WORDS
Chris Madigan
The vaults of the Royal Exchange have a fascinating and varied history and much of it is reflected in the design and decor of the recently opened bar and restaurant The Libertine.
According to Sarah Cosby, an accredited City of London guide, whose London Untapped tours focus on the social and drinking history of the Square Mile, ‘The original purpose of the vaults was as “tippling dens” – places where liquor was sold without a licence. Down there was where the merchants and nobility would be rubbing shoulders with the riff-raff, as they would have said. There would have been herrings and bacon cooked down here, beer and gin drinking and an array of characters.’
Even from the day it opened in 1571, the Royal Exchange operated as a retail space as well as a centre of commerce, so its current incarnation as a place of boutiques, bars and restaurants is entirely in keeping. Cosby says, ‘The first shopper was Elizabeth I. Not all the boutiques had tenants at first, so once she’d visited one emporium, the founder Sir Thomas Gresham had stock rushed ahead to an empty one further along. But she was impressed enough to issue it with a royal warrant, hence the name.’
When Incipio Group (Percy’s in Kensington, Dear Grace at White City, Pergola on the Wharf in Canary Wharf, etc) acquired the space, head of creative development Rory Graham consulted Cosby – who is also a brewer – to gather as much historical context as possible.
There are little details that make The Libertine – which is accessed by the first door on Cornhill, coming from Bank station – an authentic celebration of the history of the building most tourists mistake for the Bank of England. For example, there are tiles embossed with a grasshopper – the symbol of Sir Thomas Gresham, which features most prominently on the golden weathervane atop the building (you have to get some distance away to see it). At various times, the vaults were used by the East India Company to store drugs and spices, and this is also reflected. Alongside the large main bar space, there is a whisky lounge decorated like an apothecary’s store. This space can be sectioned off for private functions (but there is a private dining room, too). And, as a reference to its role as a spice store, The Libertine has its own gin, with a botanical profile that chimes with history – a classic London dry with highlights of coriander and orange peel (oranges-and-lemons street sellers would frequent the tippling dens here). Bottles can be purchased to take home and it is the house pour for the gin cocktails on the menu, including a bramble, a French 75 and a Dubonnet martini.
As that selection suggests, the cocktail list is largely built from the favourites, but with enough twists on classics to pique the interest of the more exploratory drinker – a Mezcal negroni, for example, and a thyme-honey old fashioned and an espresso martini made with pecan-infused bourbon.
The food menu – with small plates available in the bar and a main menu in a separate dining section – is similarly focused on delivering high-quality versions of brasserie favourites: steaks, lobster, burgers, sea bass, etc, including strong vegetarian options. And there is an approachable wine list with popular choices in the £30-£70 range, as well as a reserve list featuring the bigger-hitting likes of a David Moret Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru and a Conti Constanti Brunello Riserva.
A section of locked vaults also allows customers to buy a bottle of whisky or cognac from the growing stock and store it for future visits.
