The Churchill Bar & Terrace announces new cocktail menu and opening of their summer terrace

With the temperamental British weather finally making way for some glorious rays, the team at The Churchill Bar & Terrace on Portman Square is ready and waiting to welcome guests with a new cocktail menu and the opening of their summer terrace. Located inside the Hyatt Regency hotel, the award-winning art deco cocktail bar pays homage to some of the capital’s most iconic residents: Sir Winston Churchill and his wife Clementine (there’s even a life-sized bronze statue of a young Churchill sitting on a bench in the terrace).

Written by Guest Contributor Ina Yulo-Stuve

The team is serious about their cocktails and recently announced new additions to the squad, bar manager Gaston Fusco and head mixologist Mitsuhiro Nakamura, who join senior bartender Vitor Sousa. Fusco spent nearly a decade in the UAE, where he worked at luxury properties such as the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club. His appointment coincided with the bar’s decision to double down on having sustainability as a focus for their menu.

“Nowadays, it is crucial for all of us to have an awareness of sustainability. It is something the world is placing a focus on and therefore, at the Churchill Bar & Terrace, we wanted to shine a light on it too and show care for the world we live in. It’s interesting to try to come up with ideas on how to do our bit to help through making delicious drinks!” says Fusco. Describing their ethos as “cocktails with a conscience”, the new menu, a 12-drink collection called UNITY, pays homage to the bar team’s different cultural backgrounds and traditions whilst staying both innovative and eco-conscious.

UNITY fuses the traditions and tastes of Asia, Europe, and the Americas to deliver an enticing offering that is best enjoyed al fresco, where the sustainability focus continues with specially chosen long-lasting flower displays throughout the terrace. Surrounded by lush greenery and colourful plants, guests will be taken on a trip around the globe with cocktails such as the fragrant, grassy, and bitter Be Mate—with bergamot liquer, bitter bianco, orange yerba mate, and peppermint perfume—based on a favourite drink from Fusco’s native Argentina; the vibrant, pleasant, and provocative Longitude 40°–bringing the flavours of fresh green grapes, Ginjo plum sake, Junmai Dagnjo sake, and elderflower liquer—inspired by the wine-making traditions of Sousa’s Portuguese family; or the mysterious, leafy, millennial Ikigai—a blend of dry Vermouth, fresh shiso, organic matcha, bamboo white tea cordial, and lemon juice—a crisp and clean choice from Nakamura’s home country of Japan.

Fusco says it was a real team effort to conceptualise every drink on the menu, but notes that he’s already seen an increased satisfaction from guests who appreciate being able to play their part in being more eco-conscious. “One of the opportunities we acknowledged was waste reduction. We saw the chance to collaborate with the kitchen and use elements of ingredients the chefs may not need, repurposing them for a different use.” He talks about the bar’s custom-made lab, where the team is encouraged to reinvent the status quo and challenge each other to think outside the box.

Nakamura, the former head bartender at renowned Tokyo outpost Peter: The Bar and a veteran of the international cocktail competition scene, will no doubt bring his flair for experimentation to an already thriving team. He says: “I am thrilled to be part of The Churchill Bar & Terrace’s team, whose acclaimed reputation and enticing drinks list focusing on sustainability is what drew me to the establishment initially.

Since attending a cocktail competition in this bar years ago, I have wanted to return. As an avid traveller, it has always been a dream of mine to bring my global knowledge to a new location, particularly one as exciting, energetic, and trend-setting as London, the pioneer city for the drinks industry, and so I very much look forward to combining all these aspects at The Churchill.”