Going to the omakase experience at The Aubrey is something of a special experience.
First, you’ll be stepping into one of the grandest buildings in one of the grandest neighbourhoods, in one of the grandest cities in the world. That is, of course, the Mandarin Oriental. Making your way inside their plush izakaya, The Aubrey, you’ll be greeted by a friendly concierge and whisked straight to the bar…
…and then right past it. Because you’ll be taken through the dining room, past the hidden door at the back (as the diners glance over and give wide-eyed whispers to one another), and decanted into the secret, dedicated Omakase Bar within.
This six-seater is a beautiful little, low-lit nook with exotic Japanese spirits & sakes lining the dark-wood shelves, and a black marble bartop hemming in the two-person team who run the show: Pietro and Sara. Pietro, the bar director for the whole place, is the star here. He opens things up with an introduction to the concept: omakase is a Japanese term that loosely translates as “I’ll leave it up to you”, and you’ll typically find it at sushi bars. At The Aubrey, however, they’re applying it to cocktails. After a little back and forth to establish your general likes & dislikes, the show will start.
What follows is a flurry of invention, with anywhere between four and six cocktails whipped up before you as the evening progresses. Each one is paired with a delicate little bite from the kitchen, and each one will be explained and dissected as it’s made. You might start off with a spritz-esque glass of house Champagne (as in, the Aubrey’s own label) with a little bitter apéritif and a mist of lemon. Leaning into the Japanese spirits available, you can try a variety of shōchūs made from rice, sweet potato, barley, and more, which will then go into a highball with house-made green tea soda. You might get a martini made with Japanese tomato vodka. Pietro may burn a piece of wood right on the bar then capture the smoke in a glass, ready for a Japanese whisky cocktail to go in it. It’s a truly wonderful show, with some truly wonderful drinks. And you never know what you’re going to get.
As mentioned, they’ll all be accompanied by a variety of bites, like wagyu maki, Irish oysters with ponzu dressing & fingerlime, or little cones of yuzu sorbet. And at the end of it all? You’ll get to choose your favourite of the cocktails that you had, and they’ll mix up a bottle of the stuff for you to take home, even going so far as to seal it with freshly melted wax…
…other cocktail experiences can’t hold a candle to it.
NOTE: The Omakase Experience at The Aubrey is available to book right now (Weds-Fri). It costs £198pp, with a minimum of three guests per evening. You can book and find out more right here.
The Aubrey | Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, 66 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7LA
Want to meet the neighbours? Head in to Dinner by Heston.