THE Saturday night knicker flashers of Peter Street, where are they now? They're as much history as Peterloo now all the old bars have shut and that lambrini-fuelled thoroughfare of shame reinvents itself through hoppy craft beer (BrewDog) or limited edition rums (Revolucion de Cuba).
Settling into a suddenly warm and clubbable space we contemplated a magnum of Krug Grande Cuvée Brut for a cool £835
Prime spot for watching all those demure young virgins tottering out of Brannigans (itself soon to be an indie music mecca) was the Radisson’s Colonnade across the road. Of course, it worked both ways with many a friendly hand gesture aimed back.
The long, glassed in Colonnade has always been an awkward space within the otherwise sympathetic hotel conversion of the Free Trade Hall, set to continue with expansion into the once-disco-infested Theatre Royal next door.
Compared with this, the investment in transforming the Colonnade into the champagne bar Reserve @ Opus One is minimal. Just a small stand-alone bar and well-stocked shelves tucked in at one end. They’ll be recouping much of the spend if they offload a few bottles of Roederer Cristal at £341 a go (it’s £280 at Epernay down the road, by the way).
Settling into a suddenly warm and clubbable space we contemplated a magnum of Krug Grande Cuvée Brut for a cool £835 and then settled for by-the-glass to accompany a range of tapas sized dishes from the Opus One kitchens, modestly priced between £4 and £6.
These were a mixed bunch. Pick were belly pork scampi with Eddisbury Farm apple puree (£4) and and saffron tempura of prawn with sweet chili mayo (£6). Sesame coated tuna wasabi was just odd.
Until 6pm it’s the place to take tea and cake, then the fizz kicks in. House champagne is Mercier Brut at £9.90 a glass, but I’d suggest trading up, as we did, to Pol Roger Brut (£21.25) and Laurent Perrier Rose (£33). Better value would be to share a bottle of either, at £77.75 and £120.95 respectively.
Again they work out cheaper at Epernay on Watson Street, but there you don’t get to pose amid such sumptuous surroundings and dramatic vaulted ceilings. Minus the old distractions outside.
Reserve @ Opus, Radisson Edwardian Blu, Free Trade Hall, Peter Street M2 5GP. Web
Laurent Perrier Rose
