Designers Blacksheep have put their signature to yet another star attraction of London's nightlife with the opening of Whisky Mist at Zeta at The Hilton on Park Lane, a new bar and club set to revolutionise Mayfair nightlife. The new venture is a joint collaboration between The Hilton Hotel and London nightclub pioneers Nick House and Piers Adam (whose joint CV ranges from Mahiki to The Hanover Grand, the K bars, Kabaret, Drones and the nhe Group), together with their project partners Jacobi Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe and Marc Burton.
Blacksheep, whose founders Tim Mutton and Jo Sampson worked on many of London's leading bars, clubs and restaurants in the 90s before setting up their individualistic agency in 2002, made their name with the multi-award-winning Cuckoo Club, a flagship store for cult Italian fashion label Voyage, the UK HQ for Hermès, Gordon Ramsay's first gastropub The Narrow and new Knightsbridge hotspot Vendôme (winner of "Best New Bar" at this month's London Bar & Club Awards 2008). They are responsible for the branding, signage, graphics (including all stationery and a family of menus) and the interior design of the new venue, which is located on the former Zeta bar site at London's Hilton on Park Lane, with an entrance on Hertford Street.
The concept behind Whisky Mist was two-fold: partly springing from whisky's status as the world's most aspirational spirit and partly inspired by the name of Queen Victoria's favourite stag! Careful to avoid being a "themed" venue, the interior of the bar and club will encapsulate the mindset of the elite whisky drinker, with highly subtle and abstracted references to the drink itself, set within a glamorously sleek, dark and glittering environment, full of luxury finishes and reflective surfaces. Open from 5pm to last entry at 2am, the sophisticated new venue will offer a premium and diverse list of spirits (not just whisky!), as well as an extensive selection of vintage wines and champagnes and is set to appeal to London's grown-up party crowd as well as to European glitterati.
"Whilst we wanted to maintain a sense of integrity relating to whisky's history and provenance in the design," explained Jayne Furniss, Senior Designer at Blacksheep. "It was imperative to avoid anything too twee, tired or themed. The branding reflects the final concept, created in gold, the venue's highlight colour, alongside the outline shape of a quaich - a traditional trophy cup and one of several theatrical sharing vessels which groups of customers at the venue can order up to drink from communally and have engraved with the buyer's name afterwards. The interior - working from the buzzwords 'premium', 'intimate', 'aspirational' and 'informal' - is the epitome of sophistication in a gold, black and charcoal colour palette, with a graphic identity representing the amber reflections of whisky in cut-glass."
Customers arrive at the new bar and club at the 35 Hertford Street entrance. A sleek black entrance area, branded in gold, is set within a glazed gold façade. Some parts of the glass are screened off for privacy, whilst others offer tantalising glimpses through to the interior.
Where the previous single door entrance created something of a wind tunnel once the door was opened, a new enclosed lobby area negates this and also allows for a much more dramatic entrance to the space itself, via a huge and theatrical 3m-wide two-step stair (in textured silvery fabric-effect ceramic tiles) leading into the double-height main space. The same ceramic is used in a walkway strip, like a demarcated catwalk, through the centre of the bar and VIP areas, whilst the rest of the flooring is in a timber-effect porcelain tile, which gives the impression of timber but crucially offers real durability also.
The lobby has a pay and service station clad in an exotic zebra-striped veneer, as well as dramatic wall panels clad in the same zebra stripe, whilst the exterior of the lobby is covered in huge black octagonal panels. These hand-crafted panels are the first subtle reference to Scotland and a traditional twist in the scheme, taking their inspiration from a castle detailing.
Opposite the lobby and entrance is a meet and greet station plus a cloakroom for the VIP area, with combined waiter station, in a double-and-single height bespoke unit which also serves to obscure a through door into the rear kitchen area.
The layout of the site internally has been completely reconfigured from its historic Zeta bar set-up to improve flow, link the various spaces and make better use of former "dead space". The main bar has been moved to the right of the entrance area, allowing a good flow towards the dancefloor beyond. The bar is a standout feature - a bespoke, 10m-long bar with a dramatic top with an illuminated whisky pattern, devised by Blacksheep. The dramatic double-height timber joinery bar is made up of glass-fronted cabinets to display exclusive bottles, with additional open glass shelves suspended through brass sections and a base-illuminated spirits display. Brass ironmongery form subtle details to the luxury cabinet-style joinery. The front of the bar is clad in the same zebra-effect veneer first seen in the lobby area.
A new VIP area (The Luxe Room) is located to the left of the main entrance, with a dedicated drink dispense area for high-end drinks purchases, created in the style of a domestic dresser, so that the area feels more intimate and exclusive than the main club/bar spaces. The far wall of The Luxe Room is covered in textured black velvet with a black mirror angled above it to create people-watching opportunities and enhance the impression of space. Beneath the mirror a gold-effect strip light throws a gold-effect light on the black velvet below. Timber screens with glass vision panels also demarcate the space and create a sense of privacy in the booths. The window of this area onto the street is screened with a grey, pleated iridescent voile with dark inky blue curtain. Carpet adds to a sense of luxury here in black with a hint of purple, set around the fixed seating.
Seating is in the form of bespoke banquettes (designed by Blacksheep) throughout the space in light purple velvet, with black velvet cushions and gold piping around the seat area, which is in burgundy leather, set into six half-alcoved areas. There is a similar treatment for the freestanding poufs, which are also in burgundy leather with gold piping around the top. Tables are also bespoke-designed by Blacksheep, in timber joinery with a black glass top and a gold brass trim around the edge, creating reflection and luxury detail. The side of each table is detailed with a cut-out that further references the silhouette of a Scottish castle. Tables are arranged in groups of four but can also be moved around so that there is plenty of flexibility.
The dancefloor area and DJ booth, which were previously set in front of a teppanyaki bar, have been opened up, partly through the use of faceted mirrors around the perimeter (with shadow gaps filled with LED lighting, linked in time and pattern to the music), and, above the dancefloor, a grid ceiling in reflective gold which has further hidden LED lights, adding more light and reflectiveness to the space. A 2.5m wide hole has also been cut through a structural wall to the right of the main dancefloor to link through to a raised ramp area, which was previously a ramp from the hotel lobby and which now provides a raised additional seating area for VIPs to watch the dancefloor activity.
The food offer at Whisky Mist at Zeta will include Scottish-influenced dishes sourced from the finest Highland ingredients. Dishes will be available throughout the evening from 5.30pm onwards, including royal fillets of smoked salmon, Aberdeen Angus steak and grilled diver-caught scallops. Opening hours are 5.30 - 9.30, with entry post-9.30 restricted to members or those with a table reservation.
Club membership is available to those seeking increased privacy and easier late-night access to the club via a solid silver key designed by Jade Jagger and a personal, aged bottle of whisky kept behind the bar for each visit.
"Whisky Mist at Zeta has a great location and will be a fantastic addition to Mayfair nightlife," concluded Tim Mutton, Co-founder and Director of Blacksheep. "It will also really put London on the world map of the burgeoning hotel party scene."