A new jewel in the citys crown? I was both sceptical and curious at the same time. Dusting off the party shoes, I ventured to Jewel St Pauls for the much hyped launch night; the crowds and familiar famous faces telling me I wasnt the only curious one here. Roped off photographers to the right of me, a red carpet underneath me and the atmosphere heavy with anticipation was this a bar opening or the Oscars?!
Stepping through the doors, I was taken aback by all the glitz and sparkle in front of me. Huge chandeliers and glowing candlelight creating just the right mood for a post work drink/welcome to the weekend bar. The venue was buzzing, almost too busy, but this was expected for a launch night. A nice touch of trays of complimentary cocktails appearing whenever the queues got a bit long at the bar. Nonetheless, I got served easily at the bar and began to sample vast menu of cocktails I noticed fresh ingredients being used behind the bar and enjoyed one of the tastiest mojitos Ive had in some time.
Exterior of Jewel St Pauls, London
Wandering towards the rear, I checked out the shoe room with elegant shoes on display and the more premium Jimmy Choos protected and revered in glass cases. The room is small and cute, perfect for an intimate gathering of friends (not during a launch party of course!!). After stopping for another cocktail, this time a Berry Impressive which had a great kick to it, I decided to continue exploring. Something had clearly got the crowds attention and as I followed everyones eye line to the bar top, I noticed elegant geisha dancers were entertaining the crowd from up high. A scream to my left quickly distracted me and a beautiful belly dancer was making her way through the crowds with a snake around her neck, stopping sporadically to pass the snake onto eager customers and pose for photographs...being petrified of snakes I tried to keep my distance and concentrate on the drinks!
Jewel Bar, St Pauls - Dress Room
I got a peek in the dress room, or the VIP room for the evening, revealed many familiar celeb faces and also a great secluded area perfect for drinks receptions the huge investment in this bar clearly evident in the venues finishings and attention to detail.
Moving back up to the throng of customers at the main bar, DJ Lauren Pope had started her set and the weekend had really arrived with a bang as the dance floor was heaving with all sorts of shapes being thrown. Unable to resist another cocktail first, I moved upstairs to the final room The Suit Room. For a fairly intimate venue, Jewel St Pauls is deceptive in size with great potential for entertaining in each of its themed rooms, making it a venue that I'm sure will become very popular for groups of city workers or birthday parties on the weekend. It's lovely to see different themes being applied to different rooms and not one bar with one personality.
Jewel Bar The City, London - Suit Room
As I settled into the comfortable high backed chairs in the Suit Room, I reflected on the night. The team behind Jewel really had put everything into the bar, the furnishings and the launch night. Don't go to Jewel expecting Shoreditch-esque quirky coolness or ground breaking cocktails but this bar is definitely a perfect new venue for anyone looking for after work drinks in The City, private birthday drinks or some late night fun out East over the weekend. If Jewel don't take themselves too seriously and don't only save space and guestlists for the monied and "celeb" types then this new bar will be a very good addition to the City scene. A sparkling Jewel in the crown? Well it's not the Crown Jewels but it's definitely a new City diamond.
