Vendome Mayfair

Vendome Bar Lounge in Knightsbridge just got a sister, the recently opened Vendome Mayfair at the former site of Pangaea, on Piccadilly. Ridiculous sums of money have been poured into the new branch, which has been lavishly decorated throughout; think snakeskin banisters, pod style seating areas designed by a certain Ms. Jade Jagger, huge flat screens depicting catwalk shows, and a 70’s inspired LED lit dance floor.

Vendome is everything you would expect from a swish Mayfair club: girls in short dresses with shovel loads of make up, magnums of champagne, reality TV stars, and a security team tighter than Heathrow’s. However Vendome has put great emphasis on its dancefloor, in an attempt to steer more people onto it and focus on the DJ, who plays in an uber cool revolving booth right in the middle. It is in any case impossible to sit down unless you’ve booked a table for the night, at extra cost.

Booths and tables are prepared for the imminent arrival of VIP guests equipped with ice buckets of Champagne, glasses, and a drinks menu where you can choose a £75 Dom Perignon or a Methuselah for a mere £30,000. There is a very futuristic feel to the booths and the smaller seating areas located around the dancefloor, which also need to be reserved. The club in itself is small, a fact which the decorators have tried to disguise with the clever use of mirrors and lighting.

Cocktails (starting at £12) proved to be delicious, though we were amused when the gorgeous barman had to look up every single ingredient and how to make each drink. It seems prettiness had a part to play in Vendome’s recruitment process.

And looks rate highly here. With the exception of ourselves and one other group of smiley happy looking people, girls and guys stood around, looked around, and pouted. While we sat in one of the beautifully designed VIP booths, the punters walked passed peering in, wondering who we were and whether they should know us. Charlie Uchea of Big Brother infamy preened and bounced in a corner.

The music policy is funky house and commercial dance tunes, however to mix things up a bit the odd Deep Dish and Four Tet track made an appearance, fantastic for a dance music aficionado, but seemingly not for Vendome’s crowd who seemed to stop and look around bewildered each time something a little different came on. Then Sean Paul was put back on, and a collective sigh of relief ensued.

Vendome is luxurious yet superficial, but doesn’t intend to be anything other than a glamorous, high end party host. Go for celeb-spotting and posing.