South Place Hotel is one of those if-you-know sort of places. Which, if you know, and, as a regular reader of Luxury London, we’ll presume that when it comes to everything hip and happening in the capital, you do, you’ll know it as a seriously-smart but far-from-serious assortment of bedrooms, bars, restaurants and event spaces sandwiched between Moorgate and Liverpool Street stations.

The hotel opened in 2012 as the first (and still only) digs from restaurant super-group D&D London (Coq d’Argent, Bluebird Chelsea, Le Pont de la Tour, German Gymnasium, Quaglino’s, among others) and has spent the ensuing years quietly earning a reputation among insiders as one of the top social spots within the Square Mile.

Part of South Place Hotel’s success owes to the fact that, despite being nestled down a side street in the epicentre of the City of London, it feels a million miles from any other hotel in this part of town. Design-led interiors (Conran are responsible for the bedrooms), contemporary bar spaces, a dark colour palette, moody lighting, big-name DJs, and a regularly-updated modern art programme mean that if you didn’t know better you’d presume you were in Soho or neighbouring Shoreditch, were it not for all the Portland stone buildings outside. Another reason for the steady success of South Place Hotel is the restaurant on its rooftop.

Angler, a serene, white-tablecloth space that’s all natural light and shimmering silver surfaces, is a world away from the dark, nightclub-aping spaces below. Originally helmed by chef Gary Foulkes, who cut his teeth under Gary Rhodes, fish-focused Angler opened in the same Olympic year as the hotel underneath and took just 12 months to be garlanded with a Michelin star. Just as impressively, the restaurant has managed to maintain that lofty asterisk ever since.

12 years on, Gary Foulkes’ formidable influence is still felt at Angler, the former The Square head chef now acting as chef consultant. From this winter, however, day-to-day operations will be the responsibility of Craig Johnston, a former pastry chef at Jason Atherton’s Pollen Street Social who, in 2017, became the youngest-ever winner of MasterChef: The Professionals.

After moving to the Michelin-starred Royal Oak near Maidenhead, Johnston joined the team at Marcus Belgravia, working his way up to head chef. In 2022, Johnston won a prestigious Acorn Award. Previous winners of the accolade, which each year celebrates the achievements of 30 under 30s in the hospitality industry, include Marcus Wareing, Marco Pierre White and Jamie Oliver. A coup for Angler, then.

Coinciding with Johnston’s appointment is the news that this winter South Place Hotel will be partnering with German spirit brand, Monkey 47 Gin. The activation will see Angler receive a ‘Black Forest’ makeover courtesy of outdoor heaters, fairy lights and sheepskin blankets. There will also be a private Monkey 47 cocktail bar serving mixes designed to complement the rooftop setting.

In residence until February 2025, Monkey 47 Gin will also take over South Place Hotel’s Secret Garden, transforming the bar into a jungle oasis, and 3BAR, which receives its own emerald green and gold accented restyling. Each venue will offer a bespoke cocktail menu, featuring three serves specifically designed to enhance the design-led interiors of the hotel. There will also be a menu of bar bites featuring dishes infused with the German gin.

For pre-Christmas drinks, and somewhere to banish the January blues this winter, make for a side street between Moorgate and Liverpool Street stations. South Place Hotel isn’t what you’d expect. Now you know.

Book your stay at South Place Hotel here; visit anglerrestaurant.com

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