Ryan Chetiyawardana, better known as Mr Lyan, is one of the most accomplished and influential bartenders and operators of the modern era. He is “him” as the zoomers might say (or the bee’s knees for the old souls).
By no means are these claims hyperbolic — if there’s an individual award for Chetiyawardana to have garnered, he’s won it; if there’s a coveted list for his bars to have topped, he and his charismatic bartenders have done that too. But despite Mr Lyan’s illustrious career — which also includes a published book, an online masterclass course for novice cocktail enthusiasts and multiple “world’s best bar” awards — he still remains one of the kindest, most considerate and humble personalities in the global bar industry. Where some celebrity chefs and bartenders let their successes turn them into compassionless egotists, Chetiyawardana remains steadfast in his mission to innovate, educate, and champion community, diversity and talent in the hospitality industry through myriad initiatives, and in how his bars operate day to day. Simply put, he’s a classy gentleman — well, most of the time.
While his manners never wane — he truly is always a gentleman — his iPhone photography occasionally does, as evidenced by his impressive collection of blurry photos that he sporadically shares on his Instagram stories after indulgent nights out. Maybe they’re artistic, Tattinger-fuelled choices that the rest of us don’t understand, but it’s difficult not to take the opportunity to poke fun at Chetiyawardana, whose fallibility, seemingly, doesn’t exist otherwise.
Given his lasting impact on London’s cocktail scene, and his aptitude for knowing where to have a great meal and decent cocktail, I couldn’t think of a better person to kick off this Q&A-style series with than Mr Lyan himself. He may not have sufficient photographic evidence of any of his recommendations — especially anything after the starter course or first round — but wherever and whatever he says is good is valuable intel indeed.
If you could only have one drink in London for the rest of your life, which would it be and where?
This is so tough! And really grossly, I'm going to self-nominate and say a Martini at Lyaness (20 Upper Ground, SE1, lyaness.com). It's the most endlessly customisable drink, and there's so much to get lost in within it, but a great drink is all about the people and setting too. And although I'm biased, the team at Lyaness have always struck such a good balance of excitement and being welcoming, plus the view across [the river] to St. Paul's remains one of the most iconic showcases of London to me.
What's your most memorable meal in London and why?
Again, there are so many candidates for this, but my sister's 30th at St. John (26 St John Street, EC1M, stjohnrestaurant.com) sticks out. We had a big long table, and a suckling pig alongside a full feast for about 15 of us. A beautiful balance of great food, wine and laughter — an additional “lol” being that my sister is afraid of dead animals, so her best friend chasing her around the table with a pig's head remains a further cement of the occasion. We still ate it afterwards, of course.
Where is your favourite place to go for a nightcap, and what do you typically order?
Dram (7 Denmark Street, WC2H, drambar.co.uk) in Soho. It's a recent discovery for me, but it has so many of the things that I love — killer whisky selection, a pool table, great cocktails, Guinness and lots of different spaces to explore. Ideal late-night mischief!
Where do you go to eat and drink when you need to cure a hangover? What is your order and why?
I, thankfully, have the superpower of not getting hungover, but I do get very hungry the next day! All I want is to be around people, food and tea — bonus points if it's comfy and has good music. I love a greasy spoon (E Pellicci (332 Bethnal Green Road, E2, epellicci.co.uk) is a great shout), or go full fancy full English at Claridge’s (Brook St, W1K, claridges.co.uk) but I had a surprise perfect hungover brunch at Hopper's (49 Frith Street, W1D, hopperslondon.com) recently that really hit the spot!
What is London's best bar crawl, and why do you think that?
Kingsland Road! East London tends to have you covered, but being able to stroll up (or down) with Hacha (378 Kingsland Road, E8, hachabar.com), Brilliant Corners (470 Kingsland Road, E8, brilliantcornerslondon.co.uk), Three Sheets (510b Kingsland Road, E8, threesheets-bar.com), Newcomer (5 Dalston Lane, E8, newcomerwines.com), Dan's (2-4 Tottenham Road, N1, dans.wine) then round to Silk Stockings (80A Dalston Lane, E8, silkstockingsldn.co.uk) and more is ideal – plus there are loads of great eats covering every stage of the night to keep things going!
What is your guilty pleasure cocktail and why do you love it?
I own all my excesses! But a Jack and Coke is my trashy gig drink, and I love anything with banana in it. To go full out, a peanut butter banana malt hardshake would be a good shout.
What is one bar in London that doesn't get nearly as much love as it should, and why do you feel that way?
I still miss Soho’s Crobar — it should've got more love — but Little Mercies (20 Broadway Parade, N8, littlemercies.co.uk) definitely should get more props for what they get up to!
