No. 01
Velvet Hour
16
Our house negroni, rested in oak for a fortnight and poured over one clear block of ice.
Gin · bitter red aperitivo · oak-rested vermouth
( Lantern Row )
( Wed to Sun )
Sere nade
stirred at nightfall, played out by morning
Live piano, Wednesday to Sunday
Stirred, never hurried
Tables held for two hours
Requests taken on a napkin
Last call at a gentle hour
Lantern Row, Old Harbour
Live piano, Wednesday to Sunday
Stirred, never hurried
Tables held for two hours
Requests taken on a napkin
Last call at a gentle hour
Lantern Row, Old Harbour
Live piano, Wednesday to Sunday
Stirred, never hurried
Tables held for two hours
Requests taken on a napkin
Last call at a gentle hour
Lantern Row, Old Harbour
Live piano, Wednesday to Sunday
Stirred, never hurried
Tables held for two hours
Requests taken on a napkin
Last call at a gentle hour
Lantern Row, Old Harbour
Stirred to order
since the lamps came on
( The house )
A small room for slow drinks and a piano that is never quite silent.
Serenade sits behind an oxblood door on Lantern Row, in the old harbour quarter: forty-two seats, low lamps, one upright piano and a short list of drinks we make properly.
We opened the room for the hour after dinner, when nobody wants a loud bar and nobody is ready for home. Every drink is stirred or shaken to order, the ice is cut by hand each afternoon and the list changes only when something better comes along.
Five nights a week a pianist sits in the back corner from nine. No stage and no speeches, just the songs, the glasses and the conversation you came for.
42
seats, and never a standing crowd
11
drinks on the house list
5
nights of live piano a week
( House signatures )
Three to begin with
The drinks guests come back for and ask for by name. Each one is built around a single idea and finished in front of you at the counter.
No. 02
Serenade Sour
15
Gin shaken with hibiscus, lemon and a silk foam, finished with a pinch of rose salt. The drink the room is named for.
Gin · hibiscus · lemon · rose salt
No. 03
Last Waltz
16
Bourbon stirred long with demerara and orange bitters over one hand-cut cube. The one we pour at last call.
Bourbon · demerara · orange bitters
( The list )
The house list
Eleven drinks, written on one card and changed with the seasons. Ask the bar for something off the list and they will make it if the shelf allows.
( From the kitchen, until midnight )
Marinated olives, salted almonds, a small cheese plate and warm flatbread with honey.
Stirred
spirit forward
Shaken and long
bright and cold
Without spirits
same care, no proof
( The upright, back corner )
( The weekly programme )
Five nights of piano
Music starts at nine and stays at a volume you can talk over. Mondays and Tuesdays the room rests, and so does the piano.
Wed
Quiet Standards
Ballads, show tunes and the odd film theme, played low enough to hear the person across the table.
Thu
Piano and Voice
A singer joins the pianist for torch songs and slow jazz: two sets, with a long interval for another round.
Fri
The Late Room
Double bass and brushes join the piano for swing and bossa nova that carries on well past midnight.
Sat
Napkin Requests
Write a song on a napkin and leave it on the piano. What the pianist knows, they play; what they don't, they learn for next week.
Sun
Slow Sunday
Nocturnes, quiet standards and an early last call, for the gentlest start to the week.
( The room )
Low lamps, one long counter, a piano in the corner
I
The counter
Twelve stools along the oak bar, close enough to watch every drink being stirred.
II
The booths
Six leather booths along the back wall, for four to six guests and long conversations.
III
The piano corner
Two small tables beside the upright, held for those who come for the music first.
IV
The window
Two tables by the door that we never book: they are kept for whoever walks in.
( After dark )
A night on Lantern Row
Candles go on at seven, the first set starts at nine and the last drink is poured slowly. A few frames from an ordinary Friday.
Follow the monthly letter
( Before you come )
A few house notes
Nothing complicated, just what regulars already know. Anything else, call the bar after four and ask for whoever is closing.
Yes, always. We keep the bar counter and the two window tables for anyone who simply turns up. On Friday and Saturday after 21:00 there may be a short wait; we will find you a stool as soon as one is free.
( Reserve )
Hold a table, or take the whole room
We keep booking simple: a phone call for tables, a letter for private evenings. Walk-ins are always welcome at the counter.
( For two to six guests )
Hold a table
We hold tables by phone, Wednesday to Sunday from 16:00. Tell us the night, the time and whether you would like to sit near the piano.
- Held for two hours from your time
- Piano corner on request
- Counter and window kept for walk-ins
( Twenty to forty-two guests )
Private evenings
Take the room on a Monday or Tuesday, when we are closed to the public: a pianist or trio, a short drinks list written for the night and the whole bar to yourselves.
- Monday and Tuesday evenings
- A drinks list written with you
- Pianist or trio included
( Visit )
Find the oxblood door on Lantern Row
14 Lantern Row, Old Harbour Quarter. Ring the small brass bell if the door is closed; it usually is, to keep the music in.
( Opening hours )
- Monday Closed
- Tuesday Closed, private hire
- Wednesday 19:00 to 00:30
- Thursday 19:00 to 00:30
- Friday 19:00 to 02:00
- Saturday 19:00 to 02:00
- Sunday 18:00 to 23:30
( By tram )
Harbour Steps stop, then two minutes up the hill past the fish market.
( By car )
The quay car park is open all night; the lane itself is pedestrian only.
( Access )
One low step at the door and a ramp on request; the bar and booths are on one level.