Covent Garden hotel AMANO has launched the Skyline Sessions, a weekly live music series at its rooftop bar, treating guests to soulful jazz and pop-acoustic performances accompanied by its delicious cocktails. With an invite to check out its opening night, we decided to double up and head to its ground floor restaurant Penelope's for a bite to eat before hitting the roof...
A beautiful space with mirrored ceilings, sumptuous decor and intimate seating, Penelope's serves up an innovative menu led by the flavours of AMANO co-founder Ariel Schiff’s youth, spent between Tel Aviv and southern Spain. As well as a nifty pre-theatre menu, the restaurant serves up a spread of Mediterranean small plates packed with flavour. Starting our feast was the delicious manouri bourekas, a sheep and goat cheese stuffed bread, drizzled with raspberry and truffled honey, followed by a delicately fresh tuna ceviche with mango, ajo blanco, seaweed and jalapeño. Flavourful calamari was served crisp with coriander, black challah and chilli, while the main of cod wit brown crab XO, shellfish crema and shimeji just melted in the mouth. Be sure to leave space however for dessert; the baklava cheesecake, with a flaky pastry base, crumbled pistachios, rose petals and honey syrup is worth a visit alone. Sublime.
Heading upstairs for a post-prandial cocktail, we were greeted with the sultry sounds of jazz wafting through the bar. Ushered through to the terrace, the lights of London's west end twinkling below, we tucked into a fantastic take on a smoky Old Fashioned and a gorgeous Spicy Margarita. This month in celebration of the Skyline Sessions you can also find an Elephant Gin Cocktail Menu on the rooftop, featuring three signature serves, each carefully crafted to showcase the exceptional botanicals and bold flavours that define Elephant Gin.
AMANO Rooftop Bar has carefully curated a series of world-class emerging artists, known in the London scene, with a rotation of new acts each week to entertain guests. Each Thursday evening will feature live music from 7:30PM to 10:15PM, with three 45-minute sets, the perfect pitstop for a sunset cocktail after work in the heart of the west end.
Find out more online here.
