Published on Foodepedia on 4th April 2011:

It was 5pm on a Tuesday and the perfect time for some champagne. Well champagne and canapés at the glamorous new Searcy’s Champagne Bar launch, that is. And that’s exactly where I was on the 29th of March.

City workers will probably have noticed a new shopping venue slowly emerging out of the rubble, after months of building works, at One New Change. The new Searcy’s Champagne Bar is right at the heart of it on the first floor, and it is ultra-glam. The decor channels 70s chic with floor to ceiling glass, plush armchairs and a granite bar all designed by Interbar.

Of course the venue is nothing without the champagne and connoisseurs will not be disappointed.

There’s a very extensive selection of vintage and non-vintages, with offerings from some 25 different champagne houses. And with single flutes starting from £8.50 to vintages costing £600 a bottle, there’s definitely something for all budgets.

Aside from having the most extensive champagne list in Europe, it is also the first bar in the UK to decant champagne. That’s right – they will decant a bottle of champagne, of your choice and at your table, into a crystal champagne decanter from Riedel for you to savour. Supposedly this helps to bring out the more complex characteristics of champagne, just as it does fine wine.

The bar also serves a selection of cold dishes, chosen specifically to match the champagnes available. And if the foie gras macaroons and beetroot with orange and ginger canapés I tried is anything to go by, your taste buds will certainly be tantalised.

I’m told the venue is open from 7am to 11pm which means that it’s probably perfect for every kind of occasion – from champagne breakfast meetings to a quick after work drink or perhaps just a break from shopping.

Searcy’s Champagne Bar at One New Change is open now and can be found at 1st Floor, One New Change, London EC4M 9AF www.searcys.co.uk