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Velvet·Hour
020 7405 8888
Velvet Hour — Mayfair speakeasy
Speakeasy cocktail bar·EST. 2019

Knock twice.
Pour slowly.
A small room. A long menu. No phones at the bar.

Behind a black door on a quiet Mayfair lane — thirty seats, thirty cocktails, and a head bartender who knows when to talk and when not to.

Reserve a Table →Tonight's menu
A cocktail glass with smoke
The house cellar

“Anyone can pour a good drink. We take the long route — because the long route is what people remember.”

Marco Aldridge · Head Bartender · ex-Dukes, St James's
The Velvet Room

Four booths.
Curtains drawn.

Tucked behind the main bar — four leather booths for parties of four to six. A bell on the table when you want a bartender, silence when you don't.

Booking
£40 per head minimum
Two hours, four to six guests
Whole room
Private hire on request
Sundays & Mondays · up to 30
Reserve a Booth →
Private leather booth, curtains drawn
Live jazz lounge
This weekend

Live jazz,
Friday to Sunday.

Friday
21:00 — Late
The Eli Carter Trio — bebop, standards, the odd Sinatra
Saturday
21:00 — Late
Lila Ashford Quartet — slow ballads, late-night soul
Sunday
20:00 — 23:30
Open piano — guest pianists, vinyl between sets

No cover, no minimum spend at the bar · table reservations recommended.

Marco Aldridge, head bartender
Marco Aldridge · Head Bartender · pouring since 2019
The Story

A black door,
off the high street.

“We didn't want another loud bar. We wanted somewhere you could hear the ice, taste the drink, and finish the conversation you came in with.”

Velvet Hour opened on a Mayfair side street in 2019 — thirty seats, a small back bar, and a list that took six months to write. No sign on the door, just a brass knocker and a black bell.

Marco came from Dukes after a decade behind the bar in St James's. His house spirits are aged on the premises; his menu changes with the season; and his rule for the room has stayed the same since night one — no phones above the bar, no orders shouted across it.

2024World's 50 Best Bars · longlist
From a regular
“The drinks are properly good. But the room is the trick — low light, low voices, no rush. I've booked the same booth nine Fridays running.”
CLASS Magazine · “London's Quiet Greats” · 2024
Find the door

Knock twice.
We'll let you in.

Reservation only — tables held for fifteen minutes. Walk-ins accepted at the bar if a seat is going. No phones above the counter, please.

Telephone
020 7405 8888
Address
Velvet Hour
14a Bruton Lane
Mayfair, London W1J 6PT
Opening Hours
MondayClosed
Tuesday18:00 — Midnight
Wednesday18:00 — Midnight
Thursday18:00 — 01:00
Friday18:00 — 02:00
Saturday18:00 — 02:00
Sunday19:00 — 23:30
Bartender's table
Four seats at the back bar · Marco builds the night around your taste · £85 per head, six drinks
By reservation only — usually booked out three weeks ahead.
House code
Smart casual. No trainers after 8pm. Children before 18:00 only. Photos welcome — phones on tables, not above the bar.
The bar at Velvet Hour
14a Bruton Lane · Mayfair · London