There are two buildings that since I was a child I was fascinated with and wanted to see brought to life. Gradually I began to believe that neither would during my lifetime; but as with many things I now suspect I was wrong. The buildings in question are Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, which is in touching distance of finally being complete, and the other is Battersea Power Station, J. Theo Halliday and Giles Gilbert Scott. While admittedly not of as much architectural importance as Gaudi’s masterpiece, Battersea power station is a legendary London landmark. One of the world’s largest brick buildings and notable for its original, Art Deco interior fittings and décor it has, since an attempt in the 1980s to turn it into a theme park sent most of the last forty years as a forbidding, rotting hulk looming over the upper reaches of the South Bank.
Now it is back, and appropriately the bubbly is flowing in celebration as Searcys Champagne Bar at Battersea Power Station opens its doors. Searcys have serious form for all things champagne and have shown what they can do at their excellent champagne bar at St Pancras Station, also once an unloved and crumbling hulk. It seems astonishing now to think it came within a whisker of being demolished.
The new Searcys Champagne Bar at Battersea Power Station promises to offer extensive menu of bubbles and English sparkling wine, paired with British seafood and sharing platters and provide an ideal space for business or pure pleasure, with deep velvet blue seating, marble topped tables and polished brass detailing.
Linking the world’s most famous drink with art, the new Champagne Bar is home to three bespoke pieces of artwork by celebrated London based artist Kristjana S Williams, commissioned exclusively for the space by Searcys. Adorning the walls, the striking pieces blend Searcy’s 175-year history with a nod to the Victorian era and will be unveiled for the first time upon opening.
Searcys have unsurprisingly sourced an extensive list, from Champagne Grandes Marques, Demi Secs and Vintages to bottles from small growers and Searcys own collection of Cuvées, and the list includes famous marques such as Krug, Moet & Chandon, Laurent Perrier, Pol Roger, Drappier and Taittinger, alongside a concise list of interesting English sparkling wines, including even a non-alcoholic pour from Wild Idol. Dangerously, they also promise cocktails….
Food includes a selection of seafood plates, including Colchester Rock & Native oysters with mignonette sauce and Searcys signature Smoked salmon with horseradish cream, alongside a range of bar bites and sharing platters of artisan cheeses, mezze and British charcuterie board of cured and smoked meats.
The bar is Located on Level 1 inside the Power Station near to the unique chimney lift experience, Lift 109, and is open seven days a week from 12:00 until 22.00 Monday to Saturday (until 18:00 on Sunday), with bookings available at https://searcys.co.uk/searcys-battersea-power-station/
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