Fam Bar, Mayfair

FAM BAR: WHAT IS IT?

In Mayfair, an area that often feels like it’s lost most of its character, Fam Bar brings personality aplenty thanks to a welcoming interior and poppin’ playlist of Motown favourites.

Run by Megs Miller, a kickass woman (bonus points) who is originally Canadian (can we give bonus points for this?), the vibe is chilled and friendly. But there’s a buzzy energy that underpins the whole set up, from cutting-edge cocktails to moreish bar snacks.

The cocktail menu prioritises flavour over brand promotion, with drinks crafted from blends of gins, vodkas and agave. The non-alcoholic cocktails are brilliant, too. This is definitely a bar to come to if you don’t want to drink alcohol and don’t want everyone to know about it.

FAM BAR: WHAT TO ORDER?

Miller is a tequila ambassador, so you can expect to find a few agave-based cocktails on the menu. A prime example is the FAM Margarita, a blend of highland and lowland tequilas, house citrus and Devon flower honey.

That said, the menu is driven more by UK ingredients than any particular spirit or style. This means you could be sipping an inventive serve like Brand New Shoes, made with English sparkling wine, gin and a seasonal sorbet, or The Claymore, a blended Scotch lengthened with in-house sparkling wine cordial.

The snacks are the side show, but they’re no less carefully created and served with pride. Aunt Zoë’s vintage English cheddar cheese spread and sourdough chips is just like that plastic-y gooey cheese dip and nachos you used to gorge on – and we mean that in a very, very good way.

FAM BAR: HOW SUSTAINABLE IS IT?

Behind the scenes, FAM’s focus is on community, culture and family. Impressively, every member of staff has profit share. This means staff genuinely care about the day-to-day operation of the bar and the people that visit.

They choose ingredients by understanding where they have come from and the processes through which they are made. Plus, the team takes it in turns to do a weekly Borough Market shop because they like to have personal relationships with suppliers.

The Devon flower honey for their FAM Margarita comes from Field & Flower, the cheese for the cheesy cheesy queso dip is from Alsop & Walker or Sheringhams, foraged ingredients come from The Wild Rooms and their bread is made in-house.

When it comes to drinks, the focus is on seasonal and local ingredients with products made in the UK and/or coming from a place that is doing something good for the earth. “Not everything is perfect, but like a lot of our products we can all try to do a bit better,” says Miller.

The bar never uses clingfilm, avoids single use plastics and has a glass crusher that turns empty bottles into recycled sand.

Finally, all the furnishings were rescued from Sunbury Antiques Market out In Kempton Park, while the sound system is between 40-50 years old from Audio International Studios – and it can still rock those Motown hits.

Corner of Picton Place & Duke Street, London, W1U 1LG