UK Cigar Scene Magazine February Issue 2 | Page 29

Australian cigar lover and blogger
Gerard Hayes recently visited
London and tested out many of
the finest sites for his Blog. We
asked him to give us a flavour of
some of his cigar stops.
The London cigar scene is alive and well,
in fact positively buzzing. There are so
many places to enjoy a cigar in London
town. On my most recent trip I visited No
10 Manchester Street, James J Fox, 1 A St
James, The Wellesley, Boisdales Canary
Wharf and The Bulgari Hotel
No 10 is a very well thought out Hotel that has four
smoking suites in the basement of the Hotel which
are unique and well worth a look. Each room has
its own courtyard with umbrellas for shade and
heaters for winter with reclining lounges and
outdoor seating. These suites are designed with
the cigar smoker in mind and for added privacy
you can order a cigar of your choice from the
humidor and have it delivered to your room.

The cigar lounge and sampling room are very
well designed and it is definitely an all year round
venue for a relaxing smoke. The cigar lounge is
outside but under cover with a row of very well
placed gas heaters for the cooler months. There is
also a beautifully appointed sampling room. The
walk in humidor is well stocked with Cuban cigars
including limited edition and vintage cigars for
your selection.

The Boisdale group have several locations in
Belgravia; Canary Wharf and Bishopsgate. I visited
the Canary wharf venue and was not disappointed.
My host Nathan Evans the Deputy Managing
Director gave me a comprehensive overview of
the group. The walk in humidor at Canary Wharf
was well stocked with Cuban cigars including pre
Castro era. The leather couch in the cigar sampling
room has been with the group for over ten years
and could tell few cigar stories if it could talk.

This venue is open to non members and the team
were very attentive to all my cigar needs, including
cutting and lighting your selection should you so
wish.

They have a members terrace and are still open to
new members, if not you can enjoy a cigar elected
from their humidor and if you need any help
Filipe has an extensive knowledge of cigars to pair
with your selection of spirits, beers or fine wine.
The Belgravia venue has a rooftop cigar lounge.
Day one of my London cigar Odyssey took me to
No 10 Manchester Street in Marylebone.
I was fortunate to be a guest of Paola Paolillo the
restaurant manager and her great team for the
night.

Day two of my London cigar Odyssey took me to
James J Fox in the heart of St James, a stones throw
from The Ritz. James J Fox is a British institution
with over 225 years of cigar provenance; it can
name amongst its past clients Sir Winston
Churchill and Oscar Wilde. You can even sit in
Winston’s chair and have your photo taken.
The store has an extensive walk in humidor with
a good range of Cuban and non Cuban cigars
including NUB from America.
This is a must see in London with a sampling
lounge upstairs and also a cigar museum. There
are plans to also extend this as they have only 10%
of all cigar memorabilia on display at any one
time.
To read more on Gerard’s travels read his blog
http://www.thecigarbroker.com/
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