If you ever find yourself wandering through the courtyard plaza hemmed in by the soaring towers of Bishopsgate, you may well pass along a small passageway lined with whitewashed brick.
Whitewashed brick that you’ll quickly discover is marked with the words ‘Silverleaf’, right next to a doorway with what appears to be nothing inside.
But, as you’ve likely (hopefully) already guessed, there is something inside. Namely an elevator ready to whisk you up to the third floor of the Pan Pacific Hotel, and decant you out into a sleekly atmospheric cocktail bar brimming with dark, moody tones, all rounded out by the bulbous curves of Tom Dixon’s furnishings, and speckled with little Y-shaped tables that look like fat martini glasses. There’s even a golden whisky vault recessed into the wall, lined with bottles of some of the most perfectly distilled grain on earth.
The whole operation is run by the five-star hotel below, but it’s effectively an independent entity. To head up the bar team, they’ve managed to secure the talents of Callooh Callay‘s Liam Broom, and it’s paid off: Silverleaf has now rightfully won a spot on the World’s 50 Best Bars list.
The cocktails are all beautifully presented, with special paints, oils and even leathers employed to create unique garnishes. And what goes into the glass is just as considered: with each drink taking two core ingredients, the new Building Blocks menu features numbers like the Mango | Kampot, with mango, saffron, rum and kampot pepper from Cambodia.
Take a closer look right here
There’s also a separate, smaller, bar-within-the-bar seating just a dozen people, called Alba. It’s basically a private dining room, only for drinking. And it’s also where you can keep your own bottle of spirits, should you decide you like the place enough.
And the kicker? It’s open until 2am most nights.
NOTE: Silverleaf is open daily, 5pm-2am (midnight Sunday & Monday). You can find out more, and make a booking, at their website right HERE.
Silverleaf | 80 Houndsditch, EC3A 7AB
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