![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/17767-cfc7.jpg\")
\n\t\tClearly I wasn\u2019t too offended to drink the high-price booze (Picture: Craig Munro)<\/p>\n
\t\t
\n\t\tClearly I wasn\u2019t too offended to drink the high-price booze (Picture: Craig Munro)<\/p>\n
An \u00a311 pint is an abomination. Let\u2019s get that out the way first.<\/p>\n
Here in the capital, we\u2019ve become used to booze prices that would make non-Londoners\u2019 eyes water \u2013 with laughter, mainly.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s something about that double-digit threshold that still holds the power to turn stomachs and freeze spines. It goes against everything Winston Churchill and Princess Diana<\/a> stood for.<\/p>\n When I learnt there was a bar in central London<\/a> that was serving beers that didn\u2019t just breach the \u00a310 barrier, but whacked another pound on top<\/a>, something stirred deep in my soul. I needed to get my head around it.<\/p>\n The venue is Stanley\u2019s rooftop bar, which can be found at the top of the four-star Chesterfield hotel in Mayfair. It\u2019s posh. Of course it is \u2013 there are about a dozen blue plaques in the surrounding streets, and a quarter of those are for 19th century Prime Ministers.<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t get in, though, as long as you present yourself with enough confidence.<\/p>\n I was wearing unforgivably scruffy trainers and a second-hand corduroy shirt. My hope was that I would be mistaken for one of those crypto freaks who are too rich to worry about their appearance.<\/p>\n \t\t The doorman (yes, I know) asked if I had a reservation, and I said no. He pointed me towards the receptionist, who informed the bar upstairs that a man named Craig Munro was on his way to have a drink on his own.<\/p>\n Then I was accompanied to the mirrored lift and told to press the button for the fifth floor. At Stanley\u2019s, I was greeted by a barman in a white tuxedo and black tie who checked the details sent from the reception and asked if I would like some water.<\/p>\n It arrived quickly, with ice and a slice of lemon. The handsome barkeep placed the glass on a black leather beermat embossed with the golden logo of the Chesterfield, alongside a ramekin of unidentifiable nibbles.<\/p>\n There were two \u00a311 beer options on the menu. They were \u2013 brace yourself \u2013 Birra Moretti or Heineken. I opted for Heineken, as this seemed to be especially egregious.<\/p>\n When the pint appeared, it was in a non-branded glass which was extraordinarily thin and delicate. If I\u2019d closed my eyes, I could have been sipping my bog-standard Dutch lager from bone china.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tLatest London news\t\t\t<\/p>\n To get the latest news from the capital, visit Metro’s London news hub<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t At this point, I\u2019d like to acknowledge something. <\/p>\n There will almost certainly come a point in the future where \u00a311 pints are the norm, in London at least. And people may come across this article and think, \u2018That\u2019s is what you used to get for \u00a311? Nibbles and black leather beer mats?\u2019<\/p>\n But for the time being, this is not normal. So what\u2019s going on? How are they getting away with this?<\/p>\n The owner of a whisky bar in Stirling once told me the flavour of Scotch doesn\u2019t change much after it\u2019s been aged in the barrel for 20 years or so. However, people will pay thousands of pounds for whiskies that have been aged for decades, purely for the prestige of owning them.<\/p>\n American sociologist Thorstein Veblen called this \u2018conspicuous consumption\u2019 \u2013 the signalling of social status through shopping habits.<\/p>\n On the walk to the Chesterfield, I passed a man taking a picture of his friends climbing into the back of a black cab holding a dozen Harrods bags.<\/p>\n Perhaps later, they would take a group selfie clinking glasses of \u00a311 Heineken at Stanley\u2019s rooftop bar. It\u2019s not so much about the product, it\u2019s about the fact they can afford it. They know it\u2019s cheaper elsewhere \u2013 that\u2019s part of the appeal.<\/p>\n \t\t Was the Heineken good? Of course it wasn\u2019t. It\u2019s the Big Mac of beers, a reliably consistent option for people who are scared of trying something unfamiliar. A pint for the kind of guy who goes to the Irish pub on a holiday to Vietnam<\/a>.<\/p>\n But here I was, sitting on a rooftop in Mayfair with wicker furniture and a view over the surrounding rooftops. It was clean, modern and the staff were very polite. The last two pages in the bar menu were dedicated to cigars.<\/p>\n This atmosphere was so intoxicating that I didn\u2019t even bother to check the bill when it was brought over. I just tapped my card against the machine. That\u2019s what people in this kind of establishment do, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n It was only when I was back at street level that I checked my receipt. \u00a312.65 \u2013 the scoundrels had added a 15% tip.<\/p>\n Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n For more stories like this, check our news page<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/17768-7a02.jpg\")
\n\t\tDrizzle meant the retractable roof over the bar remained firmly unretracted (Picture: Craig Munro)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_20260505_084150_597-c9de-e1777973432542.jpg\")
\n\t\tI had no idea what any of these things were, but ate them all regardless (Picture: Craig Munro)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/17766-75c0.jpg\")
\n\t\tNo iconic London landmarks are immediately visible in the view from the bar (Picture: Craig Munro)<\/p>\n
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