“ In 2014, Matthias D. Rourke the then managing director of the Rosewood, London – a newly opened hotel in Holborn, asked if they could name the hotel’s new bar after me. Strange, I thought: am I a renowned drunkard with a reputation for putting it away?” Gerald Scarfe
Rosewood is the ‘sister’ hotel to the Carlyle in New York. The Caryle was a famous gathering place for celebrities, an integral part of New York history. And that hotel’s famous bar and well-known meeting place, Bemelmans Bar, is named after the Austrian writer and illustrator Ludwig Bemelmans. The story goes that he frequented the bar and covered the walls with his whimsical drawings in payment for a year and a half’s accommodation for him and his family. Now Rosewood had the idea to create a similar bar in London – Scarfes Bar (with no apostrophe) – with Gerald’s paintings on the walls.
The marble walls are adorned with large 10 ft canvases, painted in oils, depicting various characters, scenes and political caricatures from Gerald’s career- transforming Scarfes Bar into a living canvas.
Every year the talented mixology specialists create a brand new cocktail menu inspired by Gerald’s characters and work: each cocktail is infused with a similar sense of fun and creativity – where potions and paintings meet.