagne. Aspiring mixologists can book cocktail masterclasses as well, with two coming up; the first on 11 November with Andrei Marcu from London’s French cocktail house Coupette, and the second on 25 November with Andrei Pantiru from Disrepute.
Just a word to the wise for those planning a visit: Moët shouldn’t be pronounced the French way. Claude Moët, the founder of the House, was of Dutch origins, so it’s actually pronounced Mo-wet with a hard T.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Outer Hebrides: a top travel destination
The Week Recommends Discover 'unspoiled beauty' of the Western Isles
By Tess Foley-Cox Published
-
The Biltmore Mayfair review: a quintessential slice of luxury London
The Week Recommends This swanky retreat in Grosvenor Square blends old-world glamour with modern comforts
By Caroline Dolby Published
-
Is ChatGPT's new search engine OpenAI's Google 'killer'?
Talking Point There's a new AI-backed search engine in town. But can it stand up to Google's decades-long hold on internet searches?
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Glass act: the story of the champagne coupe
The Blend Celebrating the charm of the champagne coupe, the classiest glass of them all
By Simon Mills Published
-
Take a Champagne-drinking tour across the globe
The Week Recommends Pop off at one of these seven Champagne-centric bars
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
The Week's 2023 holiday gift guide
The Week Recommends You'll want to check this list twice
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Sport on TV guide: Christmas 2022 and New Year listings
Speed Read Enjoy a feast of sporting action with football, darts, rugby union, racing, NFL and NBA
By Mike Starling Published
-
House of the Dragon: what to expect from the Game of Thrones prequel
Speed Read Ten-part series, set 200 years before GoT, will show the incestuous decline of Targaryen
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
One in 20 young Americans identify as trans or non-binary
Speed Read New research suggests that 44% of US adults know someone who is transgender
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Turner Prize 2022: a ‘vintage’ shortlist?
Speed Read All four artists look towards ‘growth, revival and reinvention’ in their work
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
What’s on TV this Christmas? The best holiday television
Speed Read From films and documentaries to musicals for all the family
By The Week Staff Published