The Gantry London hotel review: a work in progress with great potential

There is a whiff of excitement and revival in east London’s Stratford. Big, swanky hotels with enviable culinary scenes and grand lobbies are gobbling up available space in the area, a branch of the VA is due to open soon, the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is right on the doorstep and there are fast connections to the centre of the capital. It’s fast becoming a bustling, stylish mini-metropolis with much to discover.

Why come here 

The Gantry is one such new hotel making its mark on this part of London. Launched in November 2021, the hotel, which pays tribute to New York’s Flatiron Building, is a new design-led hotel featuring 291 rooms across 17 floors, with a dedicated sparkling bar, an all-day restaurant and an 18th floor sky bar with panoramic views across the city.

The views from the rooms are perhaps the hotel’s biggest selling point, with gorgeous panoramas of London stretching out in front of you in every direction from huge, floor-to-ceiling windows. Inside, the interiors have a sort of industrial, modern chic about them – all exposed brick and ceilings, designer lamps, touches of bronze and big mismatched armchairs. Bathrooms have rainfall showers and Grown Alchemist toiletries, although if you want a bath you’ll need to book a suite. Beds are big and comfortable and it’s very easy to have an excellent night’s sleep in this quiet, smart hotel. 

Enjoy some fizz or a cocktail at the stunning Coupe bar

The drinks 

The sparkling bar, Coupe, is stunning; a really elegant bar to while away an hour or two before dinner, where guests can choose from some of the UK’s finest fizz from revered estates such as Gusbourne and Rathfinny, and there’s a concise list of sparkling cocktails and spritzes. 

At Union Social, the main dining spot, waiters are whipping up confident, exhilarating cocktails – the classics are beautifully concocted and elegantly presented, while the mystical smash with white rum, muju chinotto, basil and fresh lime is truly delicious. The drinks have been created by Walter Pintus, an award-winning mixologist who has been involved in some of London’s finest institutions from The Ritz and The Connaught to The Mandrake and most recently The Conduit.

Union Social is The Gantry’s restaurant

The food 

The food on offer suggests the hotel is still in a nascent stage of its life though, and certainly hasn’t quite reached the dazzling heights of its neighbour, The Stratford’s restaurant Allegra, which is just across the road, and where Irish head chef Patrick Powell, formerly of Chiltern Firehouse, Wild Honey and Dublin’s L’Ecrivain is packing a powerful punch on London’s dining scene. 

Article source: https://www.theweek.co.uk/arts-life/travel/956028/the-gantry-london-hotel-review-stratford