Berners Tavern: the most beautiful art restaurant in London

London Edition was initially built as a five Georgian town­houses in the classical style in 1835 before its conversion into Berners Hot­el in 1909. Right at the peak of the splendid Edwardian era, Bern­ers Hot­el was the heart of London nightlife, welcoming famous vis­it­ors like King Edward VII and Carl Fabergé. It might have been right in in Fitzrov­ia in London's West End, yet the hotel was dis­creet­ly tucked away to the side of Oxford St.

Berners Tavern, art works

In 1972 the hotel was under threat, but following the intervention of John Betjeman it was listed and survived. The hotel was bought by Mar­r­iott International and they brought in 2 special­ists: designer Ian Schrager (b1946) and chef Jason Atherton, as we shall see. The long period of clos­ure ended in 2013 when the hotel was fully restored as the London Edition hotel once again.

What made the hotel’s aesthetics stand out was the clever collaboration of the best of each of the three eras that marked the building’s his­t­ory and showed res­pect for the first architecture.  Schrager had already recog­nised the power that great design had on influencing an envir­onment, and had collaborated with special architects, artists and designers on other projects.

The lavish hotel interiors were designed by George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg and ISC Design Studio with just the right mix of old and new, tradition and mod­ern­ity.  This Marriott-owned hotel is one of three, located in London, Miami and New York, boasting beautiful bedrooms and a fitness cent­re.

But it's Berners Tavern that stars. (A tavern? Surely not). Berner's Tavern is still housed in the Edwardian building, steeped in ornate plaster work and frames. Berners Tavern juxtaposed the classic muted colours of Johannes Vermeer paintings with those of min­im­­al­ist modernism. And the paintings came in all diff­er­ent sizes, some in glass frames and some without, giving a reflection effect from the huge chandeliers in the ceiling.

ornate plasterwork 

5.5 ms high walls

The Ian Schrager-designed restaurant is in fact a large dining room that’s almost a perfect cube, where tub chairs and dusty rose upholstered dining chairs sit next to banquettes in chestnut mohair and taupe leather and round bleached oak tables. The large zinc-topped bar in front of an illuminated amber-backed display is matched with special leather-upholstered stools. The specially-organised selection of 211 photographic portraits, land­sc­apes and still lifes decorate the taupe walls. Taking five weeks to hang, it was and is an art collect­ion that encourages visitors to imagine that they were eating inside the Louvre Museum.

In summary, Berners Taven has:
-a 5.5 metre-high corniced ceiling,
- baroque-style crown moulding and ornate plasterwork,
-211 gilt-framed paintings and photographs,
-modern semi-circular leather booths,
-two bronze chandeliers, replicas of those in New York’s Grand Central Station,
-stunning amber backlit bar and
-imposing arched windows.

 semi-circular leather booths, furniture and chandelier

Chef-restaurateur, Jason Atherton was the creator of Berners Tav­ern food. He began working alongside renowned chefs, creating beet­root cured salmon, served with lemon purée, mac­adamia nuts and horse­radish. Or chargrilled focaccia, Burrata, Heritage tomatoes, basil & truffle honey. Or Colchester crab, brown crab mayonnaise, apple and coriander. The Berners Tavern menu covers everything, from Sunday roasts, to parsley and potato soup complemented by crab and spring onion salad with a poached egg.

Pandemics allowing, 11 more hotels under the Edition brand are set to open across Asia, North America and Iceland, each with its own accompanying restaurant.

Of the Marriott group's 4,000 hotel restaurants worldwide, Berners Tavern is the highest grossing and has already been given the award for Restaurant of the Year for London at the AA Hospit­ality Awards. Berners Tavern was named recipient of the Best Restaurant Interior Award by GQ in 2015 and the Best British Interior Award by Elle Decoration in 2014.

Berners Tavern
Fitzrovia

Needless to say, a meal at Berners Tavern is not cheap. Expect to pay £75+ per person for a three-course​ meal and wine, but since that is what we normally pay for 2 grandparents, son, daughter-in-law and all the grand children, I may not become a regular visitor. On the other hand, The Edition is a brisk walk to glorious Regent's Park, and even less to the British Museum. With 30 art galleries now within the London Edition’s immediate area, I may have to rethink the menu prices.