Designed by Tom Dixon, Dandelyan’s interior is as whimsical, escapist and unexpected as its drinks menu, with a green marble bar, pink leather banquettes, and front-row views of the river Thames.
Ryan Chetiyawardana, a.k.a Mr Lyan, should be proud. Less than three years after opening Dandelyan, his bar has been named the World’s Best Bar of the year. The coveted title was awarded at Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards 2017, an industry event that took place in New Orleans over the weekend.
It helps that Dandelyan’s fashionable address at the eclectic, ultra luxurious Mondrian Hotel means that every London tastemaker and elite globetrotter worth their salt knows that this is one of the must-go hotspots to be seen enjoying an exquisite cocktail, carefully crafted by the award-winning team, or perhaps, if you get lucky enough, by Mr Lyan himself — whom the Spirited Awards named world’s best bartender in 2015.
The menu is split into four sections — Faith, Lust, Currency and Rock ‘n Roll. Cocktails are made with ingredients like nettles, tomato wine, carrots, blue corn, roasted sweet potatoes, saffron and salt-baked pomegranate. The bar’s cocktail menu is Mr Lyan’s vision of a botany-based offering, and hence aptly named “Vices of Botany”.
Apart from nabbing the top honour as world’s best cocktail bar, Dandelyan also took the titles of best international hotel bar and best international bar team 2017.
Winners were voted on by a panel of 100 industry experts from around the world.
Other big winners at the Spirited Awards include: the Columbia Room (Best American Cocktail Bar) in Washington DC; Black Pearl (Best International Cocktail Bar) in Australia; and Shingo Gokan of Shanghai won International Bartender of the Year.
