Light Bar

What a great little bar inside the St Martin's Lane Hotel. Yes, one should expect a dope bar inside a Morgan's Group hotel, but hotel bar to me conjures up images of cookie cutter decor and drab spaces filled with creepy businessmen and cougars.

Not Light Bar. Although a bit on the small side, there were always a lot of large groups, huddled around tables boozing it up, having a great time. There was great house and hip-hop playing at loud, but not obnoxious levels and the service was great as well.

I was staying the hotel for several nights and it was nice to be able to have some drinks in a fun environment without having to step out into the cold, rainy night. That said, you do not need to be a guest to go to enter this bar and there never seems to be much of a wait, even when they are very busy.

Another huge plus is that this bar stays open late (usually 2-3am), unlike the usual midnight time, when 95% of everything else shuts down in this city.

Located in a former electricity transformer building, this is a cool spot. We spent a beautiful sunny afternoon in the big outdoor seating area. The roof deck was closed in the afternoon but I've heard it's pretty special. Staff was very nice. Supersize artwork/paintings were displayed against the fence.

Went to the cinema last night and wanted to go for a couple of drinks afterwards in a not so packed/touristy area. I've been to Light Bar before on nights out with various companies so knew what it was like. It's inside the St Martins Lane Hotel opposite the entrance. Walking through the glass panels, you enter a darkened room, chairs and tables lining each side, a regular bar of sorts partway along the left and the cocktail bar at the end. It's all table service, so we found a small area and sat down. Being half 10, we didn't expect there to be many people and there weren't, 3-4 other parties in various areas, far enough away so they didn't disturb us. That was a nice touch on the part of the hostess.

The drinks are pricy, from £12 up, having only come here before with work I hadn't realised. Never mind though because they were excellent. It's split into Martinis, Long Drinks, Flutes (champagne cocktails) World Drinks (various cocktails from around the world), Shorts and Shooters. Then you have your wines, spirits beers etc. Interesting to note that you can order a limited menu from Asia de Cuba next door, a tasting menu being around £25-30 iirc.

The drinks were well made and well executed, I had a tiki drink to start (kind of a sucker for them) and then an Old Fashioned which kind of tests the effort a bartender is going to put in a drink. Both we excellent. My friend ordered a Basil and lemon Martini and a lychee and cardamom cocktail, again both were well made.

I like it, having been there, it's a good place for an intimate drink, away from the touristy areas of Leicester Square without having to go a long way. Nicer than a pub and less crowded than a bar, I don't think I'd end up there on a night out, more of a date night place.

This bar is part of a hotel Marins Lane Hotel, but you thankfully do not have to be a guest at the hotel, its brilliant in here!!
It has always played very funky, cool music, which is great if you like that kind of thing, I personally love that vibe. There is a nice list of cocktails to choose from, and has a full bar. Whenever i have been, we have always been on the guest list, which only requires a phone call, but it is easy to get on the night anyway. This is a great place to go with friends, very chilled out with a very nice ambience. They have big pictures of faces, illuminated with funky lights.
Its roughly £10- £15 for a cocktail, so quite expensive, but they are very tasty, I remember trying the lychee martini, and that was quite bad, I dont think I have had a lychee cocktail before that.

The bar staff are really nice and friendly. You basically get what you pay for, however I have been places where I have paid more, but not got very much, so all in all I will recommend this funky place, on any funky night!

Has to be one of the strangest settings I've been to with the various faces on the top walls showing all sorts of different emotions. At first glance, it is a bit startling, but after some time then you don't notice them. Dimly lit overall with candle light being the source of light with the lounge settings.

It's a different feel during the weekday nights versus the weekend fun. Weekday nights offer plenty of space with mostly hotel guest there after a day in the office while the clientele is mixed in age group during the weekend nights. Music is also quite varied ranging from 90s hip hop to today's house. My kind of music. Good place to just people watch while sipping on a drink.

Drinks are good and solid. Good selection of whiskeys and rums (when you ask if you can get the same rum list from neighboring Asia de Cuba).

Brilliant bar, in the fabulous setting of the St Martins Lane Hotel. Not one to try and get bluff your way into when on the way back from a fancy dress party at 2am, but if you can safely get yourself past the polite but firm people on the door then welcome to a place where cocktails and long drinks are perfectly delivered and a friendly atmosphere pervades, with people from all walks of life open to a chator maybe that was just the number of Brown Cows I'd had?


Anyway - the lighting does a great job on making the bar look super stylish. If you ever take a picture with a flash camera in there you'll see it's not quite as cool as you thought - but the decor does match the lighting well.


Overall - well worth a visit and a at on the back for the very friendly and professional staff.

The Light Bar is located in a cave off the very trendy lobby of the St Martins Lane Hotel, where an eclectic clientele glides effortlessly across the shiny white floors, nodding to each other from behind uber-romantic hairstyles and rock-star specs in silent recognition of mutual coolness ... but seriously folks, somehow I managed to get into this Hotel, and the people-watching is outrageously fun. The Light Bar is the perfect complement to all the dry coolness in the lobby - it is dark and intimate, the music is chill, the lighting is colorful and dramatic, and all the pretty waitresses move in slow motion. What's more, they make a mean Old Fashioned in that joint.

We visited Light Bar while staying at St Martins Lane and it had some of the best drinks I have ever had and I am a cocktail aficionado. The bar was not that crowded when we went and my wife rated it the best Pimm's cup of all the places we tried. I had some tropical cocktails and all were expertly made and served in super cool tiki glasses. Anyone can visit the bar and it is on the first floor of the hotel. Will be back here on our next trip to London.

Needed a place to meet my coworkers while in London and wanted to go to somewhere in Shoreditch so we picked Light Bar. Had a lively scene going on though I have a feeling that it would be way more fun in the summer. It served our purpose but wasn't anything memorable this time around.

The Light bar is fab - part of the lovely St Martin's Lane Hotel. Really cool bar, gorgeous decor, good DJ's on Thursdays, and weekends. Not cheap but lovely! You can also order snacks from the Asia de Cuba restuarant which is amazing.