Drinks at Bar Missoni
Italian fashion label Missoni chose, perhaps surprisingly, Edinburgh as the location for their first interior designed hotel. Edinburgh’s Missoni hotel will form part of a collection of 5 star hotels, with further openings planned for Kuwait, Cape Town, Brazil and Oman. The modern look of the exterior is in stark contrast to the surrounding Old Town architecture of the Royal Mile. Through the automatic glass doors is Missoni’s lobby bar. And, as expected, the interior is expertly styled.
Missoni’s interior will not be to everyone’s taste. It’s bold, fun and vibrant - mainly monochrome, with the familiar Missoni zig-zag patterned fabric and contrasting splashes of colour. The lobby is dominated by the sleek white bar in the middle, with oversized lights above. Presumably the ’style’ bars of Edinburgh’s George St aspire to this effortless Italian style, but fall short.
Another area where Missoni outshines the competition is the service. Again, the frosty staff and over zealous bouncers of George St are distant memories - Missoni’s staff and the service they provide is excellent. They are attentive, friendly and chatty; even on a busy Saturday night the bar staff were eagerly patrolling the floor ensuring all tables were recieving great personal service. And best of all the staff have no problem making eye contact with customers… is this a first for an Edinburgh ’style’ bar?!
Since Missoni’s bar opened it has become a firm favourite of The Edinburgh Blog. Any complaints such as the incosistency in receiving nibbles with a round of drinks, or the lack of variety when they are offered are minor. Missoni’s cocktails are excellent, with the Biennale (Missoni’s nod to a ‘Bellini’ made with homemade fig and vanilla conserve, and Prosecco) a firm favourite (£6.95). Prosecco freely flows from the tap at Missoni as does Peroni lager (£4 per pint). The formal Cucina restaurant is upstairs from the bar, but a small selection of bar meals are available in the lobby which include burger and chips. Finally the Vespri hot chocolate on offer (£3.95) is a sure fire hit during the Scottish Winter.
A great bar, which proves style can exist without pretentiousness. Hotel Missoni and its Missoni Bar are fantastic additions to Edinburgh’s Old Town.
Missoni hotel and bar is located at 1 George IV Bridge,Edinburgh, EH1 1AD, United Kingdom
Telephone: 2021 220 6666
