Bars & Pubs

By Sharon O'Connell

With its happy hour, an A-board outside advertising private hire for Christmas parties and a menu that boasts 'the most fun, fabulous and flirty drinks list in the square mile', Mary Jane's is clearly looking to attract the hard-working, harder-partying City type.

Unprepossessing from the outside, it shapes up rather better upon entering: all dark wood, subdued red lighting, gilt detailing on the picture frames, repro antique chairs and plush, curved sofas for cosier group seating. A wrought-iron staircase leads down to the larger of the two bar areas, which features a huge chandelier, a wall aquarium and vast black dining tables, set for a lunchtime menu that includes burgers, scampi and chips and the like. The drinks menu is what you might expect from a lounge/ party bar in the Square Mile. A choice of premier tequilas (including vintage and flavoured, plus three from the Frida Kahlo range) and rums are sold alongside cocktails, shooters, wines, champagnes, and both bottled and draught beers. The bar's signature cocktail, the Mary Jane is a great mix of rosé Champagne, rose-petal vodka and watermelon, but other, more butch concoctions feature Red Bull and Chivas. Bar snacks such as meze are there to soak up the drink.

Although there were just a few clusters of tipsy suits upstairs when we visited, a deafening mix of Jamiroquai, '80s pop and '70s disco-funk blared from the speakers; however, an obliging waitress did immediately turn it down when we asked. Despite its potential and an obvious effort to make the space more intimate, Mary Jane's airy vastness works against it. But somehow, we doubt Friday night's loosened-tie brigade will be bothered about that.

Time Out London Issue 1943: November 14-20 2007