Drinking bubbly in London: All aboard

When London’s St. Pancras International station opened for Eurostar rail service in November 2007 after decades of neglect followed by a multimillion-dollar renovation, who knew that it would become the coolest place in London— and maybe in all of Europe — to drink Champagne?

Turns out it’s the home of the St. Pancras Grand Champagne Bar, suspended near the glass roof of the old Victorian train station in the Kings Cross section of the British capital. The elegant bar is almost 300 feet long, surrounded by heated banquettes, with smashing views of incoming and outgoing Eurostar trains and the refurbished station’s smart shopping area.

Open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., the Champagne Bar serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, including a Champagne breakfast with scrambled eggs, smoked salmon and a flute of the bubbly for about $30.

The historic train station, completed in 1868, has an arched glass roof 240 feet across and 100 feet high at its apex. Its red brick Victorian Gothic facade is a London landmark.

St. Pancras International is now London’s hub for Eurostar, a high-speed train network connecting England to the Continent via the Channel Tunnel, as well as East Midlands Trains and East Capital Connect, which run regional lines.

Cheers, then all aboard.

—Susan Spano, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Photo: St. Pancras International station in London. Credit: Susan Spano / Los Angeles Times

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This entry was posted on Sunday, August 30, 2009 at 10:12 am by Susan Spano and is filed under Business Travel, Europe, Global, Great Britain, Luxury Travel, News, Tips & Advice, Rail Travel, Restaurants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.